TripAdvisor will no longer sell tickets to or generate revenue from any attraction that breeds or imports whales, dolphins or porpoises for public display, the company announced Wednesday.
Moving forward, any commercial facility that does so will be banned from sale on TripAdvisor and Viator. However, the crackdown will not apply to seaside sanctuaries providing care to cetaceans already in captivity.
The travel platform plans to remove products found to be in breach of its new policy in the coming months. The policy will take full effect by the end of 2019, TripAdvisor said.
SeaWorld is one such company likely to be affected by TripAdvisor's new policy.
"The extensive evidence presented to us by the experts was compelling. Whales and dolphins do not thrive in limited captive environments, and we hope to see a future where they live as they should-free and in the wild," said Dermot Halpin, President, TripAdvisor Experiences and Rentals, in a statement accompanying Wednesday's announcement. "We believe the current generation of whales and dolphins in captivity should be the last, and we look forward to seeing this position adopted more widely throughout the travel industry."
"Seaside sanctuaries have enormous potential, but they need more backing from the tourism industry," added Halpin. "As long as facilities with captive whales and dolphins continue to profit from keeping these animals in smaller, cheaper and less natural living environments, then they don't have enough incentive to adopt serious change. We hope our announcement today can help turn the tide."
TripAdvisor's latest announcement was met with praise by conservation groups and animal welfare experts who called it an important step forward. The move is the most recent extension of the company's animal welfare policy launched back in 2016.
"TripAdvisor is on the right side of history," said Dr. Naomi Rose, Marine Mammal Scientist, Animal Welfare Institute, in a statement. "Whales and dolphins cannot thrive in captivity and enlightened tourists no longer tolerate exploiting these intelligent and socially complex marine predators for human entertainment."
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