Silcock's Winter Wonderland has recently announced their plans to return to Eventcity, Manchester this year with their largest indoor Christmas theme park which runs from Saturday 4th December 2021 to Sunday 2nd January 2022. During this event, they proudly claim that they will have live reindeer.

Living through a pandemic we all want some festive fun but our need to meet up with loved ones and create memories 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.

They 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.

Dr. Aidan Foster, an expert veterinary authority on reindeer, has stated that “Reindeer are highly specialised Arctic deer. 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.

Simon Cowell, CEO of The Wildlife Aid Foundation, says: “Animals should no longer be used as objects of entertainment. It is cruel and demeaning. Now it is time to stop the barbaric practice of using animals in Christmas events.  Local authorities and management companies have a responsibility to educate and to be at the forefront of animal welfare best practice”.

Please sign this petition and urge Silcock's to rethink their plans and use cruelty free alternatives to live animals.

Thank you.