Alesha Dixon urges families to shun dolphin and whale shows this summer to keep kids away from 'animal abuse'

EXCLUSIVE: Alesha Dixon believes families should consider seeing dolphins in their natural environment, instead of buying expensive tickets to dolphin or whale shows

Alesha Dixon has urged families to shun dolphin and whale shows this summer, saying that children are being shown “what abuse looks like”.

The Britain’s Got Talent judge and Mis-Teeq singer is calling on holidaymakers to swap captive animal performances for wildlife-watching trips. And she has renewed calls for travel giant TUI to stop selling tickets to marine parks. As families head overseas for the school holidays, many will visit captive dolphin and whale attractions in holiday hotspots such as Tenerife and Portugal, despite growing concerns over the welfare of the marine mammals.

In the wild, bottlenose dolphins can swim around 63 miles a day, travelling vast distances in complex family groups. Yet more than 3,600 dolphins and whales are still kept in entertainment venues worldwide, confined to concrete tanks.

“I’ve had many experiences with dolphins in the wild and I always find it really difficult to articulate in words just how special that feeling is,” said Alesha, who has been a UK ambassador for World Animal Protection for more than 14 years.

“You see a pod of dolphins in the ocean and it reminds you what an incredible planet we live on and how we should protect these beautiful beings. There has always been this incredible connection between human beings and dolphins. They’re highly intelligent beings.”

The mum-of-two, who is preparing for a Mis-Teeq reunion in September at Wembley Arena to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the girl group’s album Lickin’ on Both Sides, said she is heartbroken by the thought of seeing such intelligent ­animals in captivity. She added: “When you see how many miles they swim every day and then think about them in these confined tanks where they must be losing their mind, it just saddens me.

“I know that a lot of parents out there want to find activities where it’s fun but also educational… I think the whale and dolphin shows are very misleading when they talk about conservation and education. All we’re doing is showing our children what abuse looks like. The best education our children can have is seeing animals in their natural habitat, free in the wild where they belong.”

Instead of buying tickets to shows, Alesha, 47, believes families should consider seeing dolphins in their natural environment. “Spend that money on a boat trip and have an even more magical experience,” she said.

She explained that eldest daughter Azura, 12, has already spotted dolphins in the wild during a trip to Jersey, and she planned to take her and younger daughter Anaya, six, on a trip in Italy this summer. The UK’s last dolphinarium closed in 1993. Experts say dolphins and whales can suffer severe stress in captivity, with some grinding down their teeth against tank walls.

Alesha added: “People think the animals are happy because they appear to be smiling, but that’s just the shape of a dolphin’s face. That is so misleading.” Companies including Booking.com, Expedia, Jet2Holidays, Virgin Holidays, easyJet Holidays, Airbnb and British Airways Holidays no longer sell tickets to captive dolphin entertainment.

Campaign group World Animal Protection is urging TUI to follow suit. ­Katheryn Wise, its UK wildlife campaigns manager, said: “Holidays should be about fun not about animal cruelty. It is time for TUI to do the right thing, stop selling tickets to these shows, and help make this the last generation of whales and dolphins kept in captivity.”

TUI was contacted for comment.