Close up of an orangutan looking through bars

Raise The Red Flag

Play video An adult male lion sits behind bars

Raise The Red Flag For Captive Wild Animals

Born Free needs you to Raise the Red Flag, and report the suffering of animals in captivity, so that we can take action to make it end. Share your eyewitness experiences, and find out how else you can help below.
Born Free wants to end the suffering of wild animals in captivity, but we need your help.

Please look out for the signs of distress or abuse in wild animals in captivity. Whether in your home country or travelling internationally, flag your concerns, and speak out.

You can help stop suffering and report animal abuse with our Raise the Red Flag campaign. Our online platform highlights animal welfare problems, shares information with other travellers and provides guidance on how YOU can take action.

Your eyewitness report provides vital information, which we record on our comprehensive global database and interactive Red Flag map. Your evidence could help raise awareness, warn other people to stay away, support further investigations and help wild animals in need.

Find out more about how you can help below.

NUMBER OF RED FLAG REPORTS RECEIVED:

Reports Submitted 17020

INTERACTIVE RED FLAG MAP

Our map below shows locations where Born Free has received substantive reports of concern relating to wild animals in captivity. A black pin represents some of the locations where Born Free has undertaken further investigation.

Click on a pin to find out more or search for a captive facility, location, region or country in the search box below.

Find Out More

An adult male lion sits behind bars

Report It

Fill out an eyewitness report to report wildlife cruelty
Close up of an orangutan looking through bars

Speak Out

We encourage people to speak out and take action for wild animals in captivity
A snarling tiger performing in show

Advice

We can all take steps to ensure our holidays or activities do not impact on captive wild animal welfare or promote exploitation - follow our advice & guidance.
A performing sun bear holding hoops as part of a circus show

Investigations

Where possible, Born Free conducts further research and investigations about wild animals in captivity as a result of reports submitted by the public.
A captive orangutan looks through bars

Captivity Issues & Your Reports

Find out about some of the issues facing wild animals in captivity, as exposed in your Red Flag reports sent to Born Free.
Dolphins Misha and Tom under water

Success Stories

Read about some of the captive wild animals YOU have helped by submitting your reports and speaking out.

NB: Information presented through Raise The Red Flag is a summary of reports received by Born Free from members of the public and reported in the media. While we aim to check the content of each report and assess its significance, Born Free makes no representation as to the accuracy of any report. Whether or not a flag is raised depends on the quality of the report and submitted evidence, among other factors. If there is no flag at a particular facility or location, it does not necessarily mean there are no animal welfare problems there.

Raise the Red Flag was conceived by Aaron Gekoski and developed by Steven Dean.

Page images © Aaron Gekoski/Born Free