Dear Expedia / Mr A Washington,
I am contacting you because I am concerned about the welfare of dolphins and whales which are removed from the wild or bred in captivity for use in entertainment, and I am disappointed to learn that Expedia is promoting visits to facilities where captive cetaceans are used. I believe that the lives of these amazing animals are unnatural and the facilities are like a prison to them. I understand that captive cetaceans show abnormal behaviours indicative of stress, and they are likely to have a shortened life due to this. Captive tanks can never provide an adequate environment for animals that can swim up to 100 miles a day, nor enable them to live in the complex societies that they would be a part of in the wild. Some of the 'research' that is carried out in dolphinaria has little relevance to wild cetacean conservation, and public shows are not providing a meaningful educational experience for visitors. In addition they send out the message that it's alright to keep cetaceans captive to entertain us, when our increasing knowledge of their lives in the wild has taught us this is, surely, no longer acceptable. I am therefor asking tour operators to reconsider their promotion of dolphinaria, and ask for a reply about rectifying this situation. I have booked several flights / holidays through Expedia, and will strongly consider whether to do so again in the future. Kind regards, Verne Heath
2 Susans Close BN8 6QE.
12/12/2016 12:08:23 PM