Yes! Major Travel Agency to Stop Selling Tickets to SeaWorld Due to Animal Welfare Concerns

Attendance at the infamous marine animal theme park SeaWorld has been steadily declining in recent years, with visitor counts down by 5.5 percent as of 2017. This drop can largely be attributed to recent documentaries such as “Blackfish,” which have shown people the disturbing abuse to which captive marine animals are subjected at the infamous animal theme park chain.

Also playing a key role in turning people against SeaWorld, recent scientific research has confirmed the high intelligence of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) and revealed the extreme mental and emotional trauma these animals go through when held in captivity and forced to perform unnatural tricks for humans.

After decades of being kept in the dark about the many issues with SeaWorld, people are finally waking up and seeing this “park” for what it really is: a cruel operation that makes profits from exploiting animals and pays no mind to their welfare. 

Even more excitingly, people are now speaking out against SeaWorld and other marine parks, and travel agencies are beginning to pay attention. According to Thomas Cook, one of Britain’s biggest holiday firms, upwards of 90 percent of its customers have voiced concerns about lack of consideration for animal welfare at SeaWorld and similar parks that put wild animals on display.

In response, the vacation giant recently announced that, starting next summer, it will stop selling tickets to attractions that keep killer whales in captivity. As a result of this new policy, Thomas Cook will no longer offer trips to two parks which hold orcas captive for human entertainment: SeaWorld in Florida and Loro Parque, a zoo in Tenerife, Spain.

Peter Fankhauser, a chief executive of Thomas Cook, reportedly described the reasoning behind the company’s decision as follows: “We have actively engaged with a range of animal welfare specialists in the last 18 months, and taken account of the scientific evidence they have provided. We have also taken feedback from our customers, more than 90 percent of whom told us that it was important that their holiday company takes animal welfare seriously. And when so many of our customers are so clear in their view, I could not allow our business to ignore them.”

Prior to this latest move to align the company’s image with animal welfare, Thomas Cook had already done away with online promotions for SeaWorld in response to the public outcry that came after a captive orca named Kasatka became incurably sick at the park and had to be put down. Plus, the popular travel company removed 29 other attractions from its list of offerings after instating a new animal welfare policy 18 months ago.

As animal lovers, we are absolutely thrilled to hear that Thomas Cook is giving customers what they want by ending ticket sales for attractions that put profits over the well-being of animals! To learn how you can enjoy amazing aquatic creatures without supporting operations that imprison and exploit them, check out this article!

Image Source: Flickr