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Academy Award Nominee James Cromwell stood and bravely protested during a SeaWorld Orca Encounter show — despite an aggressive and violent reaction from a few of the “abusement” park’s fans (ex. 1:11). Cromwell and his fellow protestors spoke on behalf of the orcas who can’t speak for themselves and did so on a Facebook Live feed for the world to see.

Cromwell took the megaphone and commanded the audience’s attention. “Orcas deserve a full life in the ocean, not a life sentence of swimming endless circles until they drop dead from disease,” he started. “My friends at PETA and I want SeaWorld to move these intelligent animals to seaside sanctuaries without delay.”

While SeaWorld has agreed not to breed orcas in captivity, since the backlash caused by Blackfish, but it isn’t enough. Orcas and other beautiful animals are still suffering today. PETA’s protest asks, simply, for SeaWorld to build and establish sanctuaries so orcas can finally have peace after being forced to live in, what is for them, a tiny, cramped space with no cover from the sun. Whales don’t belong in tanks.

Variety reports that Cromwell and the protestors were later handcuffed and taken into police custody. We applaud all of them for their courage and for standing up for animals.