RIP: Kayla Becomes the 41st Orca to Die at SeaWorld
After being hauled from park to park, being made to perform tricks in chemically treated water, being forcibly artificially inseminated, and miscarrying a calf and losing another, Kayla the orca has died and is finally free from her suffering.
Kayla was born as part of SeaWorld’s captive-breeding programme – which PETA and countless others campaigned against for years before successfully stopping.
She was born at SeaWorld San Antonio in Texas in 1988. When she was not yet 3 years old, she was torn away from her mother and moved to SeaWorld Ohio (which has since been shut down). She was later moved back to SeaWorld San Antonio, where she gave birth to a calf, Halyn. But she rejected her baby, as orcas in captivity have often been known to do.
In 2006, Kayla was moved one last time: to SeaWorld Orlando in Florida. In 2008, 2-year-old Halyn died at the San Antonio park.
No matter the cause, Kayla’s death was the culmination of a miserable lifetime of confinement – as has been the case for 40 other orcas at SeaWorld before her.
Kayla died without ever knowing freedom – without ever swimming in the ocean. She must be the last orca to die at a SeaWorld abusement park.
The company must release all the remaining animals at its facilities – the orcas, beluga whales, bottlenose dolphins, sea lions, walruses, penguins, and others – by rehabilitating them and returning them to nature or transferring them to coastal sanctuaries, where they could spend the rest of their lives in as natural a setting as possible. Contrary to SeaWorld’s greed-driven claims, this is all reasonable and achievable.
What You Can Do
TUI is supporting cruelty to animals by continuing to sell tickets to SeaWorld. As the marine park faces a plunging stock price and a steady decline in visitor numbers, it’s time that TUI followed in the footsteps of numerous other travel providers – including STA Travel and Thomas Cook – and severed ties with SeaWorld.
Please let TUI know your views and urge the company to stop supporting orca abuse:
Send a Message to TUI
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
