Despite my previous petition last year (see link at end) which asked Lapland UK to stop using live animals in their events and which gained 39,007 signatories, the event organisers have sadly taken no notice and have continued to put profit before animal welfare by once again using live Reindeer at their 2023 Christmas event. 

Lapland UK recently announced their plans to return to Whitmoor Forest in Berkshire with their Christmas theme park from 11 November - 24 December 2023. During this event, they proudly claim that they will have live reindeer for entertainment purposes. 

Christmas should be a time to meet up with loved ones and create memories but it should not include traumatising animals which is exactly what using live reindeer at this event will do. 

What many people may not realise, is that events such as these will attract a crowd of often noisy, excitable people, which can cause great distress to these sensitive animals. Often there is quite literally nowhere for them to retreat to as they are surrounded by people demanding near-constant interaction. This in turn severely impacts their health and welfare.

The Reindeers are often subjected to an extensive travel regime, being transported up and down the country to be used as entertainment in pens, or paraded. Behind the scenes, they are unable to roam the vast distances that they would choose to if in the Arctic tundra, their natural habitat. Reindeer are highly specialised Arctic deer and the recent fashion of keeping them in a captive situation many degrees south of their normal range is fraught with health and welfare issues.

Over the course of 2018 national campaigning group Animal Aid extensively researched and investigated what happens when reindeer are ‘off duty’ on farms. The below is a brief synopsis of its findings:

- Reindeer suffering from extensive fur loss with raw-looking exposed skin
- Animals with heavy diarrhoea
- Some reindeer crowded into night pens or sheds
- Animals stuck out on a concrete yard with no opportunity to graze
- Poor bodily condition, some with obvious skeletal issues
- Deliberate abuse including workers kicking and shouting at reindeer

Government figures requested by Animal Aid show that from 2014 to 2017, a total of 571 reindeer were imported into the UK, from places such as Sweden, Finland and Norway. For the same period, 54 reindeer carcasses were submitted to the Animal Plant Health Agency for post-mortem diagnostic investigation. Their findings reveal that animals seem to have died from a range of generalized issues including parasitic, gastric and digestive issues, malnutrition, wasting and nervous conditions.

The Lapland UK event organisers have been contacted by animal welfare groups alerting them to the cruelty of using live animals but they have sadly dismissed all concerns stating that they are "happy" with the levels of welfare provided. It is therefore up to the public to show that using live animals for human entertainment cannot and will not be tolerated in the 21st century. 

We can only hope that this year they will finally listen to the public's wishes and scrap their use of live animals once and for all. I therefore urge you to sign this petition and ask the event organisers of Lapland UK to rethink their plans and use cruelty free alternatives to live animals in this and all future events.

Every signature will count so please sign and share to encourage others to object as well.

The 2022 petition can be viewed here: https://www.change.org/p/lapland-uk-stop-exploiting-reindeer-huskies-for-human-entertainment?recruiter=38493386&recruited_by_id=9cda05b0-3f16-0130-0a5a-3c764e044346&share_bandit_exp=initial-34441087-en-GB