UK Parliament home

This petition was submitted during the 2017 to 2019 Parliament

View other petitions from this Parliament

Closed Ban cetacean (whales, dolphins and porpoises) captivity in the UK

Closed on

Although presently there are no captive cetaceans in the UK, if there were, it would not actually be against current UK law.
Keeping cetaceans in captivity is cruel as there is no way their needs can be met. This outdated law needs changing to ensure the UK will never house captive cetaceans again.

Current UK standard of tanks deemed suitable for cetaceans is laid out in Klinowska and Brown’s Review of Dolphinaria, (1968).
Modern studies have proven captive cetaceans have shorter, more stressful lives than their wild counterparts. It is now clear that these intelligent animals cannot thrive in captivity, and our law should reflect that.
This ban should exclude sea pens designed for cetacean rehabilitation should any sites in the UK be identified as suitable for this purpose in the future.

263 signatures

Show on a map

10,000

Petition progress

View all updates for this petition, with the most recent first.

  • Petition closed

  • Petition published

    This petition can now be signed.

    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 6 November 2019.