Criminal Charges Against SeaWorld Sought After Violent Orca Attack Was Caught On Video In San Diego, California

Following the recent release of eyewitness video footage of an attack amongst orcas at SeaWorld, PETA filed a complaint with San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan, calling for an investigation. The organization is also urging for charges of cruelty-to-animal to be filed against SeaWorld. Sadly, the attack resulted in a serious wound to one orca, believed to be Corky, the longest-held orca in captivity.

In the letter, PETA explains that attacks of this kind are rare in wild orca populations and that when they do occur, orcas can flee from conflict to avoid injury. However, SeaWorld’s barren tanks prevent the animals from making that evasive move, as well as from participating in natural forms of behavior, including foraging and diving. PETA also contends that SeaWorld knowingly houses incompatible orcas together, putting the animals at risk of severe injury and under constant stress.

“It’s like knowingly housing a violent prisoner in a small cell with a vulnerable prisoner, although in this case, the animals’ only ‘crime’ is to have been born,” PETA’s General Counsel for Animal Law, Jared Goodman, said in a statement. “Orcas can swim over 100 miles a day in their ocean homes, but in SeaWorld’s cramped tanks, they can’t escape violent attacks, which adds to their suffering.”

Over 50 years ago, Corky the orca was captured rodeo-style off the coast of British Columbia and sold into captivity, ultimately ending up at SeaWorld. PETA is pushing SeaWorld to release her and the park’s other orcas to seaside sanctuaries.

SeaWorld needs to be held accountable for the physical and psychological suffering that orcas have to endure while spending their entire lives in the theme park’s small concrete tanks.