Human ‘Dolphins’ Will Float in Cramped Tank to Protest SeaWorld

PETA Urges People to Steer Clear of SeaWorld, Shines Light on Experts’ Condemnation of Extreme Dolphin Suffering

For Immediate Release:
August 22, 2019

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

What:    On Friday, three PETA “dolphins” will be crammed inside a tank on Miami Beach underneath a banner proclaiming, “SeaWorld: Stop the Dolphin Circus!” They’ll carry speech-bubble signs reading, “We Belong in the Ocean” and “Get Us Out of Here!”

When:    Friday, August 23, 12 noon

Where:    At the intersection of Ocean Drive and 11^th Street, Miami Beach 

The eye-catching protest follows the deaths of more than 40 orcas at the parks as well as the publication of an expert report detailing that dolphins at SeaWorld have open wounds and extensive scarring—yet trainers still ride on their backs and stand on their faces during sea-circus performances. Bearing the full weight of human bodies can damage the animals’ hearing, strain their muscles and joints, and exacerbate the injuries caused by confinement to cramped tanks—seven of which hold some 140 dolphins collectively at the parks.

“Highly intelligent, social, sensitive dolphins are packed into shallow tanks, forcibly bred—sometimes even after being drugged—and used as surfboards and launch pads in SeaWorld’s circus-style shows,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges people not to visit this abusement park until the animals are moved to sea sanctuaries.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—notes that the protest will take place not far from the Miami Seaquarium, which has held a lone orca, Lolita, in the smallest orca tank in the world for 49 years.

PETA opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit SeaWorldOfHurt.com or PETA.org.

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