Asda Cuts Ties With SeaWorld

A while back, supermarket retailer Asda told us that it was dropping promotions of SeaWorld, following in the footsteps of STA Travel, Mattel and many other companies that have chosen not to be associated with the abuse of orcas at the unethical marine park.

However, confusingly, the company’s online travel website, Asda Travel, continued to advertise trips to SeaWorld in Florida. Thousands of compassionate people wrote to Asda and asked it to make this right – but received only evasive answers about third-party travel providers.

But now Asda’s head office has confirmed that with the closure of Asda Travel, the retailer no longer has any affiliation with SeaWorld. This is one more piece of good news in the campaign to stop intelligent, sensitive orcas from being kept in concrete tanks for their entire lives.

As more and more companies refuse to have anything to do with SeaWorld, the franchise is losing business and struggling to sell tickets. Thanks to the groundbreaking documentary Blackfish, compassionate people are also choosing to stay away after learning just how much the animals kept prisoner at SeaWorld suffer.

As a result, SeaWorld has been forced to make concessions – including announcing that it will no longer force animals to perform in circus-style shows – but they are not nearly enough. Captivity will always be psychologically damaging to huge marine mammals who, in the wild, swim up to 100 miles a day across vast stretches of ocean.

If you see any other companies promoting trips to SeaWorld, please write to them and ask them to stop endorsing orca abuse.