Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing well! 

With the new year comes a new season for tourist attractions. Please, always be an informed tourist. Whether you are planning a vacation, or a day out at a park or event, make sure you know exactly what you are paying for. 

Captive wildlife is such a staple in the tourism and entertainment industry, and oftentimes it is not ethical, wether it is zoos, circuses, theme parks, etc. Elephants are just one in thousands of species kept in captivity for us to see, and sometimes they are exploited further because ignorant customers enjoy watching them perform tricks. These animals are often kept in enclosures too small, with little to no enrichment. When you see an animal in captivity, think to yourself what their surroundings would look like int their natural habitat. An elephant in captivity is surrounded by cement, feeders, and people. An orca is kept in a solid blue tank filled with nothing but chemically treated water. This is not what their environment looks like in the wild.

Orcas are another huge staple animal in the tourism and entertainment industry. Orcas, like elephants, are so incredibly intelligent, considered to be the 'non-human persons'. Their intelligence is marveled at in relation to communication, family ties, and hunting techniques. These creatures are a huge tourist attraction at places like seaworld, marineland, amongst other parks. 

Orcas are kept in small tanks relative to their body size, with no enrichment but a solid blue colour, and are forced into unnatural social groups. Like elephants, orcas in the wild live in 'pods' with incredibly tight familial bonds that they remain in for their lifetime. They are also a species that has a notoriously shortened lifespan in captivity verses the wild. Calves born in captivity die frequently, and the mothers are often bred far younger than they would in the wild. Orcas kept in captivity suffer from sunburn and eye issues due to the fact they can not swim in deeper waters as they would in the wild. While shows may seem lively and exciting, when they are not performing they often float motionless for hours or swim in endless circles, both completely unnatural behaviors. 

Please, do not support any parks with captive orcas. While seaworld has ceased its breeding program, other parks worldwide have not. Loro Parque in Tenerife Spain is still breeding its orcas, having acquired a wild caught orca, named Morgan, in 2011. Non-profit organizations had initially urged for Morgan to be released back to the wild after being caught due to being extremely malnourished, however once she had regained health she was instead transported to the park in Spain, and was considered an important addition due to providing 'fresh blood'. Captive orca breeding has the issue of a small gene-pool, therefore her addition was incredibly valuable to the parks. 

Orcas in captivity have been documented self mutilating out of boredom, attacking and killing trainers, and being aggressive towards each other in their unnatural living arrangements. If you look at pictures of captive orcas, you can often see their teeth are broken or are nothing but little nubs, due to them chewing on the concrete or bars in their tanks. 

If you haven't already, I strongly suggest watching the film 'Blackfish' which provides overwhelming evidence to the cruelty of orca captivity. Another great film is 'Inside the Tanks', available to watch free on youtube. GoPro's channel on youtube also has a great video on orcas in the wild. 

Please, always do your research on any park or venue with animals as an attraction. Never forget that these places are first and foremost businesses. These animals are there because they make money. ALWAYS avoid any venue with captive orcas. They only reason they continue to keep orcas is because we continue to pay to watch them do tricks for us. 

Ticketmaster currently sells tickets to Loro Parque, so if you are able, please voice your concern and disapproval of their support to the park, because change will not happen on it's own. 

Thank you everyone for your continued support! I have no new updates regarding the elephants at African Lion Safari as of yet. 

As always, please remember to share the petition. These issues will either be conquered or maintained by the decisions we as consumers make, but we can't make them without the information. The more people see petitions like these, the more people will know, and boycott these establishments.