Victory! Lapland UK Stop Using Live Reindeer!

Freedom for Animals is celebrating a major win this festive season, as Lapland UK has confirmed it will no longer use live reindeer in its Christmas events. Instead, visitors will enjoy beautifully crafted reindeer models and animatronics, ensuring a magical experience without harming animals.

We are thrilled that steps have been taken to end the suffering of animals previously used for entertainment at these events. In a statement to us, Lapland UK have said they do not use live animals in any part of its experience and that all of their reindeer are crafted models or animatronics. They also thanked the coalition of organisations for highlighting the issues with using live animals.

This achievement is thanks to the relentless efforts of supporters over the years. Campaigners raised their voices, signed petitions totalling over 63,000 signatures, and demanded change, proving that collective action makes a difference.

Special recognition goes to Caroline, one of our supporters, who independently launched the petitions that helped bring about this change. Caroline has a remarkable history of advocacy: in 2021, she successfully petitioned Silcock’s Winter Wonderland in Manchester to stop using live reindeer, gathering nearly 50,000 signatures and prompting the organisers to cancel the practice.

Freedom for Animals continues to work alongside partners including Animal Aid, Born Free, and OneKind to end the unnecessary exploitation of animals in festive events. You can read our joint letter here. Together, we are making compassion an essential part of the Christmas spirit.

While we have not yet been able to confirm this in person, we have had a statement from Lapland UK and various of this years visitors have confirmed this.

Here’s how you can take action this festive season:

• Find events near you and contact organisers directly using our interactive map HERE

• Report a festive event using our quick online form HERE

• Support our campaign by donating, helping to continue the fight for reindeer and all animals exploited for entertainment HERE