Richard Branson’s announcement that Virgin’s partners should no longer take receipt of whales or dolphins captured from the wild does not go far enough, say campaigners

Wildlife campaigners have voiced their disappointment with Virgin Holidays for failing to take a stronger stand against whale and dolphin captivity, as the company announces its position on the controversial issue.

Writing a post on his personal blog, founder Richard Branson declared that Virgin will be asking its partners to sign a pledge to no longer take receipt of any whales or dolphins captured from the wild. However, animal welfare charities say this does not go far enough.

“Virgin’s announcement does not reflect increasing opposition from members of the public, including Virgin’s customers, to the keeping of whales and dolphins in captivity and their presentation in circus-style shows,” says Cathy Williamson, captivity programme lead for Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), which has played a significant role in raising the issue with Virgin and other tour operators.

Branson has taken a personal interest in the issue of marine mammal captivity: recently condemning the Taiji drive hunts in Japan featured in the documentary The Cove – and Virgin’s announcement has been highly anticipated by those involved with the issue.

In February, Branson stated that Virgin businesses would only work with suppliers that pledge to no longer take sea mammals from the wild and that they would release this pledge by the end of September. Although it has held true to this promise many wildlife campaigners hoped that the results of a six-month engagement process – which also looked into the issue of training captive cetaceans for entertainment – would be more far-reaching.

Key shortcomings include the fact that the majority of whales and dolphins currently held in captivity are already captive bred and that Virgin will continue to partner with attractions that use marine mammals for entertainment purposes – including SeaWorld.

Additionally, despite taking a stand against wild captures, the pledge will not affect the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and other attractions should they be successful in their efforts to import 18 captured beluga whales into the US from Russia, as the whales will have been captured before the date on the pledge.

Naomi Rose, marine mammal scientist at the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), who has two decades of experience campaigning against orca captivity, says she urges Branson to take stronger steps to end exploitation of captive cetaceans.

“AWI accepts there will be a pragmatic transition that will involve new business models from dolphinariums, rather than an unrealistic or romantic release of currently captive animals,” she says. “Virgin can be a leader in promoting these new models or it can accept the status quo, as it has done here.”

Leading animal welfare charity World Animal Protection has also called on Virgin to take further action.

“We welcome this pledge as a first, important step on Virgin’s journey towards ending the cruelty of keeping whales and dolphins in captivity,” says head of wildlife campaigns Claire Bass. “But more steps must be taken, and swiftly. As long as Virgin continues to promote facilities that allow captive breeding of non-critically endangered species, it is endorsing and perpetuating the captivity industry with no end in sight.”

The Born Free Foundation has also said it “expected more” from the Virgin stakeholder process. President Will Travers says: “We are calling on Virgin to return to the table to discuss key future actions including a commitment to end shows and captive breeding programs.”

Writing on his blog, Branson says he feels strongly this is a “positive development” for the travel industry.

“The Virgin Pledge seeks to build much-needed momentum to effectively end a brutal practice that continues to this day,” he writes. “This is of course just the start of our journey. I am encouraged that Virgin Holidays has initiated a conversation that has education, conservation and the highest standard of care for these magnificent creatures at its heart.”

The WDC says it will continue to focus its campaigning on Virgin and the four other major UK tour operators (Cosmos, First Choice, Thomas Cook and Thomson) who between them account for 85% of all SeaWorld tickets sold to British holidaymakers. WDC has also recently been invited by British Airways to discuss the campaign and its concerns about promoting this cruel industry to its passengers.

Courtney Vail, WDC anti-captivity campaigner, said: “We hope we can continue the dialogue with Virgin to bring an end to these trips and address the shortcomings of the current pledge. To truly inhibit the capture of wild whales and dolphins for dolphinariums, it is also imperative that Virgin refuse to do business with any facility that also trades with companies that acquire dolphins from the wild.”