Cetacean Experts Unite, Urge Jet2holidays to Stop Promoting Cruel Marine Parks
Cetacean Experts Unite, Urge Jet2holidays to Stop Promoting Cruel Marine Parks
London – Following the death of yet another captive orca – Moana, aged 12, who was imprisoned at Marineland in Antibes, France, a facility Jet2holidays promotes – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and more than half a dozen scientists, conservationists, and organisations who specialise in cetacean welfare rushed a letter (available here) to Jet2holidays CEO Steve Heapy, calling him out for “failing to take a stand against animal suffering” by continuing to sell tickets to marine abusement parks that keep orcas and other dolphins captive for entertainment.
Signees include World Animal Protection, Born Free Foundation, World Cetacean Alliance, Humane Society International/UK, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, and Marine Connection.
“It is impossible for an amusement park to provide captive cetaceans with a life comparable to that which these far-ranging marine mammals would experience in nature,” the groups write. “Whales and dolphins held in cramped concrete tanks for tourist entertainment suffer every day and are denied the opportunity to engage in natural behaviour like diving deep, swimming long distances, or choosing a mate.”
The letter further points out that “Jet2holidays is on the wrong side of history” by highlighting that dozens of leading travel companies, like Expedia, British Airways Holidays, Virgin Atlantic Holidays, and Club Med, have already taken the compassionate step to end their association with marine parks. Signees conclude by urging Jet2holidays to “drop all marine park promotions and immediately end ticket sales”.
This is the latest step in PETA’s campaign urging Jet2holidays to remove marine parks from its itineraries. PETA US previously bought shares in the company in order to put pressure on decision-makers in the boardroom, and last month, a PETA US representative spoke at Jet2’s annual meeting, calling on the company to cut ties with facilities that keep orcas and other dolphins in watery prisons.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, or Instagram.
Contact:
Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]
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