TripAdvisor Pulls Plug on SeaWorld Ticket Sales
New Pro-Animal Policy Locks Out Captive Cetacean Displays After PETA Talks
For Immediate Release:
October 2, 2019
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Three years ago, TripAdvisor took a bold step in ending its promotions of elephant rides, tiger encounters, “swim with dolphins” excursions, and many other animal attractions. Today, the company has announced that it will no longer sell tickets to any attraction that breeds or imports captive cetaceans for public display, the most well-known of which is SeaWorld. The move follows a consultation process that involved PETA. TripAdvisor has stated that the goal of its policy is to help ensure that the current generation of cetaceans in captivity is the last.
“TripAdvisor has officially rejected tourism to marine mammal prisons like SeaWorld, where sensitive, complex, far-ranging aquatic animals are kept in tiny tanks,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “TripAdvisor is rightly rejecting animal-exploiting operations, and PETA is calling on tourists and all other travel companies to do the same.”
In nature, orcas and bottlenose dolphins can swim up to 140 miles and 60 miles per day, respectively; dive to depths well over 1,000 feet below the ocean’s surface; and maintain dynamic relationships within large social networks. At SeaWorld, 140 dolphins are squeezed into just seven small tanks and can’t escape attacks from other frustrated, aggressive dolphins. A recent expert report revealed that many dolphins at SeaWorld have open wounds and extensive scarring—yet trainers still ride on their backs and stand on their faces during sea circus performances. PETA has documented chronic animal welfare violations, neglect, and premature deaths at SeaWorld, Loro Parque, and numerous other operations now affected by this policy.
TripAdvisor joins a long list of companies—including British Airways, Virgin Holidays, United Airlines, and Thomas Cook—that have stopped promoting SeaWorld.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview that fosters violence toward other animals. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
