Thomas Cook is to stop selling tickets to Seaworld in the United States and Loro Parque in Tenerife because of concerns about the welfare of the captive killer whales.
Over the past 18 months the holiday giant has led a crackdown on animal cruelty, running welfare audits at 49 animal attractions and removing 29 from its books as a result, including all that involved captive elephants.
Peter Fankhauser, chief executive of Thomas Cook, said he had listened to feedback from his customers which showed that 90% said it was “important that their holiday company takes animal welfare seriously”.
He added: “We’re conscious of changing customer sentiment. We have engaged with animal welfare specialists in the past 18 months and taken account of the scientific evidence