PETA Relay Run to Bring Symbolic Bolt Cutters from L.A. to SeaWorld’s Turf in Push for Orca’s Freedom
For Immediate Release:
December 4, 2024
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Bearing a pair of “bolt cutters” as a baton, a pack of PETA supporters will hightail it to Mission Beach on Saturday and carry a giant inflatable orca through the “chain” finish line and underneath an inflatable arch reading, “Free Corky—SeaWorld’s Oldest Prisoner,” in a relay race to demand that SeaWorld release Corky—the longest-held captive orca in the world—into a seaside sanctuary. The runners will cap off a 24-hour race from Los Angeles spanning 150 miles—the distance Corky could swim in a single day in nature—marking the 55th year since the orca was taken from her mother and ocean home and imprisoned by marine parks.
“Nothing can undo the misery Corky has endured for the last 55 years, kept prisoner and forced to swim in endless circles in tiny, barren tanks, but SeaWorld still has a chance to do the right thing,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange, who will run 20 miles of the relay. “PETA is calling for Corky’s release to a seaside sanctuary, where she could dive deep, swim freely, and have a semblance of the life she’s been denied, before it’s too late.”
Where: 3131 Ocean Front Walk, San Diego
When: Saturday, December 7, 1:30 p.m.
Why: In the wild, orcas have sophisticated social relationships, working cooperatively to find food and traveling vast distances in the open ocean every day. But at SeaWorld, they’re housed in tiny tanks that leave them with nothing to do but float listlessly or swim in endless circles while enduring stress, frustration, and depression. Corky was sold into the entertainment industry after being torn from her family off the coast of British Columbia in 1969. She was used for years as a breeding machine, 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.
Over 200,000 PETA supporters to date have urged SeaWorld to develop a firm and rapid plan to release Corky to a seaside sanctuary in her home waters in British Columbia—which a team of experts is already preparing for her. 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 PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
