USDA/APHIS Need to Follow the Law and Retire Lolita

FROM  The Orca Project

ACTION Tell USDA/APHIS Inspectors to follow the law. If they do, Lolita could be retired from her tank and work to send her home could begin.

USDA APHIS Animal Care
4700 River Road, Unit 84
Riverdale, MD 20737-1234
email
phone (301) 734-7833
fax (301) 734-4978

United States Department of Agriculture
Marketing and Regulatory Programs
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
4700 River Road, Unit #50
Riverdale, Maryland 20737

United States Department of Agriculture
Marketing and Regulatory Programs
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services
Animal Care
920 Main Campus Drive, Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27606
phone (919) 855-7100
fax (919) 855-7123

INFORMATION / TALKING POINTS

Read a comprehensive overview of every violation that the Miami Seaquarium is committing in reference to Lolita. This outlines every rule that is being “overlooked” by APHIS inspectors when they enter the park. You will find research and undeniable evidence that Lolita’s tank does NOT meet minimum Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service minimum standards.

Since her capture in 1970, Lolita has been kept in a tank that violates the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) standards for size requirements. APHIS is an operating unit of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Image from Save Lolita

Lolita is approximately 21 feet long and 7,000 pounds. Per the guidelines, the tank for a killer whale the size of Lolita must be a minimum of 48 feet wide in either direction with a straight line of travel across the middle. Lolita’s tank is only 35 feet wide from the front wall to the slide out (work island) barrier. It is 20 feet deep at the deepest point and a mere 12 feet deep around the edges. The Miami Seaquarium is in need of major repairs, and per the Marine Mammal Inventory Report, has a substantial death rate for their animals.

Thank you for everything you do for animals!