Posts Tagged ‘captivity’
Third orca death in 18 months at theme park
Loro Parque tourist attraction in Tenerife, Spain has announced the death of Kohana, a 20-year-old orca transferred to the facility from SeaWorld in the US in 2006. Kohana is the third orca who has died at the facility within 18 months after Skyla (17 years old) died in March 2021, and Ula (three years old),…
Read MoreSweden’s last dolphin shows to end
Sweden will become dolphinaria-free following the announcement by Kolmården Zoo in Stockholm that it will be closing its dolphin facility, which currently holds twelve bottlenose dolphins. The Zoo says it wants to focus on the conservation of endangered species and end its 50-year-old era of keeping dolphins. The dolphinarium will remain in operation until the…
Read MoreA happy ending for Tokitae (Lolita)? New Seaquarium owners commit to her retirement.
Tokitae, also called Lolita and named Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut by Washington State’s Lummi Nation, will no longer perform shows at the Miami Seaquarium, where she has been held since she was taken from her home waters in 1970. As a condition of the permit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), new operators of the Florida facility…
Read MoreExpedia No Longer Endorsing Interactions or Performances By Whales and Dolphins
WDC welcomes the news from online travel company Expedia Groups that they’ve updated their animal welfare policy to address captive-held whales and dolphins. Expedia will no longer sell activities for facilities that have interactions with or performances by whales and dolphins. This is a big step forward in the effort to end captivity for whales and…
Read MoreAlarming report raises worries for marine mammals held at the Miami Seaquarium
Leonardo Da Silva/Flickr A disturbing report on the conditions at the Miami Seaquarium from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), released along with an extensive interview from one of the facility’s former veterinarians, highlights the horrendous and dangerous treatment of marine mammals, including the endangered Southern Resident orca Tokitae (also called Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, or Lolita).…
Read MoreShocking footage of captive orca butting head against wall
Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Distressing scenes have recently emerged from Marineland in Ontario where Kiska, the loneliest whale in the world, has been filmed violently thrashing her head against the side of her tank. Kiska is a wild caught Icelandic orca who has spent the last four decades in captivity. She was just three years old…
Read MoreAnother orca dies in captivity
SeaWorld San Diego has announced the death of yet another orca held in captivity. According to reports Amaya, a six year old female orca died suddenly after showing signs of illness just a day earlier. She was the youngest orca at SeaWorld, and her mother, Kalia and her father, Ulises are also held at SeaWorld…
Read MoreCaptive beluga dies shortly after transfer into US
Sadly, a beluga known as Havoc, one of five whales recently moved from MarineLand in Canada to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, has died after just a few months in the facility. He was approximately six years old. According to Mystic Aquarium, Havoc suffered from a pre-existing gastrointestinal issue, but it has yet to be determined…
Read MoreTeenage captive orca dies at facility in Tenerife
Loro Parque in Tenerife has announced that one of the young orcas it holds captive has died. Skyla, a female orca was born at SeaWorld in Orlando (US) in 2004 to mother Kalina and father Tilikum. She was just two years of age when she was taken from her mother and flown to the Canary…
Read MoreSuccess! France to ban captivity of whales and dolphins in marine parks
WDC’s continued campaigning to end the keeping of whales and dolphins in captive facilities for human entertainment has received a big boost with the announcement by the French environment minister that the country will bring an end to this cruel practice. Barbara Pompili, France’s minister of ecological transition, revealed this week that a gradual ban…
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