Groupon’s “Devastating Deals” Are Fueling Animal Cruelty

Groupon, the massive online discount and travel company, regularly sells deals for businesses that exploit wild animals for entertainment and profit.

World Animal Protection, a global animal welfare non-profit organization, is urging Groupon to stop profiting from wildlife entertainment.

We’ve partnered with Chicago-based artist, Blake Jones, to launch billboards around Chicago to raise awareness about our campaign. Blake’s signature bunny, alongside his furry and scaly friends, are protesting Groupon to protect animals, not exploit them.

Devastating Deals

In the past several years, Groupon has sold deals for:

• The notorious Miami Seaquarium, where Tokitae, a 56-year-old orca, has languished alone in a tiny concrete tank for more than 50 years
• Suncoast Primate Sanctuary, a pseudo-sanctuary in Florida where primates are kept in barren cages
• A Washington petting zoo where a sloth and tamandua died due to the facility’s lack of knowledge and experience in caring for these animals

What We’re Asking

We’re urging Groupon to adopt a public animal welfare policy that prohibits selling to venues that offer interactions with wild animals and/or captive wild animal performances. Since launching our campaign in March, we have yet to receive a response from company leadership.

Help protect wild animals by sending a Tweet to Groupon asking the company to stop profiting from wild animal suffering. Tell leadership you saw our billboard and that you don’t accept businesses profiting from animal cruelty. When you send Groupon a Tweet with our link, it will include a photo of the billboard you saw.

Don’t have Twitter?

You can help by taking a photo of the billboard and tagging Groupon (@groupon), World Animal Protection US (@worldanimalprotectionus), and Blake Jones (@blakejones) on Instagram and/or Facebook with the hashtag #DevastatingDeals.

Want to help more?

Check out all three of our billboards around Chicago and help spread the word about our campaign with your family and friends. You’ll find unique artwork by Blake Jones at each location:

• West Loop (923 W Randolph St, around the corner from Formento’s)
• River North (715 N Franklin St, next to the parking lot)
• Lakeview (2826 N Lincoln Ave)

Join us as well on Saturday, October 8 from 12pm-5pm at our West Loop location for our launch event. The first 50 people to attend and participate in our activity will receive a Blake Jones screen print!