PETA Statement re New USDA Decision for Orca Lolita

For Immediate Release:
March 3, 2022

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

The USDA has just granted an exhibitor’s license to MS Leisure Company Inc.—now the owner of the Miami Seaquarium and an entity of The Dolphin Company—on the condition that it no longer display Lolita or the dolphin confined with her, Lii. Lolita’s tank is now permanently closed to the public. Below, please see the following statement from PETA Foundation Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Animal Law Jared Goodman:

For the first time ever, the USDA is taking some action by tacitly acknowledging that Lolita’s tank cannot meet her needs. PETA is calling for this to be the first step toward releasing Lolita (and Lii) to a seaside sanctuary, before this long-suffering orca ends up dying in the same cramped tank she’s been confined to for over half a century.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.