Corky Belongs in the Ocean: New PETA Video for the Old Orca Asks Kids to Skip SeaWorld

For Immediate Release:
July 30, 2024

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Because SeaWorld targets children with ads during kids’ shows on YouTube, PETA is running a new 30-second animated video that explains to them exactly how Corky—the longest-held captive orca in the world—was taken from her mother in nature and has been imprisoned by marine parks for over 54 years. The group’s video is running during kids’ content on YouTube in San Diego and the other cities with SeaWorld locations.

“Children naturally love animals and would never want to visit SeaWorld if they knew how animals like Corky have been torn away from their ocean homes and are trapped in tiny, barren tanks, where they can only swim in endless circles,” says PETA Senior Director Danielle Katz, a San Diego resident and mother. “PETA is encouraging kids to stay away from SeaWorld and calling for the marine park to release Corky to a seaside sanctuary, where she could dive deep, swim fast, and even possibly reunite with her family.”

Corky was sold into the entertainment industry after being torn away from her family and ocean home off the coast of British Columbia in 1969. She was used for years as a breeding machine at another facility, but none of her calves 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.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.