PETA's forecast for SeaWorld San Antonio—cloudy with a chance of freedom:

On Saturday, PETA's "Let Orcas Out of Prison" banner flew across the sky while dedicated PETA supporters on the ground spread the word that trainers and animals will continue to get hurt or die until SeaWorld frees the animals to sanctuaries.

Coastal sanctuaries are the only humane places for the wild animals who are currently used by SeaWorld and other parks and who suffer for years in confined, unnatural conditions. One psychologist has pointed out that Tilikum—the captive orca who killed a SeaWorld trainer—is so traumatized from the shock of his capture, the disruption of his natural development, and his more than 30 years of imprisonment in a concrete pool that if he were human, he would undoubtedly be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

SeaWorld's continued exploitation of these sensitive animals is nothing more than a callous way to turn a cheap buck. Please don't support it.

Written by Logan Scherer

watchwithkristin / CC by SA 2.0

"How do you put an interactive, social animal, one of the smartest animals in the world … and you're going to stick them in a tub and make them do tricks? How do you do that? Because they make money? It's disgusting and SeaWorld is absolutely wrong. This is a big wake-up call. How many more people are going to have to be killed? When are we going to realize that these animals are not supposed to be there?"
—Hayden Panettiere

When it comes to speaking out against SeaWorld, the stars are aligning. The vegetarian Panettiere—who appears in the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove—joins Matt Damon, Bob Barker, Pamela Anderson, and many other celebrities who have lent their voices to support Tilikum by publicly denouncing the use of marine mammals for "entertainment."

Will you be the next to speak up? Ask SeaWorld to release the animals to sanctuaries.

Written by Logan Scherer

In early February, after we were alerted to the fact that Will Ferrell's latest movie, Semi-Pro, was to feature scenes in which Will (or, more likely, a stunt double) wrestled a live bear, PETA sent a letter to his agents letting them know about the very real cruelty that goes on behind the scenes any time an "animal actor" is trawled out for a stunt in a movie. The disturbing news that the very same bear who was used in the movie attacked and killed his trainer yesterday has put the whole thing in a new light.

It's pretty rare that people catch a glimpse of the way the animals they see in TV shows or movies are really treated (as you might imagine, they're not natural actors — they're often beaten to perform). But we're hoping that this incident, sad as it is, will encourage Hollywood actors to take a stand against performing with animals, who want to be movie stars about as much as they want to be stuck in a cage for the rest of their lives (which is pretty much the standard accommodation for a great many of the animals who are used by Hollywood). The only really surprising thing about yesterday's tragic bear attack is that it didn't happen sooner.

We're asking Will Ferrell to pledge never to act with wild animals again. I'll let you know if he gets back to us. In the meantime, you can read our letter here.

What an awful story all around. This shocking video shows a lion in a circus somewhere attacking and mauling a trainer. The lion wound up being shot and killed, and the trainer is totally messed up as well. I’m afraid it’s just another sad example of why wild animals don’t belong behind bars . . .

Yes, this video is extremely graphic, but it is reality. I felt like it was important to show the uncensored reality of what can happen when animals are driven insane in captivity, because far too often all that is reported are bubblegum fluff pieces that couldn’t be further from the truth.