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After years of campaigning by animal rights activists, Expedia has decided to cut sales of trips and activities involving cruel captive dolphin shows.
Expedia, the largest online travel platform in the United States, has removed captive dolphin shows from its website. It has adjusted its animal welfare policy after years of campaigning by NGOs, including PETA and World Animal Protection (WAP), and will no longer sell trips, attractions or activities involving performances and interactions with cetaceans.
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No more cruel animal performances
Places like SeaWorld and other “swim with the dolphins” encounters provide entertainment for humans, but the grim reality is that animals are kept away from their natural habitat.
Kept in confined tanks, dolphins, cetaceans and other marine mammals do not eat, socialize, breed, exercise, or behave naturally – and many need to be treated with ulcers and antidepressants because of their cruel living conditions and forced behavior. Dolphins and whales often die prematurely due to their stressful captive life.
After years of campaigning by animal welfare activists, Expedia has now updated its policy to reflect the harsh reality of animal performance shows. These include interactions with whales and dolphins and circus-style shows involving captive cetaceans, which are now all banned on the website.
Related: Ocean Park ends dolphin and sea lion exploitation spectacle after activist pressure
“More travel agencies must do the same”
Commenting on the news, WAP Programs Director Cameron Harsh said Expedia’s decision was “an important step towards ending dolphin cruelty and making the last generation of dolphins and whales captive for entertainment, “but urged” more travel agencies that have not yet taken this step, do the same.
“This is a huge victory for whales and dolphins around the world,” added Nick Stewart, WAP’s global wildlife manager. “We will not stop until the cruel commercial exploitation of dolphins and other wildlife is over forever. Dolphins are wild animals, not artists.
PETA also welcomed Expedia’s move, noting that the platform has now joined the ranks of Tripadvisor and Southwest Airlines, both of which have stopped selling tickets to marine mammal parks like SeaWorld.
“PETA applauds Expedia for officially rejecting the cruel ‘swim with the dolphins’ encounters and SeaWorld prisons,” said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges people to take notice and do their part in refusing to support such animal exploitation operations. “
All images are courtesy of Unsplash.
