Thomas Cook to stop selling SeaWorld tickets if park doesn't improve after animal-welfare inspection

Holiday giant says theme park has three months to improve

Two killer whales at SeaWorld, including Tilikum, the star of Blackfish, who died just over a year ago (Getty Images)

One of Britain’s biggest holiday firms may stop selling tickets to Florida's SeaWorld after an audit of animal welfare at the theme park.

Thomas Cook has told the park - which has previously been accused of cruelty to its killer whales, orcas and dolphins – it has three months to improve.

If it fails further further inspections, the holiday firm will cease selling tickets for it.

Thomas Cook declined to say how SeaWorld, which has two parks in Florida, along with one each in both California and Virginia, had failed its welfare checks.

But the travel company said in a statement: “We have now audited SeaWorld, and we are in contact with them about the results in accordance with our policy."

The firm's policy states that attractions must reach 100 per cent compliance, otherwise it will stop selling tickets for them.

Thomas Cook had already agreed to stop promoting SeaWorld online, after an outcry when one of its creatures called Kasatka, had to be put down.

Kasatka's former trainer-turned-whistleblower, John Hargrove, later told The Mail on Sunday: "What continues to go on in parks like SeaWorld is an abomination. They claim captive orcas help educate people, and for years I bought into it. But Kasatka lived in misery, in barbaric and horrific conditions, and died in agony."

A killer whale at SeaWorld in San Diego before live performances were phased out (Mike Blake/Reuters)

SeaWorld also faced criticism after the 2013 documentary Blackfish which suggested that keeping the creatures in captivity caused them to become so stressed that they become a danger to people.

The film featured interviews with former trainers, some of whom later retracted their statements, who had changed their views on taking whales and dolphins from their families in the wild and confining them for human entertainment.

Visitor numbers at the parks subsequently dropped, as did the company's share price.

In response to the criticism, in 2014 SeaWorld agreed to stop taking new cetaceans from the wild, and later it announced it would end its controversial orca-breeding programme.

Live shows were phased out in California last year, after the state passed a new law that banned captive orca breeding. But they still take place in Orlando and San Antonio.

The firm’s share price rose again last year when it announced that it was considering putting itself up for sale.

Last December, Thomas Cook updated its animal-welfare policy, which now states that “if an animal attraction is found not to be fully compliant with the ABTA Global Welfare Guidance for Animals in Tourism, Thomas Cook won’t sell it”.

Then in February, Thomas Cook announced that it had audited 46 attractions that house live animals and removed 29 of them from sale because they failed to meet the company’s standards.

“Every one of those we have retained has taken steps to improve the conditions in which their animals are kept,” Thomas Cook said.

The firm is still carrying out audits of other animal parks worldwide for which it sells tickets.

Virgin – the leading British tour operator to Florida – Tui and British Airways all continue to sell holidays to SeaWorld.

A spokeswoman for SeaWorld told The Independent: "The audit process is ongoing, and while we recognise that the ABTA standards and auditing process is still in its infancy, we continue to work with Thomas Cook through the process.

"Following the physical site visits to the parks, the Thomas Cook team indicated very good performance and that we had received a good score. This would be consistent with the world-class care we provide to all animals in our parks in accordance with the long-standing and globally-recognised zoological accreditation standards of animal-industry leading organisations like the American Humane Association and Association of Zoos & Aquariums.

"We remain on sale with Thomas Cook as well as other tour operators in the UK and continue to work with our partners to provide experiences that matter to inspire people to protect wild animals and habitats."