PETA Statement: Dolphin Dottie’s Death at SeaWorld
For Immediate Release:
June 1, 2026
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Yet another dolphin—this one born in captivity at a SeaWorld park—has died at SeaWorld San Diego after a lifetime of confinement in a concrete tank. Dottie gave birth to four calves—two of whom died before she did, including one at just 7 years old.
Below, please find a statement from PETA President Tracy Reiman:
Dottie lived 39 years and never once felt the ocean or experienced anything she would have loved in nature. SeaWorld disingenuously called her a ‘devoted mother,’ yet it greedily separated her from every single one of her calves and shipped her across the country to be used like a prop for shows and hands-on interactions. Her life was a tragedy, and PETA is calling on SeaWorld to end its shameful dolphin-breeding program and send the survivors to seaside sanctuaries before yet another one dies in a miserable concrete tank.
In nature, dolphins choose their own partners, swim up to 60 miles a day, and form long-lasting friendships within their pods. More than 400 dolphins have died at SeaWorld parks—many far short of their natural lifespan—while the survivors circle endlessly in cramped tanks and fend off stressed, aggressive tankmates.
A recent poll commissioned by PETA and conducted by Embold Research found that 77 percent of registered voters in California would support a ban on breeding dolphins after learning that these intelligent marine mammals are confined to crowded, shallow tanks and are sexually abused and sometimes drugged so they can’t fight back in SeaWorld’s breeding program. Additionally, 74 percent of voters want dolphins in marine parks to be moved to seaside sanctuaries.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—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.
