July 2017 saw the start of our STREET OUTREACH programme. We picket a Thomas Cook shop and distribute leaflets and have conversations with the public about the sea animal captivity industry.
Our first event was at Thomas Cook’s flagship shop in Marble Arch, Central London. We had an excellent turn out of DFUK activists and distributed more than 1500 leaflets in three hours of outreach. Thousands upon thousands of people will have seen our banner which clearly states “Thomas Cook #DropTheDolphins from your holidays”
Perhaps most telling was the amount of support we got. Many people commented that they would never swim with dolphins and some people were interested to sign online petitions. Some people wanted to have conversations about cruelty concerns and were interested to learn how Thomas Cook is involved in creating the demand. How the drive for profit leads to captured wildlife being committed to a miserable life of captivity and slavery.
Outreach is fun and takes the message directly to the people who consider swimming with dolphins. It’s also an opportunity to meet like-minded people who care about animals and what is happening to them.
Our school outreach initiative launched in July with a very successful workshop at a school in London.
We were so excited to deliver an interactive session on the terrible subjects of capture and captivity. It was interesting to hear what young people thought and an honour to teach them some life facts about cetaceans in the wild. They have enquiring minds and pertinent questions.
Our interactive school workshop is educational and light-hearted despite dealing with some distressing topics, it can be adjusted to suit all school ages from aged 8 and above. It is interactive, encouraging participation by using visual aids, comparison facts and physical exercises to demonstrate what life is like for captive cetaceans.
It’s exciting to be reaching out to young people about the rights and welfare of captive animals. To discuss the issues with them and teach them about the issues connected to captivity is heartening.
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