PETA Statement: PETA Says SeaWorld’s Proposed Fake Ocean Backdrop Mocks Orcas Who Are Being Deprived of the Real Thing

For Immediate Release:
October 31, 2016

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Below, please find a statement from PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman regarding SeaWorld’s application to construct a backboard screen depicting an ocean behind the orcas’ small tanks for its new “orca experience” show. The California Coastal Commission will consider the application on November 4:

By decorating its underwater prisons with a backdrop of a fake ocean stretching out behind them, SeaWorld would make a mockery of the animals’ lack of opportunity to swim in the real ocean. This marketing ploy is designed to deceive visitors while doing nothing for the orcas floating listlessly in tiny concrete tanks. PETA is calling on SeaWorld to release the orcas into seaside sanctuaries now, instead of investing in smoke and mirrors.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—will demonstrate outside the hearing on November 4. More information about PETA’s campaign is available at SeaWorldOfHurt.com.