California: Enact Legislation to Release the 11 Orcas Suffering at Sea World San Diego!
- by: Julie S.
- recipient: The California State Legislature and Governor Jerry Brown
The Orca Protection Act, recently signed into law in California, bans the breeding of captive orcas and the use of orcas in entertainment. While future generations of killer whales will not be forced into captivity in California, the bill unfortunately does nothing to help the 11 orcas currently suffering at Sea World's San Diego facility. The new law allows for these animals to be held in captivity as long as the purpose of the display is considered “educational.”
The orcas at Sea World San Diego deserve to spend the rest of their lives in sea sanctuaries, or if possible, return to their families in the wild. Orcas in the wild swim up to 100 miles per day and maintain close family relationships for life. Their miserable captive counterparts – who are denied rich social lives, and the ability to explore, hunt collaboratively, and deep dive – display signs of mental illness and uncharacteristically violent behavior. Captive orcas have shortened life spans and often require antidepressants to function in such unfulfilling environments.
The story of Sea World San Diego’s captive killer whale Corky breaks my heart. Corky was swimming freely with her mother in the waters off British Columbia in 1969 when she was cruelly captured in a net, never to see her mother again. She has been imprisoned in a barren concrete tank for 46 years. When Corky listened to a recording of her family members’ vocalizations in 1993, she shook and cried. I desperately want to see Corky return to the family that she remembers and loves.
During the new “educational” displays planned at Sea World, captive orcas will see video content of their wild counterparts in their original home. Cetacean scientist Dr. Toni Frohoff commented that seeing the ocean but not being able to experience it “could be one of the cruelest forms of psychological torment for captive orcas possible.”
Please join me in demanding that California lawmakers enact legislation to release Corky and the other imprisoned killer whales at Sea World San Diego. Now that captive breeding and orca entertainment have been banned, it is time for California to take the next step and give these animals a natural life – and the freedom they never should have been deprived of in the first place. Please sign this urgent petition requesting that California’s captive orcas be retired to sea pens, sea sanctuaries, or if possible, into the wild.
Dear Governor Brown and Members of the Honorable California State Legislature:
While I support the California Orca Protection Act, I am requesting that you enact additional legislation to release the orcas currently held captive at Sea World San Diego.
The orcas at Sea World San Diego deserve to spend the rest of their lives in sea sanctuaries, or if possible, be returned to their families in the wild. Orcas in the wild swim up to 100 miles per day and maintain close family relationships for life. Their miserable captive counterparts – who are denied rich social lives, and the ability to explore, hunt collaboratively, and deep dive – display signs of mental illness and uncharacteristically violent behavior. Captive orcas have shortened life spans and often require antidepressants to function in such unfulfilling environments.
The story of Sea World San Diego’s captive killer whale Corky brings me to tears. Corky was swimming freely with her mother in the waters off British Columbia in 1969 when she was cruelly captured in a net, never to see her mother again. She has been imprisoned in a barren concrete tank for 46 years. When a tape of Corky’s family members’ vocalizations were played to her, Corky shook and cried. I desperately want to see Corky return to the family that she remembers and loves.
During the new “educational” displays planned at Sea World, captive orcas will see video content of their wild counterparts in their original home. Cetacean Scientist Dr. Toni Frohoff commented that seeing the ocean but not being able to experience it “could be one of the cruelest forms of psychological torment for captive orcas possible.”
Now that captive breeding and orca entertainment have been banned, it is time for California to take the next step and give these animals a natural life – and the freedom they never should have been deprived of in the first place. Please continue to show that California is a leader in the animal welfare movement by enacting legislation mandating that Corky and the other captive killer whales at Sea World San Diego be retired to sea pens, sea sanctuaries, or if possible, into the wild.
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