Titanic bid for medal
A gold medal awarded to a hero from the Titanic rescue operation is set to fetch up to £25,000 when it goes under the hammer this week.
It was presented to Ernest Brown, the purser on the RMS Carpathia, by the Titanic Survivors Committee.
The steamship rescued more than 700 passengers f rom the str icken l iner during the tragedy in 1912.
The medal – one of only 14 gold ones awarded – will be sold by Bourne End Auction Rooms in Buckinghamshire on Wednesday.
The UK’s biggest tour operators said they made the decision after customer feedback and evidence from animal welfare experts.
From next summer, they will no longer send customers to SeaWorld in Florida or Loro Parque in Tenerife.
Both venues are popular with UK holidaymakers – Thomas Cook sell more than 10,000 day trips a year to SeaWorld Orlando and have sold 40,000 tickets to Loro Parque so far this year.
The announcement comes 18 months after the company launched a review of al l 100 animalrelated attractions included in their holidays.
Since then, 49 venues have been audited to ensure they meet animal welfare standards set by travel body ABTA, with 29 of them being removed from sale.
S e aWo r l d Orlando failed initial checks carried out earlier this year and issues were raised with Loro Parque. Both later passed after improvements were made.
However, Thomas Cook said they were now adopting a policy of no longer offering trips to any animal attractions that keep orcas in captivity.
Chi e f execut ive Pet er Fankhauser said: “We have actively engaged with a range of animal welfare specialists in the last 18 months and taken account of the scientific evidence