The operator comissioned an independent review into standards at 25 attractions it sells last year. The investigation, which audited 25 attractions sold by Thomas Cook, found dolphins with badly damaged skin, heavily chained elephants showing signs of distress and other elephants forced to spin hoops, stand on small platforms and take part in a “tug-of- war”.
Assessment company Global Spirit found that 16 of the reviewed attractions did not meet the minimum standards for welfare set out by Abta. As a result, Thomas Cook has instructed its agents to stop selling tickets to those attractions.
Thomas Cook group chief executive Peter Fankhauser said: “Our industry has not changed fast enough. By taking these attractions off sale, we are sending a message that we won’t accept anything less than full compliance with the welfare standards our customers would expect.”
This is an excerpt from an article first published on TTG. You can read the original article here.
