by Lottie Allen
The American travel
and restaurant website company ‘TripAdvisor’ have announced a new policy to
stop selling tickets of any commercial facility which breeds or imports
cetaceans for public display.
It is an extension of
the company’s animal welfare initiative of 2016 which banned ticket sales to
destinations where travellers come into physical contact with captive wild
animals, e.g. elephant rides or tiger petting experiences and prohibited ticket
sales to ‘demeaning animal shows and performances’. A recent survey of over
5,000 TripAdvisor travellers showed 42% believed cetaceans should not be kept
in captivity for any reason, while over 80% believed they should not be kept in
captivity for entertainment purposes.
As president of
TripAdvisor’s experiences & rentals, Dermot Halpin said in a statement:
“Whales & dolphins do not thrive in limited captive environments, & we
hope to see a future where they live as they should: free & in the wild.”
He continued to say: “We believe the current generation of whales &
dolphins in captivity should be the last, and we look forward to seeing this
position adopted more widely throughout the travel industry.” It will come into
effect at the end of this year.
In response to this,
SeaWorld’s chief zoological officer, Chris Dold reportedly said he was
“disappointed by TripAdvisor’s new position that ignores the educational value
and conservation mission of professionally accredited zoos and aquariums.”
After the 2013 award-winning, film documentary ‘Blackfish’, they suffered a
major decline in attendance which lead to a decline of 84% from the net $37.4
million in 2014 to $5.8 million in 2015. However, last year’s attendance was up
by 15% for every quarter.
While some activists
have expressed concerns that the policy that TripAdvisor has introduced will
not be enough since it will not apply to seaside sanctuaries which provide care
for animals already in captivity, the company has been given a great deal of
praise. As a company which serves about 490 million travellers a month, this
will have a significant effect & sets an example for other large-scale
businesses to adopt a similar mentality.
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