Snickers Ends SeaWorld Sponsorship

Once the ‘Official Candy Bar of SeaWorld,’ Company Drops Animal-Abusing Operation

For Immediate Release:
March 19, 2020

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

After hearing from PETA, Snickers—a one-time official partner of SeaWorld—has confirmed that it has ended its years-long partnership with the abusement park. In thanks, PETA sent the candy connoisseur a box of delicious vegan chocolate whales.

“Snickers made a sweet decision by cutting ties with an amusement park that keeps marine mammals in tiny concrete cells, where they go crazy, deprived of everything that’s natural and important to them,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “No decent person or reputable company should support SeaWorld’s animal exploitation, and PETA is calling for the animals’ release to seaside sanctuaries.”

More than 40 orcas, over 300 other dolphins and whales, and approximately 400 seals, sea lions, and walruses have died at SeaWorld’s parks. Last month, the company agreed to pay $65 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that it had misled investors about the negative impact that Blackfish was having on the business.

Following a months-long PETA campaign that included a damning veterinary report, a shareholder question asked by Alec Baldwin, numerous local ads, and more, SeaWorld stopped having trainers ride on dolphins’ backs and will soon end their practice of standing on dolphins’ faces in abhorrent circus-style shows.

Snickers is part of a long list of brands—including Mott’s, Hyundai Motor America, Panama Jack, Thomas Cook, and Air Canada, WestJet, JetBlue, and Southwest airlines—that have cut ties with the company. PETA is now calling on AAA to end its sales of tickets to SeaWorld.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.

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