PETA to Rally in Support of Cruelty Charges Against Miami Seaquarium

Supporters Will Bring Giant ‘Orca’ to State Attorney’s Office to Urge Criminal Charges Be Brought on Behalf of Long-Suffering Orca Lolita

For Immediate Release:
June 8, 2020

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

A group of PETA supporters—complete with a giant inflatable orca and signs reading, “Lockdown for 50 Years”—will rally outside the office of Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle on Tuesday to urge her to investigate and pursue appropriate cruelty-to-animals charges against the Miami Seaquarium for its abusive treatment of the orca Lolita.

When:    Tuesday, June 9, 12 noon

Where:    Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, 1350 N.W. 12th Ave., Miami

As PETA points out in a letter sent to Fernandez Rundle sent last week, Lolita has been confined to the smallest orca tank in the world since she was taken from the ocean and her family nearly 50 years ago. She is denied the opportunity to dive, swim more than 80 feet in any direction, seek shelter from the blazing summer sun, or form social relationships with any others of her own species—and she displays repetitive and abnormal behavior indicating severe psychological trauma.

“Suffering has been on display in the Miami Seaquarium’s minuscule orca tank for decades,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on the state attorney to hold this dismal theme park accountable for subjecting this orca to stress, agitation, and injury in apparent violation of Florida law.”

For more information, please visit PETA.org.