‘Killer Whale’ to Make a Splash in Herald Square to Protest Macy’s SeaWorld Float

PETA Will Rally Shoppers to Urge Department Store to Dump SeaWorld Float From Thanksgiving Day Parade

For Immediate Release:
October 22, 2013

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382 

New York — Shoppers and tourists in Herald Square will get an eyeful on Wednesday as an “orca” thrashing around in a water-filled tank becomes the centerpiece of a PETA protest outside Macy’s flagship store. Flanking the tank will be PETA members with a banner that reads, “Take SeaWorld Orca Abuse Out of Macy’s Parade.” The “killer whale”—a record-holding swimmer in a realistic orca wetsuit—is part of a public appeal for Macy’s to drop its plans to include a SeaWorld float in this year’s parade.  

When:   Wednesday, October 23, 12 noon

Where:  Macy’s Herald Square, 151 W. 34th St. (between Sixth and Seventh avenues), Manhattan

“Confining sophisticated orcas to tiny tanks is like keeping someone in a bathtub for life,” says PETA Foundation’s Delcianna Winders. “SeaWorld causes immense animal suffering, and its recklessness has resulted in the deaths of human trainers. Why would Macy’s want to promote such cruelty and violence?”

In the wild, orcas swim as far as 100 miles a day. But at SeaWorld, captive orcas—many of whom were taken from their ocean homes and family pods—continually turn in circles in small barren concrete tanks and live far short of their 60-year life expectancy. At least 23 orcas have died in U.S. SeaWorld facilities since 1986—and not one died of old age. SeaWorld has also been fined for allowing trainers in the water with frustrated orcas—which, as the high-profile death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau demonstrates, can be fatal.

For more information, please visit SeaWorldOfHurt.com.