Hold SeaWorld Orlando Accountable for Neglect

In October of 2022, at SeaWorld Orlando, Rascal the dolphin was found covered in both superficial and deep cuts and scratches, barely able to lift his tail. This was caused by aggression from other dolphins, and instead of doing the right thing and separating him from the group, they simply gave him pain medication.

The aggression Rascal experienced is common when marine mammals are kept in captivity. Captivity and isolation are inherently at odds with many of their lifestyles, where their home ranges are large and they often live in social groups. This results in problems like captive marine mammals often having much shorter lifespans.

And this is not the first incident of SeaWorld Orlando mistreating its marine mammals. In fact, the abuse is common. This mistreatment even culminated in the movie Blackfish, which followed the lifelong mistreatment of Tilikum the orca.

And in the December following Rascal’s injuries, when USDA inspectors made their mandatory inspection to ensure that SeaWorld Orlando is following the regulations under the Animal Welfare Act, they cited them for this incident, along with their water’s chlorine content being too high. The USDA also requested that SeaWorld provide more information, including data regarding certain medical records and daily logs.

But SeaWorld Orlando did not provide the requested information, which is a major infraction. The fact that SeaWorld Orlando did not hand over the data implies that whatever was in the records was so bad that they instead chose to take the punishment that came with not handing the records in. In turn, the USDA issued SeaWorld Orlando an official warning for failing to do so.

According to the Animal Welfare Act, due to not passing inspections and not providing information, the USDA should not have reissued SeaWorld Orlando’s Animal Exhibitor License. However, because the USDA chose to prioritize SeaWorld Orlando’s greed for profit over the welfare of the animals they are meant to protect, they reissued it anyway. The USDA even removed the violations from records in order to appease Seaworld Orlando.

Reissuing the Animal Exhibitor License, which allows them to continue to exploit marine mammals for profit, will not only keep SeaWorld Orlando from being held accountable for their past actions, but will encourage them to do so in the future without fear of consequences.

Take Action Now:

The USDA should never have reissued SeaWorld Orlando’s Animal Exhibitor License, and SeaWorld Orlando should not be trusted with the care of marine mammals. Sign our petition to urge the USDA to hold SeaWorld Orlando accountable and revoke their Animal Exhibitor License. This would be a major step in both saving the animals in SeaWorld Orlando, and sending a message to similar institutions about the consequences of their inherent cruelty and exploitation.

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