Tell Adventure Student Travel That Marine Parks Are No 'Adventure' for Dolphins

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Adventure Student Travel—a company that helps to coordinate trips for students—continues to bill SeaWorld and the Miami Seaquarium as great places for students, Girl Scouts, and other groups to visit, despite learning that orcas and other dolphins at these parks are confined to barren concrete tanks and deprived of everything that's natural and important to them.

Like many humans, orcas love a real adventure. In the open ocean, they travel up to 140 miles a day in close-knit family groups, exploring together and sharing food. However, at marine abusement parks, life is anything but an adventure. More than 40 orcas have died at SeaWorld, and 20 are still suffering there, swimming in endless circles and breaking their teeth by gnawing in frustration on the concrete corners and metal bars of their cramped tanks. Other dolphins are being impregnated, sometimes forcibly after being drugged. At the Miami Seaquarium, the park's lone orca, Lolita, is suffering in the smallest orca tank in the world. She spends her life languishing in chemically treated water, without the companionship of any other member of her species. Her former orca tankmate, Hugo, died in 1980 after repeatedly ramming his head into the side of the tank.

Educational institutions such as California State University–Long Beach—along with Baylor University's alumni group and dozens of businesses—have cut ties with SeaWorld and other marine parks that keep orcas in captivity. Virgin Holidays recently ended sales to all parks that keep whales or dolphins captive, and British Airways stopped bookings to any facility with captive wild animals. Elementary schools have also canceled trips to places such as SeaWorld after learning about their inherent cruelty. Please tell Adventure Student Travel that there's nothing to be learned from watching frustrated animals being forced to perform pointless tricks and swim laps in cramped concrete tanks—then, forward this alert to everyone you know!

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Danielle

Bopp (Breshears)

Adventure Student Travel

Message to {contact_data~firstName} {contact_data~lastName}:

I'm disappointed that you're still selling trips to SeaWorld and the Miami Seaquarium. These facilities confine highly intelligent, emotionally complex orcas to barren concrete tanks that, to them, are equivalent in size to a bathtub. Dozens of other travel companies, including British Airways, STA Travel, Thomas Cook, and Virgin Holidays, no longer sell tickets to SeaWorld or other places that keep whales and dolphins captive.

More than 40 orcas have died at SeaWorld's parks, and there are 20 still languishing there. The intense stress and frustration of captivity causes them to attack each other and gnaw in frustration on the metal gates and concrete corners of their tanks, destroying their teeth and putting them at risk for chronic infections.

And Lolita, the lone orca at the Miami Seaquarium, is suffering in the smallest orca tank in the world. She spends her life swimming in endless circles in chemically treated water and has been without the companionship of any other member of her species since 1980, when her tankmate died after repeatedly ramming his head into the side of the tank.

Educational institutions such as California State University–Long Beach and Baylor University's alumni group have cut ties with SeaWorld. Elementary schools have also canceled trips to abusement parks such as SeaWorld and the Miami Seaquarium. Please join the long list of compassionate organizations that have stopped endorsing cruelty by committing to not offering trips to SeaWorld, the Miami Seaquarium, or any other place that keeps orcas captive.

Sincerely,
{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}
{user_data~EMail Address}

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