Dolphin Defenders to Rally Outside Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Over Marine Mammal Captivity
For Immediate Release:
July 15, 2026
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
On Friday, animal defenders will make waves outside Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, greeting would-be park-goers with massive, dolphin-shaped signs declaring “Dolphins Suffer Here!” and “Dolphins Want to Swim Free, Not with You.” The action is part of PETA’s Free the Dolphins campaign—a nationwide initiative calling on marine abusement parks, resorts, and shoddy aquariums across the country to release dolphins to seaside sanctuaries.
PETA wants people to know that at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, dolphins like Merlin—who was abducted from the Gulf of Mexico in 1989—have spent decades confined to tiny, barren concrete tanks. The park forces dolphins to perform in regular shows—during which they may endure trainers standing on their faces and grabbing onto their fins—and subjects them to harmful, intrusive hands-on encounters with visitors in its “swim with dolphins” program.
“These dolphins are trapped in a nightmare at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, where they’re confined to concrete tanks, deprived of everything natural, and forced to perform demeaning tricks,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is making sure the public knows exactly what’s happening behind those gates and calling for these animals to be released to seaside sanctuaries.”
Where: Outside Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (near the ticketing gate), 1001 Fairgrounds Dr., Vallejo. Please see the Google Maps link here.
When: Friday, July 17, 12 noon
Why: In nature, dolphins maintain dynamic relationships with large social networks and can swim up to 60 miles a day. But at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, they’re denied everything that’s natural and important to them and housed in tanks so cramped and shallow that they can do little more than float listlessly or swim in endless circles. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom’s lengthy history of violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act includes a critical citation for the role of poor water quality in the deaths of two young dolphins.
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.
