wild dolphins

You moved Expedia Group to stop selling cruel captive whale and dolphin activities 

News

Global online travel company Expedia Group has announced it will end its support for whale and dolphin interactions and circus-style performances by prohibiting their sale.

Thank you! This change of direction from Expedia Group is testament to your perseverance.

More than 350,000 World Animal Protection supporters around the world have been campaigning tirelessly on this issue since 2019, keeping up the pressure on the travel giant to do the right thing.

Melissa Matlow, Campaign Director, World Animal Protection Canada said:

Moving the largest travel company in the world to stop selling captive whale and dolphin experiences is no small feat but thanks to the dedicated advocacy of our supporters in Canada and around the world, we did it! I’m optimistic that we can end this cruel industry for good. This is a huge step towards our goal of making this the last generation of whales and dolphins suffering in captivity for entertainment.

Pictured: World Animal Protection Canada team campaigning on the streets.

Pictured: In January 2020, World Animal Protection Canada staff hit the streets to ask fellow Canadians to join our campaign urging Expedia to stop promoting and selling tickets to cruel dolphinariums.

Expedia Group joins other major travel brands like TripAdvisor, Virgin Holidays, British Airways Holidays, Booking.com, Transat, Air Canada, WestJet and Sunwing who have committed to no longer sell tickets to captive dolphin shows and encounters in response to our campaign.

While we continue to urge the travel industry to stop profiting from the exploitation of dolphins and whales, we are also moving governments to follow Canada’s lead and pass stronger laws to end the breeding and trade. The New South Wales Government in Australia is the most recent jurisdiction to ban dolphin breeding and the importation of dolphins to the state.

There is a global movement towards better treatment of dolphins and jurisdictions around the world are passing laws to ban or significantly restrict the captive display of marine mammals including Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, France, India, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland, UK, and most recently New South Wales in Australia.

This latest move by Expedia Group, will really help turn the tide, but there is still more work to do to put an end to this cruel industry for good. You can help, by encouraging your friends and family to pledge not to buy tickets to cruel wildlife attractions when they travel again. These pledges will help us make sure other travel companies follow Expedia Group’s lead.

Together, we can make this the last generation of dolphins in captivity.

Banner image credit: Raggy Charters

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