For immediate release:
September 3, 2021
Contact:
David Pearl 202-483-7382
Miami – Records just released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) show six animals died in 2019 and 2020 at the Miami Aquarium. Among them were two bottlenose dolphins and a sea lion, all of whom died from injury-related causes, including bleeding head and neck, and a dolphin that drowned after being caught in the net.
PETA is currently asking the park to provide the public with full autopsy reports and any relevant behavioral records. PETA also requested additional records from the USDA, which did not cite the Miami Marine Aquarium on the deaths. despite NOAA alerting the agency to the pattern of injury-related deaths…
“Three dolphins have survived a horrific death at the Miami Marine Aquarium in just a year, and the public deserves answers,” says Jared Goodman, vice president of the PETA Foundation and Deputy General Counsel for Animal Law. “Before another animal there dies horribly in a small tank, PETA is urging the Miami Marine Aquarium to activate plans to send Lolita’s killer whale and other remaining dolphins to seaside reserves.”
The Miami Aquarium has a long history of animal welfare issues, including the treatment of Lolita, which in the past has been confined to a small, shallow, barren concrete tank. five decades, without fellow killer whales for more than 40 years… She exhibits repetitive and abnormal behavior, which marine mammal experts believe indicates serious psychological trauma.
PETA, whose motto is in part that “the animals are not ours to be used for entertainment” – opposes arrogance, a worldview focused on human superiority. For more information on collecting news and reporting on PETA investigations, please visit PETA.org or subscribe to the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram…