The British travel company will stop selling tickets to SeaWorld in Florida or Loro Parque in Tenerife
One of the biggest holiday providers in the United Kingdom, Thomas Cook, has announced new measures in their animal welfare policy. From summer next year, the firm will stop selling tickets to any animal attractions that don’t comply with the minimum animal welfare guidelines set by the Association of British Travel Agents.
Over past 18 months, the company has been cooperating with various animal treatment specialists from whom they have obtained scientific evidence. They have also surveyed their customers about their opinion on animal welfare.
From 49 animal attractions the company has audited, they have removed 29 that didn’t fit the requirements. These attractions include, for example, SeaWorld in Florida, or Loro Parque in Tenerife.
“Today we are announcing a new addition to our animal welfare policy. From next summer, we will no longer sell any animal attractions that keep orcas in captivity,” said the company CEO, Peter Fankhauser, in his blog post.
“This was not a decision we took lightly. We always said that we would continue to review our policy, conscious that the more we got into this area, the more we would learn, and conscious also of changing customer sentiment. We have actively engaged with a range of animal welfare specialists in the last 18 months, and taken account of the scientific evidence they have provided.”
“We have also taken feedback from our customers, more than 90% of whom told us that it was important that their holiday company takes animal welfare seriously. That has led us to the decision we have taken today.”
