A new survey has revealed that the overwhelming majority (86%) of British children aged 8-16 would prefer to see dolphins in their natural habitat in the sea than a captive venue. The findings, conducted by World Animal Protection, are in stark contrast to the 50% of parents surveyed who said they went to dolphin attractions because their children would enjoy it.
Only 13% of the Gen Alpha and Gen Z respondents did not think that dolphin attractions were cruel, suggesting that captive dolphin entertainment has become an outdated option for a family activity. When asked what was cruel about them, 65% of children said dolphins belong in the sea and 49% said the tanks look too small.
Lord Black of Brentwood, taking the Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Bill through the House of Lords, said “Dolphins used for entertainment endure miserable lives and their suffering must stop. These highly intelligent creatures can be deprived of food to train them, and they are kept in confined, featureless tanks that are 200,000 times smaller than their natural home range. A five-minute holiday thrill swimming with dolphins or watching a show condemns them to a lifetime of suffering. This polling shows that young people do not support animal exploitation. We must listen to them and stop travel companies profiting from their suffering. The government must ban the domestic sales and advertisement of dolphin entertainment abroad.”
Katheryn Wise, World Animal Protection, Wildlife Campaign Manager, said “We hear time and again that parents take their children to dolphin attractions to create memories, but as younger generations become increasingly aware of the cruelty associated with captive wildlife attractions these are more likely to become regrets. Children know inherently what is fair and unfair and it seems that they instinctively know that keeping an intelligent, wild animal in a tiny pool is unfair. It is up to us as a society to nurture this instinct and foster respect and compassion for wildlife rather than exploit it.”
The research, conducted by Censuswide on behalf of World Animal Protection, surveyed 1522 children aged 8-16 (defined as Gen Alpha and Gen Z) and 2000 adults. Over half of the adults surveyed said they would support a ban on the UK sale and promotion of dolphin attractions abroad, whilst 60% believe travel companies should be held accountable for the impact that wild animal attractions they promote and sell have on the well-being of the animals.
World Animal Protection’s campaign calling on TUI Group to end the sale and promotion of cruel captive dolphin venues has already received 100, 000 petition signatures.
A survey has revealed that the majority of British children aged 8-16 would prefer to see dolphins in their natural habitats rather than captive venues. The research, conducted by World Animal Protection, surveyed 1522 children and 2000 adults about their views on dolphin attractions.
The results showed that 86% of children aged 8-16 would prefer to see dolphins in their natural habitat, in stark contrast to the 50% of parents surveyed who said they went to dolphin attractions because their children would enjoy it. Just 13% of the Gen Alpha and Gen Z respondents did not think that dolphin attractions were cruel.
Lord Black of Brentwood, taking the Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Bill through the House of Lords, said “Dolphins used for entertainment endure miserable lives and their suffering must stop. These highly intelligent creatures can be deprived of food to train them, and they are kept in confined, featureless tanks that are 200,000 times smaller than their natural home range.”
Over half of the adults surveyed said they would support a ban on the UK sale and promotion of dolphin attractions abroad, whilst 60% believe travel companies should be held accountable for the impact that wild animal attractions they promote and sell have on the well-being of the animals.
Katheryn Wise, World Animal Protection, Wildlife Campaign Manager, said “We hear time and again that parents take their children to dolphin attractions to create memories, but as younger generations become increasingly aware of the cruelty associated with captive wildlife attractions these are more likely to become regrets. Children know inherently what is fair and unfair and it seems that they instinctively know that keeping an intelligent, wild animal in a tiny pool is unfair.”
World Animal Protection has launched a campaign calling on TUI Group to end the sale and promotion of cruel captive dolphin venues, which has already received 100,000 petition signatures. This week (September 5th 2023) the Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Bill will go through committee stage in the House of Lords, in the hope that captive dolphin venues will be included on the list of prohibited activities.
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Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.