Table of Contents:

• Why It’s Unethical to Include Animals in Your Elopement
• 8 Animals You Should NOT Use In Your Wedding or Elopement
• How to Safely + Responsibly Include Animals in Your Wedding

If you’re considering including wildlife in your wedding or elopement, think again! Here’s why it’s unethical to use animals besides your own pets in your elopement or wedding, and why the mistreatment they face isn’t worth it for the cute, trendy photos. Plus, a few alternative ways to honor your love for animals on your big day in a safe, responsible way!

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that this blog post only BRIEFLY touches on this topic—the ethics of the wildlife entertainment industry and animals in weddings is a huuuge subject to tackle. Definitely continue to do your own research after reading this if you’re interested in diving deeper!

Why It’s Unethical to Include Animals in Your Elopement

Wondering why it’s so unethical to include animals in your elopement or wedding? Here are a few of the main reasons, which I’ll go into more detail about in the next section.

1. They’re often mistreated by the owners/companies who house them.
2. They can be hurt as a result, and can unintentionally cause harm to you/your guests.
3. They’re forced into stressful situations that don’t resemble their natural environment or lifestyle.
4. The introduction of wildlife in their non-native habitats can have harmful implications on the environment.

Now, let’s talk about how this applies to the animals that are most commonly used in weddings and elopements for entertainment.

8 Animals You Should NOT Use In Your Wedding or Elopement

(There are definitely more than 8, but these are some of the most popular or trendy animals I usually see couples gravitate toward.)

1. Sled dogs

If you’re planning to elope in Alaska, Canada, or anywhere dog-sledding might be popular, I encourage you to reconsider adding it to your elopement! Dogs are naturally very energetic and free-spirited animals that like to roam free, and unfortunately the dog sledding industry is rife with cruel exploitation and animal abuse. Sled dogs are often overworked and, in races like the famous Iditarod or even Winter Olympic dogsledding events, sometimes even killed along the way 🙁

This deeper look into two dog sledding facilities near Alberta, done by an animal rights activist group, revealed sled dogs chained to poles for up to 23 hours a day in addition to being malnourished, lacking access to water and food, and often injured. It’s sadly not a surprise, or a one-off case; various dog sledding locations across Canada, Alaska, Iceland, and more tourist hotspots have been found to use similar inhumane practices to maximize tourism profits. 

Unfortunately, as romantic and exciting as dog sledding sounds, these poor babies don’t deserve to be treated this way—and you can take a stand against the exploitative nature of the industry by opting out of dog sledding during your elopement!

2. Horses in horse-drawn carriages

Please do not use horse-drawn carriages in your wedding, or use horses for entertainment purposes! Horses are super sensitive to noise such as big crowds, fireworks, and loud music—which means that weddings are a nightmare for them. This overstimulation can cause them to panic and can lead to accidents, injuring themselves or the people around them. 

Besides the auditory factors, horse-drawn carriages are simply cruel tourist attractions that, in reality, involve unethical care and living environments for the horses. Forced to work long days and bear insanely heavy loads, horses are exposed to things like pollution, street noise, and all kinds of weather on a daily basis. Carriage drivers usually don’t spend a lot of time or money finding horses who are treated ethically and who are physically prepared to carry a 1,000-pound carriage, so they typically purchase horses who can’t work on farms anymore. These long hours working on hard surfaces can also damage the horses hooves and cause intense pain with every step.

Want to contribute to the elimination of horse-drawn carriages in your city (if they’re still allowed)? You can contact your local legislators to ask if they’ll sponsor a ban. And if you want to learn more about the cruelty of horse-drawn carriages + why they should be left in the past, here are two great articles by PETA and the Animal Welfare Institute!

3. Alpacas/llamas

We’ve alllll seen those trendy wedding photos with llamas and alpacas wearing ties, flowers, and posing next to wedding guests. Right? I mean just think back to the llama and alpaca craze of the 2010’s! Both llamas and alpacas are super important to South American culture, and unfortunately became an animal for humans to make profits of—using their fleece for clothing, furniture, etc. 

While I can’t deny that they’re ADORABLE, and I totally see the appeal, I can tell you that the craziness of wedding environments often lead llamas to be uncared for, not well fed, and stressed out. Leave the llamas and alpacas out of these situations so they don’t get hurt (or hurt someone else), and go visit them at an (ethical) petting zoo instead! Or just have cute illustrations of llamas in your decor.

4. Burros/donkeys

Ever heard of the “beer burro” trend? Yup, these are literally burros (donkeys) that carry beer and other drinks around at a wedding. Donkeys are often used for labor, yes, but it’s not kind to force this type of unnecessary labor on them just for the sake of being “on trend.”

When you include a wild animal like a donkey in your wedding, there’s always the risk of bites, kicks, and injuries to either the donkey or the people around it. Just think about your drunk wedding guests getting a stupid idea and trying to ride or harass the donkey… they don’t deserve that!

5. Butterflies

Butterfly releases are so common that you might not even realize the harmful impact they can have! They’re beautiful to watch, and animal releases like this have become very symbolic over the years, similar to the ceremony of releasing doves (also not great). But in reality, these releases are pretty cruel to the butterflies, and can actually have wider environmental implications.

