2 days ago
Protester dressed as 'tortured orca' chained to suitcases on Above Bar
Protesters have staged a demonstration outside the TUI store in Southampton in support of marine mammals and criticising 'notoriously cruel marine parks.'
A campaigner from animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) stood outside the TUI store in Above Bar Street on Monday afternoon, chained to suitcases, representing a tortured orca, that will 'never get the chance to travel,' said protestors.
It comes as the travel company continues to sell tickets to the likes of SeaWorld, a marine mammal park in Florida.
More than 120 UK companies, announcing they've stopped selling tickets to SeaWorld and other attractions featuring captive whales and dolphins.
Speaking to the Echo, PETA campaigner, Grace Galopin, said 'the message behind the protest was incredibly important'.
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PETA campaigner Josie Johnson, representing a tortured orca, outside the TUI store in Southampton (Image: Supplied) She said: 'It's World Orca Day, so we're here to tell TUI to drop marine parks and stop profiting from the abuse of marine mammals like orcas and dolphins.
'These poor animals are essentially imprisoned and forced to live in tiny tanks their whole life, they're put with incompatible mates, they're forced to perform tricks for tourists and their living conditions are just terrible.
'They should be out in the wild and free where they can display their own natural behaviour and not exploited for entertainment.
A People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) campaigner in Southampton this afternoon representing a 'tortured orca' outside the TUI store on World Orca Day, as TUI continue to sell tickets to the likes of SeaWorld that keep whales and dolphins in captivity. @dailyecho
— Matt Davey (@MattDaveyJourno) July 14, 2025
'We've had a lot of feedback and conversations from shoppers in the high street today and the majority tend to agree that there's no place for marine mammals in captivity, when they should be free and in the wild.'
Elsewhere in Lymington over the weekend a PETA campaigner served 'locally caught tabbies,' 'kitten cakes' and 'fresh local Siamese,' at the Lymington Seafood Festival, challenging the belief that some species are superior to others and more deserving of respect and kindness.
'Crabs and other marine animals feel pain and terror just as cats and dogs do,' said PETA senior campaigns manager, Kate Werner.
She added: 'PETA urges anyone horrified by the thought of tucking into a tabby to extend that compassion to all animals and please, go vegan.'
PETA, whose motto reads, in part, that 'animals are not ours to eat,' opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview.
