TravelBrands Pulls the Plug on SeaWorld Affiliation

Canadian Travel Company Cuts Ties With Marine Abusement Park After PETA Push

For Immediate Release:
January 24, 2017

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

A box of delicious vegan chocolates is on its way to TravelBrands as a thank-you from PETA for the company’s recent decision to remove SeaWorld from its list of suppliers. The Mississauga-based travel business made the call after learning from PETA that orcas suffer physically and psychologically when they’re confined to tiny tanks, where they float listlessly, break their teeth by gnawing on concrete walls, and die prematurely.

“SeaWorld’s ship is sinking because kind travelers around the world are refusing to support the confinement of sensitive, intelligent animals for human amusement,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “As forward-thinking businesses like TravelBrands continue to cut ties with the company, PETA is calling on the park to retire the orcas it holds captive to seaside sanctuaries.”

TravelBrands joins JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, STA Travel, Virgin America, World Travel Guide, and dozens of other companies in bailing on SeaWorld. Since the release of the documentary Blackfish, attendance at the abusement park has dropped, its stock has plummeted, hundreds of employees have been laid off, and the state of California has prohibited the captive breeding of orcas.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that if the remaining orcas were moved to a seaside sanctuary, they could be rehabilitated and would finally have the opportunity to swim freely and engage in natural behavior with minimal human interaction.

For more information, please visit SeaWorldOfHurt.com.