To start with, butterfly releases involve keeping butterflies trapped in boxes for long periods of time; time in which they often rattle inside of the boxes and fly against the sides to try and escape 🙁 If you don’t properly box them up with air holes, they will have no ventilation and can easily die before you even get to your ceremony (yes, this actually happens and it’s heartbreaking). 

Butterflies are often abused even before the wedding day, trapped in small envelopes and coolers to force them into a state of dormancy while they’re shipped long distances. After going through this poor (usually traumatic) handling, many butterflies don’t even survive or are unable to fly once they’re “released.”

Finally, the release of butterflies that have been bred in captivity can disrupt migratory patterns and behavior of wild butterflies. So not only do butterfly releases harm the butterflies: they can harm the environment and the ecosystem. 

6. Icelandic horses/ponies

Ugh, this is a rough one. Just a quick Google search of “Iceland horse cruelty” brings up countless articles about welfare violations and “blood farms.” These are farms that cruelly extract a hormone from pregnant horses, then converting it into powder to ship around the world for profit and use in the reproduction of other female farm animals. 

This process is incredibly abusive and, unfortunately, very common; in 2024, there were still 90 blood farms in Iceland that housed over 4,000 mares. And to make things even worse, the mares usually end up slaughtered once they’re done providing blood for up to ten weeks. If you’re eloping in Iceland, I recommend finding an adventure that doesn’t involve the use of horses that may be abused in this way!

7. Elephants

If you’ve ever traveled to Southeast Asia (or seen photos online), you might know that riding elephants is a popular tourist activity—and, unfortunately, a very abusive one. The same goes for involving elephants in weddings, which is still somehow a thing in a few US states. When elephants are forced to perform in a noisy, unfamiliar atmosphere, it is extremely stressful for them and they’re often chained up for long periods of time. So if you’re an elephant lover, maybe just get your elephant fill by watching Dumbo the night before your wedding instead!

8. Fish

Listen, I know that fishing is an incredibly common hobby and is often necessary to sustain life in certain locations, cultures, and lifestyles! But please do not go sport fishing on your wedding or elopement day just for fun and entertainment. Causing pain and suffering to fish (even if you “catch and release”) just isn’t the way to kick off your marriage! 

How to Safely + Responsibly Include Animals in Your Wedding

If you’re wondering how you can safely, responsibly, and ethically incorporate your love for animals into your elopement or wedding, here are 3 great ways to do so!

Donate to causes that support ethical animal treatment

Instead of compromising your values and ethics by including wild animals in your elopement or wedding, consider donating to a relevant cause you believe in! Maybe this means requesting donations from guests to contribute to a local animal shelter, wildlife sanctuary, or anti-animal cruelty organizations like PETA.

Here’s a great example! This couple set up their wedding industry with a local animal sanctuary that was in need of funding, so instead of contributing to a honeymoon fund or asking their guests for material items, guests were able to donate to the sanctuary, buy animal-related items like feeders and beds, and even sponsor an animal. Such a cool way to encourage their guests to have compassion for these animals and to support a cause that really aligned with their values!  

Include animals in your theme + decor, not IRL

Wanna include illustrations of llamas, horses, or butterflies in your decor? Go crazy! I love animal-themed elopements and weddings where drawings of your pets are included on your invites, birds or insects are hand-painted on your dinner menus, or you have a butterfly pin in your hair. Consider keeping animals and wildlife 2D instead of physically including them!

This is also a great idea if you want to leave your pets at home, but have them there with you in spirit. A few ways you could do this:

• Get custom-made cake toppers in the shape of your pet
• Name your custom cocktails after your pets
• Include hand-drawn illustrations of your pet’s faces in your stationery, decor, etc.
• Get a cardboard cutout of your pet’s face and pose for portraits with it
• Mention them in your vows!

Bring your own pets

Many couples ask me about bringing their own pets to their elopement, and I always say the same thing: if you’re comfortable with it and your PET will be comfortable with it, then be my guest! You know your pets well, and domesticated animals like cats and dogs are typically more adaptable to scenarios like elopements or weddings. 

However, you still need to put the welfare of your animal before anything else. If you know they get easily stressed when outside, in noisy or crowded areas, or when traveling, it might be better to leave them at home. If you do bring your pet(s), make sure you are prepared to keep them well-fed, comfortable, safe, and happy—and that you have the supplies you need to clean up after them.

But remember, even the most well-behaved, domesticated pets can be unpredictable in unfamiliar environments/crowds—so do this at your own risk!

(I’m a cat/kitten mom, sooo of course I wrote a guide with 8 Adorable Ways to Include Your Cat(s) In Your Elopement that you should def read)

I hope this blog post taught you why it’s so important to consider animal welfare, and to NOT use mistreated animals in your elopement or wedding! I will always stand firm in my beliefs and advocate for YOU to do the same on your special day!

Planning an elopement in line with your values, beliefs, and ethics is so rewarding, and will make for such a better experience for ya in the long run. And if you liked this blog, I think you’ll also enjoy the one I wrote about how to Leave No Trace with your adventure elopement!

Reach out about your animal-free elopement now and let’s plan the best, most ethically-responsible day ever 🙂