SeaWorld Is Ho-Ho-Horrible to Animals! Santas to Demand Release of World’s Saddest Orca

For Immediate Release:
December 11, 2025

Contact:
Hannah Nelson 202-483-7382

A sleighful of Santas will make an early stop at SeaWorld on Saturday, but they won’t be handing out presents. Instead, the festive force will call on the abusement park to release Corky—the longest-held captive orca in the world, who was abducted from her ocean home 56 years ago this month—to a seaside sanctuary where she could dive deep, swim fast, and have some semblance of a natural life.

“Corky should be exploring the open ocean with her family, but instead she’s been crammed into a concrete bathtub where she can only swim in circles for more than half a century,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges everyone to make life merrier for marine animals by staying far away from SeaWorld and other parks where whales and dolphins are imprisoned and exploited.”

Where:           SeaWorld Main Entrance, 7007 Sea World Dr., Orlando

When:             Saturday, December 13, 12 noon

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.