Not so long ago, few believed that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus would go under and then reboot as a wildly celebrated animal-free production. The abusement park’s business model revolves around the pain and suffering of animals jammed in cramped tanks. The public isn’t falling for it, and PETA is working to see the end of SeaWorld as it now stands.
Momentum Turns
Public sentiment against the park turned in the wake of orca trainer Dawn Brancheau’s death in 2010, and the subsequent release of the damning documentary Blackfish. After the orca Tilikum made his distress and anger known by lashing out, OSHA cited SeaWorld for endangering employees who work with orcas … too late for Dawn.
PETA turned up the heat. Through bold protests, including “die-ins,” body-painted “orcas,” and taking over airport baggage carousels, activists got the word out from coast to coast.
After hearing from PETA and our supporters, businesses and longtime sponsors jumped ship one by one. From Cal State Long Beach to the Miami Dolphins, SeaWorld lost partner after partner. Snickers ended its partnership, as did candy companies Smarties, Albanese Candy, and Colombina Candy Company.
PETA’s celebrity supporters, including Bella Thorne, Noah Cyrus, Pamela Anderson, Vanderpump Rules stars Lala Kent, Ariana Madix, and Scheana Shay, Jason Biggs, Kate Del Castillo, and many others, added their voices to our campaign.
And armed with a megaphone and wearing a shirt proclaiming, “SeaWorld Sucks,” Academy Award nominee James Cromwell led a group of PETA supporters in a takeover of SeaWorld’s “Orca Encounter” show, telling visitors about the company’s history of premature orca deaths.
Legendary comic and PETA pal Lily Tomlin revived her iconic character “Ernestine” as a feisty phone operator fielding complaint calls at SeaWorld.
The dominoes kept falling. United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines (a former official SeaWorld partner), JetBlue, and Virgin America all cut ties with SeaWorld. Air Canada and Choice Hotels ended SeaWorld ticket sales, and WestJet removed all references to SeaWorld from its website and promotional materials.
Singer Jason Derulo cancelled his performance at SeaWorld, as did the Barenaked Ladies, Cheap Trick, Willie Nelson, and Trisha Yearwood.
Many other SeaWorld partners have severed ties, including Abercrombie & Kent, the City of Gainesville, Florida, Costsaver, Country Inn & Suites, Hyundai Motor America (former official partner), Mattel, Taco Bell, and many more.
Tilikum v. SeaWorld—PETA Goes to Court
Legal scholars weighed in positively on PETA’s groundbreaking case, which called for SeaWorld’s captive orcas to be granted protection under the 13th Amendment. The amendment prohibits the condition of slavery without reference to “person” or any particular class of victims. This lawsuit was the first ever to seek to apply the 13th Amendment (or any constitutional protection) to animals other than humans.
After numerous protests, including blocking a SeaWorld float in the Tournament of Roses Parade (where more than a dozen PETA protesters were arrested), SeaWorld also ended its cruel, forced orca breeding program.
When SeaWorld went public, PETA purchased the smallest number of shares necessary to attend and speak at annual meetings. We submitted a shareholder resolution asking the parks to stop forcing dolphins to serve as surfboards.
In 2020, the company stopped making trainers stand on dolphins’ faces in demeaning circus-style shows.
Who Does SeaWorld Exploit?
Orcas are highly social animals who live in stable social groups ranging from two to 15 individuals. In some populations, children stay with their mothers for life. Bottlenose dolphins form long-lasting friendships through hunting, mating, and protecting each other, and can swim up to 60 miles per day. Belugas have large social networks and choose their own mates.
PETA worked hard to end SeaWorld’s wretched orca-breeding program. But our work isn’t over, and we need your help. SeaWorld continues to breed other dolphins and whales. Workers masturbate male dolphins and sexually abuse female dolphins after tearing them out of the water and sometimes drugging them so they can’t fight back while staff shove tubes filled with semen into their uteruses. Some animals endure this process repeatedly, only for their babies to die or be shipped off to other SeaWorld parks.
July 24th is Boycott SeaWorld Day, but families that care about animals will turn their backs on the abusement parks every day of the year. Urge SeaWorld to stop breeding all dolphins and whales and relocate them to seaside sanctuaries.
