Celebrities and animal welfare organization World Animal Protection have called on travel giant TUI Group to put an end to the sale and promotion of tours and activities that use captive dolphins for entertainment. In an open letter signed by celebrities including Alesha Dixon, Bella Ramsey, Deborah Meaden, Evanna Lynch, Gail Porter, Joanna Lumley, Jane Fallon, Mark Watson, Sarah Jane Morris, Richa Moorjani and Rou Reynolds, TUI Group is urged to join the growing movement of companies, governments, and tourists who are saying no to such cruel and exploitative attractions.
Dolphins are highly intelligent and powerful marine predators, known for swimming and hunting across vast areas of the ocean. However, when confined to small, barren, concrete tanks, they are exposed to infection, chemicals, and often drugged to cope with captivity. In these conditions, dolphins can only swim a few meters at a time in any direction, causing them anxiety, stress, and even self-mutilation and aggression. Despite this, TUI Group continues to profit from the suffering of at least 400 dolphins held captive at around 25 entertainment venues.
Alesha Dixon, singer, author, and TV personality, said, “TUI, you are the last major tour operator in the UK selling tickets to dolphin entertainment. Dolphins are not entertainers; they are sentient wild animals. Enough is enough. Join the other tour operators and stop profiting from this cruelty.”
Deborah Meaden, businessperson and TV personality, added, “I really can’t believe in this day and age we still have to point out the cruelty. Do the right thing, TUI, and do as your competitors have done and stop selling tickets to these cruel and exploitative attractions.”
Evanna Lynch, actor and World Animal Protection Global Ambassador, stated, “It is truly shameful that TUI is still choosing to take part in such an obviously cruel and outdated practice as captive dolphin ‘entertainment’. TUI, it’s time to do the right thing and stop putting profit over animal welfare.”
Richa Moorjani, actor and World Animal Protection Global Ambassador, also expressed disappointment, saying, “It’s deeply disappointing to see TUI still promoting dolphin performances. These intelligent creatures deserve to live in their natural habitats, not confined for human amusement. It’s time to end this cruelty and make compassionate choices.”
Despite the growing movement against captive dolphin entertainment, TUI Group continues to prioritize profit over animal welfare. In March 2024, easyJet holidays announced that they would not sell tickets to any captive wildlife attractions, including captive cetacean venues. A few days later, Jet2holidays also announced that they would stop selling tickets to captive dolphin venues. Other major travel companies, such as Virgin Holidays, Expedia Group, Booking.com, and Airbnb, have long since committed to never selling tickets for such cruel and exploitative attractions.
Furthermore, countries such as Canada, France, Brussels, and New South Wales have all banned the keeping of whales and dolphins in captivity. The Dutch travel association ANVR and South Africa’s SATSA have also stated that captive cetacean entertainment is unacceptable in their guidelines for member organizations. In the UK, strict regulations have ensured that there have been no cetaceans in captivity for over 30 years.
Tricia Croasdell, CEO of World Animal Protection, said, “The longer that influential companies like TUI Group continue promoting and selling tickets to captive dolphin entertainment, the worse the problem becomes. Selling tickets to such venues means more whales and dolphins are being bred into environments where they will never be able to thrive or carry out their natural behaviors. TUI has said that they know it is controversial and that more of their customers would rather see wild animals in the wild, so why are they stalling on this? The only reason can be profit, and it is inexcusable for a multi-million-pound company to put profit before compassion.
“We need to make this the last generation of dolphins in captivity, and we need companies like TUI Group to stop propping up the industry before that can happen.”
Join the movement and call on TUI Group to end the sale and promotion of venues that use dolphins for entertainment, so that we can ensure this is the last generation of dolphins in captivity.
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Notes to Editor
To read the full letter, please click here.
Earlier this month, World Animal Protection, along with 14 other animal welfare organizations, held a protest outside TUI Group’s Berlin headquarters and presented a combined petition of 350,000 signatures from the general public who see the huge role TUI Group plays in perpetuating this cruel and outdated form of entertainment – which means a lifetime of these intelligent wild animals confined to tiny, barren tanks performing circus tricks for food.
