In Wake of Lolita’s Death, Dolphin Defenders Descend on SeaWorld to Demand Corky’s Freedom

For Immediate Release:
August 19, 2023

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Following the death of the orca Lolita, who spent more than five decades imprisoned in a tiny tank at the Miami Seaquarium, PETA supporters will descend on SeaWorld on Saturday to call for the release of Corky, the longest-held captive orca in the world. Like Lolita, Corky was sold into the entertainment industry after being torn away from her family and ocean home, in this case off the coast of British Columbia in 1969, and she was used for years as a breeding machine—but not one of her babies survived past 47 days. Her last pregnancy ended in a miscarriage when her dead baby was found at the bottom of a concrete tank at SeaWorld. She has been kept captive for 53 years.

“Like Lolita, Corky has known only misery for more than 50 years, with no life other than to swim in endless circles in a tiny, barren tank, and she must be released,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is shaming SeaWorld, which must listen to public opinion and release Corky into a seaside sanctuary, where she could dive deep, swim fast, and even possibly reunite with her family before she dies in captivity as Lolita did.”

Corky is the only surviving orca who was captured before Lolita, whose death follows years of PETA protests, lawsuits, an endangered species designation, and the recent announcement that, thanks to philanthropist and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, plans were finally being made to move her to a seaside sanctuary.

Where:           At the intersection of Sea World Drive and Sea World Way, San Diego

When:             Saturday, August 19, 4 p.m.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview.

For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

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