WildChoices is a non-profit company dedicated to improving the state of the captive wildlife tourism industry. We assist local and international tour operators, agents, and individual travelers to make informed choices about captive wildlife tourism facilities in South Africa.
FACT: 142 (63%) of the 226 captive wildlife tourism facilities in South Africa, when assessed against industry standards based on sound ethics and good practices, fall into Avoid (Unacceptable).
Our Team
Brett and Gavin were instrumental in the development of the SATSA Captive Wildlife Attractions & Activities Guidelines and Decision Tool as the South African tourism industry standard for ethical captive wildlife tourism.
They founded WildChoices in 2021 to advance their shared goal of improving the state of the global captive wildlife tourism industry, and their website launched in March 2022. WildChoices NPC was incorporated as a South African non-profit company in April 2023 with registration number 2023/705587/08.
Brooke joined WildChoices in April 2023 as a director of the newly incorporated WildChoices NPC.
Gavin Reynolds
Director
Gavin is a dynamic and accomplished business professional with a diverse range of talents and expertise. He has a wealth of experience in the tourism industry and a passion for wildlife and nature. He holds an EMBA from the University of Cape Town’s Global School of Business and more recently completed a short course in Foundations of Animal Law through the Law Faculty at the University of Johannesburg.
Brooke Friswold
Director
Brooke is a wildlife conservation biologist and Regional Director, Africa with Bring the Elephant Home and on the Board of Directors for the Elephant Conservation and Research Fund. She is a PhD researcher in elephant behavior and conservation management in both South Africa and Thailand. She aims to improve the ethics and success of wildlife management interventions and to encourage sustainable wildlife tourism practices based on scientific research.
Brett Mitchell
Director
Brett is an elephant expert of 25yrs+ and full-time conservationist. He is founder of the Elephant Reintegration Trust and developed a successful model for reintegrating captive elephants back into the wild. He has worked in the tourism industry for over 20 years.