Day of Action! Local Activists Demonstrate Outside Thomas Cook Stores Across the UK
Local activists demonstrated outside Thomas Cook stores across the UK today as part of a coordinated day of action to urge the company to stop supporting SeaWorld. In towns and cities from Scotland to the South West, activists held up signs and handed out leaflets informing passers-by that the travel provider supports orca abuse.
Thomas Cook continues to sell tickets to SeaWorld, despite being fully aware of the marine parks’ cruelty. At SeaWorld, orcas – who, in the wild, live in large, complex social groups and swim up to 100 miles a day – are confined to tiny concrete tanks. With no physical or psychological stimulation, these highly intelligent animals spend their days swimming in endless circles and gnawing on the bars of the tanks in frustration.
At least 41 orcas and dozens of other dolphins have died in captivity at SeaWorld’s parks. The most recent victim was a female orca named Kasatka, who died of a bacterial lung infection that she had been suffering from since at least 2008. Even though she was sick and on medication, SeaWorld artificially inseminated her again in 2011 and forced her to bear a fourth calf for the parks to exploit.
Thank you to all the activists who took part in the day of action. Here are some photos from demonstrations across the country:
- Barnstaple
- Bedford
- Burgess Hill
- Cardiff
- Edinburgh
- Huddersfield
- Hull
- Huntingdon
- Kingston
- Leeds
- Lincoln
- London, Islington
- Mansfield
- Middlesbrough
- Newcastle
- Potters Bar
- Sevenoaks
- Southend
- Stevenage
- Warrington
- York
If you have photos from a demonstration we haven’t included here, please send them to [email protected].
The day of action was part of PETA’s campaign calling on Thomas Cook to stop promoting SeaWorld. Other campaign highlights from recent weeks include the following:
- More than 18,000 PETA supporters e-mailed the company via our action alert
- Activists hung a giant “SeaWorld Kills” banner outside its London headquarters
- Activists also held a banner in front of its float in the Manchester Pride parade
- Two chained-up “orcas” visited stores across the UK to tell the company to “Stop Supporting Orca Prisons”
What You Can Do
If you haven’t already, please contact Thomas Cook now and ask it to sever ties with SeaWorld. You can also leave a polite comment on its Facebook page and call its customer service line on 01733 224 808.
You can also take part in the next day of action, which will be happening on October 7.
