Chained and Battered ‘Orca’ Rattles Manchester TUI Store Over Dolphin Prison Ticket Sales

Manchester – Shoppers in Manchester – home to one of TUI’s largest operating bases – got an eyeful today when a PETA supporter dressed as a bruised, crying ‘orca’ was chained to suitcases outside the TUI store, highlighting that orcas and other marine mammals are exploited for entertainment at cruel facilities that hold them captive – and TUI profits from their misery. The action was part of a series of coordinated rallies held at TUI outlets across the UK today, blasting the travel company for being the last major travel provider selling tickets to facilities such as SeaWorld and Loro Parque.

More photos are available here.

“Marine abusement parks like SeaWorld and Loro Parque condemn aquatic animals to a lifetime in a tiny tank, where they’re denied any opportunity to dive deep, swim fast, or have any semblance of a natural life,” says PETA Senior Campaigns Manager Kate Werner. “PETA is calling on TUI to catch up with the rest of the travel industry and stop propping up marine mammal misery.”

In nature, orcas and other dolphins live in large, complex social groups and swim vast distances every day in the open ocean.  But at cruel facilities like SeaWorld and Loro Parque, they spend their days floating listlessly or swimming in circles in tanks comparable in size to a human living in a bathtub. Most die far short of their natural life span, and they often suffer from distressing health conditions that perpetuate their misery.

PETA supporters also descended upon TUI stores in Edinburgh and Birmingham today, urging the company to stop supporting orca abuse and join the growing number of major travel companies – including Jet2, EasyJet, and Virgin Atlantic – that have stopped promoting dolphin prisons.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment” – points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and fear, an orca is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow PETA on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.

Contact:

Lucy Watson +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]

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