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Will you tell Webjet to stop selling tickets to wildlife cruelty?
Yes, I willImage: Elephant gives high five at an elephant show at A'Formosa Safari Wonderland, Malaysia. Credit: World Animal Protection
Be a strong voice for elephants, monkeys and dolphins who endure unimaginable suffering in captivity, while Webjet makes a profit.
Webjet is selling tickets to some of the worst captive wildlife entertainment venues in the world. Despite being contacted by World Animal Protection several times, they refuse to engage in meaningful dialogue so far.
This means Lukcip the traumatised elephant will continue giving backbreaking rides in Bali, Stella the orca will continue to be treated like a money-making machine in Japan and Thunder the tiger will continue to be exploited as a photo prop in Thailand.
If Webjet continues to promote and sell cruel wildlife experiences– all masked as harmless family fun – their customers will continue to unknowingly support animal suffering.
But YOU have the power to hold them to account and put an end to the suffering of animals in entertainment. Please urgently join us in sending Webjet a strong and clear message today.
Selling tickets to the worst captive wildlife venues
Image: A captive dolphin at a venue in Thailand who has been linked to purchasing dolphins from the brutal Taiji dolphin hunts. Credit: World Animal Protection / Chanklang Kanthong
A dolphin is brutally ripped from her ocean home during the infamous Taiji dolphin hunts and forced to perform in small tanks for the rest of her life. A monkey is cruelly trained to perform in circus-style shows in human clothing. An elephant’s spirit is completely broken so he can appear “safe” enough for humans to ride, bathe and interact with. While these heart-wrenching incidents may appear unrelated, they all share a common link – Webjet.
Our latest report 'Caught in a Web of Cruelty: How Animals Suffer for Webjet's Profits' found that Webjet promotes and sells tickets to some of the worst captive wildlife venues in the world – where animals have suffered brutal training and are forced into distressing interactions with people – simply for profit.
These highly intelligent and social animals want nothing more than to be able to move and roam freely, socialise with their family groups and live a wild life. Heartbreakingly, they’re forced to live a life of misery in captivity because travel companies like Webjet are fuelling their exploitation. That’s why they need you to be their voice now more than ever.
Is Webjet reliable?
Image: Tiger at a Thailand venue that allows guests to ‘walk a tiger’ and other close-up encounters
Webjet recently partnered with Klook which has led to some cruel wildlife experiences being available on their platform, including venues that host:
- Wild-caught dolphins captured from the blood-filled Taiji dolphin hunts
- Elephant bathing, riding and show experiences using bull hooks
- Tiger interactions including photo experiences and shows
- Circus-style monkey performances
- Koala cuddling experiences
- Close up experiences with orangutans
Our research also found that the travel company is selling tickets to venues assessed and flagged by World Animal Protection as low welfare due to mistreatment of animals, disease, inadequate housing, and severe lack of enrichment.
Webjet’s regressive decision to promote and sell these activities is a heartbreaking step backward, perpetuating animal suffering and making them an unreliable choice for travellers.
Unless Klook takes action to improve and enforce its animal welfare policy, it is vital that Webjet ends their partnership and adopts a comprehensive, publicly available animal welfare policy that protects animals.
Webjet is severely failing wild animals
Image: At Turtle Island, lone macaque Johnny spends his life inside a concrete wire cage. Credit: World Animal Protection / Andito Wasi
Dolphins and Orcas
In the wild, dolphins and orcas form close social bonds and live in family pods. Their daily roaming range can reach over 100 kilometres a day. But in captivity, they’re kept in tiny, concrete tanks in which they cannot move freely or express their natural behaviours.
From their traumatic capture to being bred for a life in confinement in grossly inadequate conditions, these animals endure immense suffering. On top of this, exploiting them for entertainment causes further distress and reduces these complex predators to circus-style performers.
Webjet currently sells tickets to 31 captive dolphin or orca entertainment venues, and 12 of these venues have been linked to the brutal Taiji Dolphin Hunts.
Elephants
Wild elephants would never let a human ride on their back, bathe them or perform in shows. To achieve this, a baby elephant is typically separated from her mother and restrained by chains or ropes. She is then prevented from moving unless commanded to by the trainer or mahout.
In many cases, severe pain is inflicted on the young elephant to speed up the process, including stabbing with hooks or other tools to force the elephant to submit to human control.
We found that Webjet currently sells offerings for 32 captive elephant entertainment venues that include either riding, bathing, shows or feeding experiences. We also found numerous fake “elephant sanctuaries” being sold on their website that offer close interactions with visitors – something that a genuine sanctuary would never allow.
Monkeys
In the wild, baby macaques stay with their mother for at least two years during which she nurtures, feeds, and protects them. But for tourist entertainment, they are often ripped from their mothers before being subjected to harsh, abusive training designed to make them perform human-like acts, including riding bicycles and walking on stilts.
Monkeys used in circus-style performances are typically beaten, chained by the neck and forced to stand in an upright position, or deprived of food. When not performing, these animals can be confined in tiny, filthy cages or wooden boxes, further adding to their distress.
Webjet currently sells offerings to 59 captive monkey and other primate experiences at entertainment venues.
You can help animals like Lukcip, Stella and Aoi
As you may know, travel companies like Webjet have a significant impact on tourists’ decisions as these platforms are relied on for recommendations. This is why they must take responsibility to protect wildlife.
When travel companies sell tickets to cruel wildlife entertainment, not only are they directly profiting from animal cruelty but they are also fuelling public assumption that these activities are acceptable.
And by promoting venues that are implicated in poaching, captive breeding, and mistreatment of wild animals, they are contributing to the barbaric global wildlife trade.
You’ll surely agree that no animal deserves to endure a life of pain and misery for the entertainment and greed of others.
Will you urgently join us in pushing Webjet to stop selling tickets to see animals who have been robbed of a wild life?
Together, we will build a future where tourism does not contribute to wildlife cruelty.
Caught in a Web of Cruelty
Webjet promotes and sells tickets to some of the worst captive wildlife venues in the world.