Protest against dolphin cruelty at Expedia Group HQ

We visited the offices of Expedia Group HQ in Central London to let them know in person that it is not OK to profit from the suffering of 600 dolphins in captivity at 48 entertainment venues across the globe.

Our protesters paraded a life-sized dolphin on a stretcher between the travel giant’s two offices in Islington. An actor carrying a briefcase full of ‘dolphin cruelty dollars’ highlighted the profits the company makes out of animal cruelty

On the day 350 members of the public signed postcards addressed to Expedia Group, calling on them to make this the last generation of captive dolphins which our team handed in to Expedia Group at the end of the day.

260,000 of you have already signed our petition and 40,000 of you wrote to them directly, but Expedia Group is still selling tickets to cruel captive dolphin venues.

Sales to these venues maintain the suffering of over 600 dolphins in cruel conditions, making Expedia Group a significant driver of the captive dolphin industry.

Dolphins are powerful marine predators, that in their natural environment, swim and hunt 100 square kilometres of ocean freely, sometimes much more. But held in tiny barren, concrete tanks 200k times smaller than their natural space, exposed to infection and chemicals and often drugged to cope with captivity – they sadly can only swim a few metres at a time. The anxiety and stress can cause them to self-mutilate and become aggressive – all in the name of entertainment and profit.

Katheryn Wise, World Animal Protection’s wildlife campaigns manager, said: “Travel giants like Expedia Group hide behind a carefully constructed façade of wholesome family fun to lure unsuspecting, animal-loving tourists into support of the cruel captive dolphin industry. The industry generates billions of dollars by perpetuating the myth that captive dolphins are happy to be confined to a tiny, barren, artificial environment where they perform circus tricks in exchange for food. The tragedy of this is that dolphins are highly intelligent, social animals who suffer every day in captivity – this isn’t a life, it is a life sentence.

“Other major travel brands like TripAdvisor and Virgin Holidays have already committed to end the sale of tickets to captive dolphin venues, sending a clear message to other companies that this cruel industry must end once and for all. As one of the last travel giants still selling tickets to captive dolphin venues Expedia Group risks being on the wrong side of history. We must make this the last generation of dolphins in captivity.”

Dolphins are highly intelligent, social animals who suffer every day in captivity – this isn’t a life, it is a life sentence