AAA’s SeaWorld Promos Prompt Drive-By ‘Orca’ Protest
PETA Says Association Must Cut Ties That Help Keep Captive Marine Mammal Prison Afloat
For Immediate Release:
September 1, 2020
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
In cars plastered with protest signs and with a huge, inflatable orca flying above them, PETA supporters will circle AAA’s national headquarters on Wednesday in a socially distanced protest against the company’s sales of tickets to SeaWorld, which PETA warns could bolster Labor Day attendance. The group wants the orcas and other marine mammals to be set free into the ocean under careful rehabilitation measures.
When: Wednesday, September 2, 12 noon
Where: At the intersection of International Parkway and AAA Drive, Heathrow
“No reputable company would wish to be mentioned in the same breath as a prison that keeps whales, orcas, and other dolphins in concrete cells,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “As drivers prepare to hit the road for a three-day weekend, PETA is calling on AAA to stop profiting from this cruel abusement park.”
In nature, orcas, other dolphins, and belugas have a life that’s denied to ones in captivity—those in the ocean can maintain dynamic relationships of large social networks, choose their own partners, and swim freely in the vast expanse of water. Following a vigorous PETA campaign, SeaWorld has had to stop breeding orcas—but it’s still breeding belugas and bottlenose dolphins (sometimes forcibly after drugging them), and all the marine mammals at its parks are confined to small concrete tanks. PETA is calling on SeaWorld to end its breeding programs and develop seaside sanctuaries.
Dozens of companies—including Booking.com, Tripadvisor, Virgin Holidays, WestJet, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines—have cut ties with SeaWorld. Many individual AAA clubs—including Arizona; Colorado; Minneapolis; MountainWest; Northeast; Northern California; Nevada & Utah; and Washington—have stopped selling SeaWorld tickets, but so far, the national organization has failed to follow suit.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
