Courthouse Demonstration as SeaWorld Opponents Arrested at Rose Parade Are Arraigned

Activists to Appear in Pasadena Superior Court on Monday

For Immediate Release:
January 31, 2014

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Holding signs that read, “SeaWorld: Cruel Orca Prison,” PETA members will congregate outside the Pasadena Courthouse on Monday in support of 16 people arrested for protesting against SeaWorld’s float in the Rose Parade. Twelve-year-old Rose McCoy, who was also arrested at the parade, will be among the PETA demonstrators. PETA’s point? In the wild, orcas swim upward of 100 miles per day. But at SeaWorld, they are forced to swim in tiny circles to amuse tourists and spend the majority of their lives virtually motionless in concrete tanks that are the human equivalent of a bathtub.

When:   Monday, February 3, 8 a.m.

Where:  Outside the Pasadena Courthouse, 300 E. Walnut St. (near the intersection with N. Garfield Avenue), Pasadena

“SeaWorld is a monument to animal suffering, and cruelty to animals isn’t something to celebrate at a parade,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange, a lifelong Pasadena resident and one of the protesters who was arrested. “Spending a few hours in jail is no fun, but it’s nothing compared to serving a life sentence in SeaWorld’s orca prisons.”

At least 25 orcas have died in U.S. SeaWorld facilities since 1986—and not one died of old age. Because these intelligent, sensitive animals are locked in concrete tanks and deprived them of everything that’s natural and important to them, they can be driven to violent acts of frustration against trainers, which is shown in the compelling and critically acclaimed documentary Blackfish. PETA wants SeaWorld to fund the creation of coastal sanctuaries where the captive orcas can live in as natural a setting as possible.

For more information, please visit SeaWorldOfHurt.com.