Happening Now: ‘Dead Orcas’ Hung Over L.A. Freeway in SeaWorld Protest

After SeaWorld Marketing Campaign Targets City, PETA Organizes Massive Prop and Banner Drop Urging Boycott Response

For Immediate Release:
April 28, 2017

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

What:             Moments ago, PETA members hung 39 inflatable “dead orcas” from ropes on seven Los Angeles overpasses along the 101 Freeway—one for every orca who has died on SeaWorld’s watch. PETA also unfurled giant banners on three of the bridges that read, “SeaWorld Kills Orcas,” “Orcas Dead on SeaWorld’s Watch: 39 and Counting …” and “Boycott SeaWorld.” The large-scale demonstration comes in response to a recent SeaWorld marketing campaign targeting Los Angeles residents.

“SeaWorld continues to exploit and kill animals for entertainment, despite its misleading ads,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on L.A. families to stay away until the company releases the orcas it holds captive into 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, forge 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.

Where:           Bridges on Grand Ave., Hill St., Broadway, Spring St., Main St., Los Angeles St., and Alameda St. along the 101 Freeway, Los Angeles

When:             Friday, April 28, 5:30 p.m.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

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