Expedia Dumps SeaWorld, ‘Swim With Dolphins’ Ticket Sales After PETA Campaign

For Immediate Release:
November 5, 2021

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

After five years of meetings with and pressure from PETA and after hearing from hundreds of thousands of PETA supporters, locally based travel company Expedia has stopped selling tickets to SeaWorld and to “swim with dolphins” encounters, updating its wildlife policy to “prohibit activities that feature interactions with or performances by dolphins, whales, and other cetaceans.” The change comes just after PETA encouraged its supporters to flood Expedia Brands’ president, Jon Gieselman, with calls and messages.

“PETA congratulates Expedia for officially rejecting cruel ‘swim with dolphins’ encounters and SeaWorld prisons,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges people to take note and do their part by refusing to support such animal-exploiting operations.”

In “swim with” programs, dolphins are confined to barren tanks or makeshift lagoons with no choice but to swim in endless circles. Many die prematurely because of the stressful conditions of captivity. At SeaWorld prisons, orcas are subjected to a lifetime of deprivation, while other dolphins and whales are forcibly bred, sometimes after being drugged.

Dozens of companies—including Tripadvisor and Southwest Airlines—have stopped selling tickets to SeaWorld and other marine mammal parks. Other companies—such as Mastercard and Savings.com—ended “swim with dolphins” promotions long ago after learning about the cruelty inherent in keeping sensitive, intelligent cetaceans captive.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit SeaWorldOfHurt.com or follow PETA on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

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