Tour operators respond swiftly to animal welfare complaints
Thomas Cook and Brittany Ferries have stopped promoting the famous Running of the Bulls festival in Spain at the request of the animal welfare group PETA.
Following a letter from PETA highlighting the treatment of bulls used in the festival in Pamplona, where they run through the streets before being killed in front of a crowd, both companies have amended promotional content on their websites.
In its letter, PETA pointed out that many bulls and spectators are injured in the street race and it claimed that the bulls are tormented and killed in bullfights.
This year several spectators were seriously hurt in Pamplona, it said, and a 16-year-old boy was gored to death during a bull run in northern Spain.
"In this day and age, it’s appalling that sensitive animals are still being tormented and killed in front of a screaming crowd", says PETA campaign coordinator Kirsty Henderson. "We are delighted that a growing number of UK travel companies are taking the high road by refusing to support the cruel Running of the Bulls and bullfights."
Thomas Cook had highlighted the Running of the Bulls festival on its MyTravel website, within its Pamplona Holidays Guide, but it has since removed reference to the event. Brittany Ferries continues to mention the festival on its website but it does not actively promote it.
In an email to PETA’s Kirsty Henderson, Brittany Ferries group commercial director Mike Bevens wrote: "I have reviewed the content on our website regarding the bullfighting festival in Pamplona and I am happy to make some changes to our copy.
"I will retain a factual mention of the festival at the start of the introduction to the city of Pamplona – some people may wish to avoid the city for this reason. However, we will amend our ‘promotional’ copy.
"Thank you for bringing this to our attention."
Thomas Cook responsible business manager Nancy Brock said she was "disappointed" that the Pamplona festival had been mentioned on a Thomas Cook website. She said: "Thomas Cook was the first major UK tour operator to have a published animal welfare policy and as part of this we have an internal set of guidelines for the use of animals in promotional materials.
"However, as you might imagine with a business the size of Thomas Cook, we also have departmental and personnel changes from time to time and these can sometimes result in our messages getting lost along the way.
"I plan to speak with the team leader responsible for that site this afternoon so we can ensure that everyone knows and understands our stance on animal welfare issues."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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