On the eve of World Turtle Day, the world’s largest travel website – TripAdvisor – has removed the sale of tickets to the Cayman Turtle Centre, where over 5,000 endangered sea turtles live in horrific conditions.

The TripAdvisor decision puts even more pressure on one of the world’s largest cruise line companies – Carnival Cruises Lines – to protect endangered sea turtles from shocking conditions at the centre where sea turtles are crammed in overcrowded, unhygienic conditions, fed on an unnatural diet, resulting in abnormal behaviours such as aggression and even cannibalism.

In just under a month, more than 90,000 people across the world have now signed World Animal Protection’s petition for Carnival Cruise Lines to stop sending tourists the venue.

Neil D’Cruze, Senior Wildlife Advisor at World Animal Protection, says:

“The public outcry about the ongoing animal cruelty at the Cayman Turtle Centre is growing every day. TripAdvisor has moved away from selling tickets to the centre; it’s time for Carnival to stop ignoring public opinion and turning a blind eye.

“TripAdvisor’s decision sends a clear message – animal suffering is not something tourists want on their holiday checklist. Momentum is growing and it is time for this farcical facility to transform into a true sea turtle rehabilitation centre”.

Tourists visiting the centre via Carnival Cruise Lines are usually unaware of the abuse and suffering the turtles experience when they are being handled.

According to a Cayman Islands Government commissioned report – 229,393 people visited Cayman Turtle Centre in 2012, and 71% of them were cruise passengers. Carnival Cruise Lines is owned by the world’s largest cruise company and operates many of its ships in the Caribbean.

The financial costs of the facility are extremely high and the Centre is already reliant on Caymanian Government subsidies of around $12 million (USD) per year, which could be better used to help protect and conserve endangered green sea turtles.

World Animal Protection is also concerned about possible health risks to turtles and people. In 2014 local media reports revealed that 1,268 turtles died due to Clostridium, the bacteria that can cause botulism, tetanus and other potentially serious health problems for people.

Last year, TripAdvisor announced they will stop selling tickets to some of the world cruellest wildlife activities, after a World Animal Protection petition collected over 558,000 signatures from around the world.

The turtle centre features in World Animal Protection’s top ten cruellest wildlife attractions.

NOTES:

· TripAdvisor claims to be the world’s largest travel website, providing >4 million reviews covering >6 million accommodations and attractions in 49 countries worldwide (TripAdvisor, 2017).
· Cayman Islands Government commissioned report – 229,393 people visited Cayman Turtle Centre(CTC) in 2012, and 71% of them were cruise passengers.
https://www.turtle.ky/upimages/1396990996CTF-Economic-Impact-Study-16.5.2013.pdf

· World Animal Protection have launched a petition targeting Carnival Cruise Lines to stop operating tours to CTC.
https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/urge-global-cruise-line-boycott-turtle-cruelty

· World Animal Protection has been working to help reduce cruelty to turtles at CTC, for many years. In 2012 we spent 12 months collecting evidence to persuade the facility that a transition to humane operations would benefit their business model economically and environmentally, while proving that the facility as it stands represents a potential threat to the health of its visitors.
https://www.worldanimalprotection.ca/sites/default/files/us_files/turtle_a_continued_case_for_change_report.pdf

· From 2013-2014, we ran a petition to calling on CTC to stop farming turtles for meat and transition to a genuine rehabilitation and education centre, which received more than 180,000 signatures. CTC has so far refused to take meaningful action to protect the turtles in its care.

· A recent report, funded by the UK government shows that only around 3% of Caymanians eat turtle meat on a regular basis http://www.darwininitiative.org.uk/project/DPLUS019/

· Our campaign, Wildlife – not entertainers, is dedicated to ending the unnecessary suffering caused by the cruel wildlife entertainment industry.