TripAdvisor and Airbnb Remove Dolphinariums from Their Offerings

An important step for marine mammals: this week and last, it became known that the internationally operating online travel services TripAdvisor, Airbnb and booking.com, following discussions with PETA USA, will remove dolphinariums from their offerings. Previously, Virgin Holidays, vtours, and other international travel providers and airlines such as British Airways had already made this landmark decision. PETA is calling on TUI to follow the example of these travel providers and not be the last company still selling tickets for dolphinariums and orca shows.

«TripAdvisor, booking.com and Airbnb now officially reject tourism to marine mammal prisons such as SeaWorld. This is another milestone on the path toward a future in which intelligent and social marine mammals are no longer confined to tiny tanks, but can live free and self-determined lives in the ocean with their families», says Dr. Tanja Breining, marine biologist and specialist advisor for fish and marine animals at PETA. The animal rights organisation is calling on TUI to do the same. «It is anything but a mark of quality for your company to persist in this animal cruelty», the biologist stated in her message to TUI CEO Joussen and the board members earlier this week.», the biologist stated in her message to TUI CEO Joussen and the board members earlier this week.

Background Information

An important step for marine mammals: This week and last week, it was announced that the internationally operating online travel services TripAdvisor, Airbnb, and booking.com, following discussions with PETA USA, will remove dolphinariums from their offerings. Previously, Virgin Holidays, vtours, and other international travel providers and airlines such as British Airways had also made this landmark decision. PETA calls on TUI to follow the example of these travel providers and not be the last company still selling tickets for dolphinariums and orca shows.

Marine mammals suffer in captivity

In a recent article in ZEIT, the captive keeping of orcas in zoos is described as “unreasonable,” “which has by now become such a consensus that even SeaWorld has decided to cease breeding”. Yet for the captive animals, nothing about their sad situation changes.

In the wild, marine mammals live in large family groups and travel up to 220 kilometres every day. At SeaWorld and Loro Parque, however, incompatible orcas are locked together in the same tank. Out of frustration and despair, the animals gnaw at the concrete walls of the tanks, ruining their teeth in the process. The dorsal fin of every male orca in captivity has also collapsed due to lack of movement. At least 41 orcas have already died under SeaWorld’s supervision, among other causes from the effects of pneumonia, intestinal disease, or cardiovascular failure. In the wild, orcas live to between 30 and over 100 years of age. In captivity, however, their average life expectancy is just 14 years. PETA calls on the parks to transfer their dolphins and killer whales to supervised sanctuaries in the sea.

Airbnb donates 100’000 dollars to PETA

Young parrots and monkeys are torn from their mothers to serve as photo props. Dolphins and orcas are kept in concrete cells and fed only when they perform tricks. Elephants are taken from their mothers so they can be trained and forced to let tourists ride on them. Following discussions with PETA, Airbnb has not only announced a new, stricter animal welfare policy for its booking category “Animal Encounters,” but has also donated 100’000 dollars to PETA’s campaigns against the exploitation of wildlife in the tourism sector.

Following the collaboration with the animal rights organization, the category «Animal Encounters» no longer includes any activities involving direct human contact with wild animals, such as elephant riding, photos with tigers, or «swimming with dolphins». Visits to SeaWorld or other parks that exploit marine mammals have also been removed.

Further information:
PETA.de/TUI-Petition
PETA.de/TUI