‘Free Corky!’ Protestors Head to SeaWorld 5K

For Immediate Release:
April 17, 2026

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

SeaWorld’s annual Fins and Flippers 5K on Sunday will face some major hurdles as PETA protestors bearing signs reading “Run Away From SeaWorld!” will converge at the event to call for the release of Corky—the longest-held captive orca in the world—to a seaside sanctuary where she could dive deep, swim fast, and have some semblance of a natural life. PETA’s runners will stage a 3.1-mile-long protest by running the course while wearing shirts emblazoned with the message, “SeaWorld Kills.”

Abducted off the coast of British Columbia in 1969, Corky was used as a breeding machine at another facility for years, with not one of her babies surviving more than 47 days. Following pressure from PETA and intense public backlash, SeaWorld was forced to end its orca-breeding program—a practice which has since been made illegal in California—yet it continues to forcibly breed other dolphin species. A recent poll conducted by Embold Research for PETA found that 77 percent of registered voters in California support a total ban on breeding dolphins, and 74 percent want dolphins in marine parks to be moved to seaside sanctuaries.

“While runners jog through SeaWorld, Corky will swim in endless circles in a race against time as the 56-year-old could die without ever feeling the ocean currents again,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on SeaWorld to recognize that the time to imprison marine mammals is over and urges everyone to run away from this cruel abusement park.”

Where:           400 Sea World Dr. (at the intersection with Sea World Way), San Diego

When:            Sunday, April 19, 6 a.m.

Why:              In nature, orcas have sophisticated social relationships, working cooperatively to find food and traveling vast distances in the open ocean every day. But at SeaWorld, they’re housed in tanks so cramped and shallow that they can do little more than float listlessly or swim in endless circles while fending off attacks from their stressed tankmates. More than 40 orcas and over 500 other dolphins and whales have died in SeaWorld’s dismal tanks, many prematurely.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.