Animal welfare NGOs rally outside TUI’s Berlin HQ to demand end to dolphin cruelty

World Animal Protection, Born Free Foundation, PETA, Whale & Dolphin Conservation, Dolphin Project, World Cetacean Alliance, Jane Goodall Institute, WTG, Pro Wildlife, Marine Connection, One Voice, GAIA, FAADA, Orca Research Trust, and Deutscher Tierschutzbund are calling on TUI Group to end the sale and promotion of captive whale and dolphin entertainment venues.

Dolphins are highly intelligent, powerful marine predators that, in their natural environment, swim and hunt across vast swathes of the oceans. Bottlenose dolphins can swim 100km in a day, and some species cover much more.

But confined to tiny, barren, concrete tanks or shallow sea pens thousands of times smaller than their natural habitats, they can only swim a few metres at a time. The anxiety and stress, alongside the exposure to infections and chemicals, can cause them to become aggressive and even self-mutilate – all in the name of entertainment and profit. Many such animals are drugged as a result.

Protesters in Berlin held placards and a giant banner displaying 350,000 petition signatures gathered by the charities, alongside LED scooters displaying images of captive dolphins and calling on TUI Group to ‘Say No to the Dolphin Show’ once and for all.

Collectively, the charities have been campaigning for years for TUI Group to join the ever-increasing number of travel companies, including Virgin Holidays, Expedia Group, British Airways Holidays, Booking.com and Airbnb, along with governments and tourists, who are saying no to cruel captive dolphin entertainment. However, the TUI Group has continued to put profit over animal welfare.

Katheryn Wise, Wildlife Campaigns Manager at World Animal Protection, said: “Today we’re all here to show TUI Group that there is mass support for them to end the sale and promotion of captive dolphin venues. For years TUI Group has been saying it is reviewing its animal welfare policy for cetaceans and listening to stakeholders, but it is ignoring all of the current research that shows that whales and dolphins suffer in captivity. TUI says it wants to offer its customers choice but then present a glossy image of a leaping dolphin and talks about family fun and ‘the thrill’ of seeing ‘the world’s friendliest sea creatures’ up close. That’s not offering an informed choice, it is peddling animal cruelty for profit.

Veterinarian Dr Mark Jones, Head of Policy at the Born Free Foundation, said: “There is growing recognition among governments and tour operators that keeping dolphins and other marine mammals in captivity, and forcing them to perform unnatural tricks and interactions with tourists, seriously compromises their welfare, and serves no useful conservation or education purpose.

“By continuing to promote visits to captive dolphin venues to their customers, TUI is complicit in the suffering of highly intelligent and social animals for the sake of entertainment and profit. We call on TUI to do the right thing and to join the increasing number of travel companies that are removing these venues from their travel offering.”

For further information, follow #NoTanksTUI on social media, and check out Born Free’s Selfish Selfies campaign and Raise the Red Flag programme to see how you can help.