Lockdown never ends for captive whales and dolphins, thanks to holiday providers like TUI.
In April 2022, we met with TUI to present our petition and 20,000 signatures to explore how we can help them become a positive force for whales and dolphins.
What is the problem?
After more than a year of lockdowns, we know what it feels like to have our world shrink and our freedom taken away.
But whales and dolphins are still captured from the wild, kept in tanks that are far too small for their needs, and made to perform for our entertainment.
Thanks to your support we have already persuaded Virgin Holidays, British Airways, TripAdvisor and others to stop supporting this cruelty.
We need to persuade TUI to join them.
Meet some of the real whales and dolphins held at 'attractions' supported by TUI
Find out more about our campaign
Click/tap on the Dive Deeper button below
Lockdown never ends for captive whales and dolphins
There are around 3,600 whales, dolphins and porpoises in captivity worldwide, This includes more than 3,000 dolphins and around 366 belugas and 57 orcas. Many of these individuals have families in the wild while others have been bred in captivity and have never even seen the sea.
1. Captivity is cruel, with severe consequences for individual's health
Whales and dolphins continue to be captured from the wild and kept in tanks that are far too small for their needs where they are made to perform for our entertainment. But they are inherently social creatures and like us, their mental health suffers when they are denied social contact with other individuals.
We surveyed the UK public* and found that 62% of people think it’s unacceptable to keep whales and dolphins in tanks and less than a third (31%) think that watching captive whales and dolphins is good entertainment.
The power is in our hands. We have the choice say no to trips to these facilities when they are offered as part of a holiday package.
2. We know what it’s like to feel trapped in our own homes.
In response to our survey, 74% of people said they are happy to be gaining more freedom now that lockdown is easing and 44% said they felt more empathy for captive whales and dolphins now they have experienced lockdown.
Why should dolphins, porpoises and whales suffer lockdown for their entire lives, in the name of human entertainment?
3. Holiday companies like TUI perpetuate the cruelty of captivity.
With your support, we have campaigned successfully to persuade travel giants such as Virgin Holidays, British Airways and TripAdvisor to cut their ties with whale and dolphin captivity. But TUI, the world's biggest tour operator, continues to help keep the cruel industry alive.
Over a quarter (28%) of people who have visited a facility that displays captive whales and dolphins in the past ten years said they had done so because it was recommended to them by a holiday company or travel rep, or on a cruise.
Join us in putting pressure on TUI to pledge to only work with attractions that commit to our phase-out model of no performances, no breeding, no captures, no trade, and support for sanctuaries.
#LockdownNever Ends for whales and dolphins in captivity. It’s time to end this cruel practice. Let’s make this generation of captive whales and dolphins the last.
Share the campaign and use the hashtag #LockdownNeverEnds to show your support for ending captivity.
*a nationally representative sample of 2,000 people took part in the survey carried out by OnePoll on behalf of WDC.
The story so far...
April 2022
We hand over our petition to senior TUI staff and discuss TUI's support for cruel whale and dolphin captivity. TUI tell us that they are reviewing their animal welfare policy and have already stopped business with several captive dolphin attractions.
2021
2012-2021
2020
French law to phase out whale and dolphin captivity is proposed for discussion in parliament in 2021.
2020
Canada outlaws holding whales and dolphins in captivity.
2019
2019
2018
Thomas Cook announces it is dropping all captive orca attractions.
2017
Thomas Cook announces it is dropping some dolphin attractions from its books.
2017
Virgin announces they won't take on any new attractions that feature captive whales and dolphins for theatrical shows, contact sessions (such as swim-with-the-dolphins experiences) or other entertainment purposes.
2015
2014
2014
Days after we launch our campaign, Virgin announces it will no longer work with facilities who buy whales and dolphins captured from the wild and invites others in the tourism industry to sign up to this pledge too.
2014
2013
Game-
2013
1993
The UK’s last captive attraction closes its doors after a government review, in part triggered by our 1987 report, calls for minimum standards covering factors such as pool size, feeding, water quality and handling which proved financially unviable for facilities.
1987
WDCS (as we were), together with Born Free, exposes the terrible conditions whales and dolphins, like Winnie the orca at Windsor Safari Park (pictured), are kept in at attractions in the UK.
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