From Tanks to Tombstones: PETA to Set Up Chilling Orca ‘Cemetery’ at SeaWorld Orlando

Solemn Scene Will Call for Orcas to Be Released Into Seaside Sanctuaries to Prevent More Premature Deaths

For Immediate Release:
October 26, 2016

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

What:    A ghastly “graveyard” of 38 headstones—one for each orca who died young on SeaWorld’s watch—will haunt the marine park’s Halloween celebration on Thursday. Featuring signs that read, “A Nightmare on Sea World Drive” and “SeaWorld Kills: Real-Life Horror,” PETA’s protest will point out that nothing’s scarier than SeaWorld’s record of orca suffering and death.

When:    Thursday, October 27, 12 noon sharp

Where:    Intersection of South Orange Avenue and South Street, Orlando

“SeaWorld has let dozens of young orcas suffer and die from pneumonia, infections, and other captivity-induced conditions,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “This Halloween, PETA is calling on the company to prevent more horror stories by retiring the remaining orcas to seaside sanctuaries.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—notes that in the wild, orcas work cooperatively to find food, share intricate relationships, and traverse up to 100 miles of ocean every day. At SeaWorld, they’re housed in incompatible groups inside tiny tanks and given the drug diazepam to manage stress-induced aggressive behavior.

For more information, please visit SeaWorldOfHurt.com.