Dr. Carol Kline, a professor in the Department of Management and director of Appalachian State University's Hospitality and Tourism Management program, was recently featured in a Washington Post article entitled Animal rides are cruel, advocates say. So why are we still doing them?
When considering an animal attraction, humane experts urge travelers to look at the larger picture. For instance, what happens before and after the activity, when sympathetic eyes are no longer watching. In Asia, some trainers still use an abusive system called phajaan (originally a ritual ceremony) to force the elephants to perform. Carol Kline, director of the hospitality and tourism management program at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, describes the technique as “breaking the spirit” of the elephant.
“The welfare concern about the phajaan is that the elephant is manipulated into performing non-natural behaviors through violence and domination tactics that include beating, starving, and solitude,” said Kline, author of several publications on the ethics of animal tourism.
Kline's research interests focus broadly on tourism planning and development and tourism sustainability, but cover a range of topics including animal welfare in tourism, tourism entrepreneurship, niche tourism markets, and tourism impacts to communities. She recently edited two volumes about the ethics of eating animals within the context of tourism: Animals, Food & Tourism and Tourism Experiences & Animal Consumption: Contested Values, Morality, & Ethics. Learn more about Carol Kline and her research.
About the Department of Management at Appalachian State University
The Department of Management offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs to prepare students for a variety of managerial responsibilities in today's dynamic environment. The student who is studying management will acquire relevant knowledge and skills necessary for success in a variety of small, medium and large organizations. The department offers two undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree programs: the major in Management and the major in Hospitality and Tourism Management. The department also offers minors for both business and non-business majors in entrepreneurship, human resource management, and sustainable business. At the graduate level, the Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management (IOHRM) program is an interdisciplinary Master of Arts degree program offered jointly by the Department of Management and Department of Psychology. Learn more at management.appstate.edu.
Director of hospitality degree program featured in Washington Post
Carol Kline