Do: Join a whale-watching tour in Canada

Canada has a vast coastline and pristine, nutrient-rich waters, and it leads the way in responsible whale-watching practices, including using carbon-neutral boats. Kayak alongside orcas in Vancouver, get up close to more than 50,000 belugas in Manitoba, and marvel at blue whales leaping up the St Lawrence River in Quebec. It’s not just Canada, of course. In Australia, Tasmania’s Maria Island and Rottnest Island off the coast of Perth both see enormous migrations of humpback whales. Closer to home, make for Tai O and join a tour to spot Hong Kong’s rare pink bottlenose dolphins.

Don’t: Go to an animal cafe in Tokyo

Hedgehogs, owls, goats, even meerkats, lizards and snakes have all featured as a part of Japan’s craze for animal cafes – the epitome of kawaii cuteness, right? Wrong. For one, hedgehogs and owls are nocturnal, and don’t like to be handled. Doing so can lead to them becoming stressed, depressed and ill. There’s also the worry of where exotic species may have come from in the first place – and what might happen if the cafe closes down.

Do: Get up close at an animal rescue centre

There are a number of fantastic animal sanctuaries scattered around Asia’s tourist centres, all in need of support and donations to continue their good work. In Cambodia, there’s the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity, which rescues and rehabilitates endangered species – leopard cats, Asian civets, silver langurs – and Free the Bears, a rambling compound filled with sun and moon bears, located a 90-minute drive south of Phnom Penh. Phuket has the Gibbon Rehabilitation Centre, and Borneo’s numerous nature reserves, including Semenggoh, allow you to hang out with rescued and orphaned orangutans.

Don’t: Snap a selfie with a tiger in south east asia

Tiger photo ops have become popular in the last few years. But tigers are not big cuddly cats; they are wild animals – even if they have been raised in captivity. For tigers to interact with humans in this way they need to be drugged, declawed or both. Many tourists who sign up don’t realise that the animals are kept in poor conditions: small cages where cubs are often taken from their mothers far too early. If you can stroke it, hug it, or take a photo with it, there is likely to be some cruelty involved.