Tenerife – Ahead of his upcoming concert in Leeds (12 July), long-time PETA supporter, musician, and activist Morrissey sent an urgent letter to Jet2holidays CEO Steve Heapy calling on him to drop marine parks that keep orcas and other dolphins in captivity from the Leeds-headquartered company’s holiday packages.
In his letter, Morrissey explains how, in nature, orcas find their own food, socialise in complex groups, and explore up to 150 miles of ocean every day. Yet in marine abusement parks like Loro Parque in Tenerife, which Jet2holidays promotes, they are confined to cramped tanks. “These watery hellholes can never come close to replicating the complex needs of marine animals,” he writes.
He goes on to explain how bottlenose dolphins suffer in captivity, too.
“Day in and day out, these animals can do little else but swim in endless circles. They’re even forced to perform demeaning tricks in exchange for food. Anyone who thinks that’s entertainment needs to get their head checked. And anyone who profits from this abuse should be ashamed.”
Morrissey joins nearly 40,000 PETA supporters who have urged Jet2holidays to drop marine parks from its itineraries, and he concludes his letter with a poignant message to Heapy: “It’s never too late to do the right thing. Be on the right side of history and cut ties with any facility that exploits these majestic animals.”
Jet2holidays is one of the last remaining travel providers to profit from dolphin abuse. After hearing from PETA entities, major travel companies – including Expedia, Tripadvisor, Thomas Cook, Virgin Atlantic Holidays, British Airways Holidays, Club Med, Airbnb, and Booking.com – have stopped selling tickets to places that keep orcas and other dolphins in tanks.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Contact:
Sascha Camilli +44 (0) 20 7923 6244; [email protected]
