SeaWorld Is Forcing an Orca With a Severe Dorsal Fin Injury to Perform – Time to Empty the Tanks NOW!

Thanks to eye-opening films like Blackfish and The Cove, the public has become more aware of the truth behind marine parks like SeaWorld. As awareness has continued to spread, SeaWorld has seen a significant drop in ticket sales, which they continuously lied about to investors, landing them in the middle of an investigation by the Department of Justice. After failing to mend the business’ bad reputation, despite eye-roll-worthy ad campaigns, CEO Joel Manby stepped down, as did others. One would think with all the negative reactions from the public that SeaWorld would finally agree it is time to empty the tanks, but instead, they are forcing a severely injured orca named Katina to perform every day.

Ocean Advocate News has been keeping a watchful eye on Katina and have documented her serious injury on her dorsal fin. The gash is so deep and long that it looks like her dorsal fin is dangling off.

SeaWorld claims they do not know how she became injured (despite the presence of security cameras and regular interactions with trainers) and speculate the gash could have been from interacting with an older male orca. Marine mammal specialists refute this, saying this type of injury does not occur between orcas.

And even if her injury is the result of being attacked by another orca, it is the park’s fault for keeping these animals in such close quarters when they would naturally have all the free space they needed in the ocean. Despite her injury, that is so severe it is difficult to look at, SeaWorld is still forcing Katina to perform regular shows every day.

Animal advocates are outraged that not only has Katina been injured so seriously while under the care of SeaWorld, but that they also continue to put profit before animal welfare and force her to perform while injured. A petition has been set up on Care2 to get Katina and all other animals in SeaWorld’s care released to a sanctuary. Please take a moment to sign the petition here.

Despite the ever-growing public disapproval of SeaWorld, there are still millions of people who visit the parks each year, so please make sure you do your part to spread awareness of the truth by sharing this with your network!

All Image Source: Ocean Advocate News/Facebook