Passed from one marine amusement park to another and forced to live in tiny tanks, Kayla is the fourth orca to die prematurely at SeaWorld in the last two years.
Originally posted by Stephen Wells as a Guest Columnist on Orlando Sentinel, January 31, 2019
The Animal Legal Defense Fund grieves the death of Kayla, a 30-year-old
orca whose death SeaWorld announced on Monday. And we renew our call for
Florida and other states with captive orcas to pass and enact stronger orca
protection laws.
We mourn not just Kayla's death, but that she never truly got to live. It's
not just a limited lifespan that makes captivity so cruel for orcas. They
are among the smartest, most emotionally complex animals on earth. In the
wild, they live in large, intricate societies, and swim some 140 miles every
day but in captivity, at SeaWorld, these animals are often kept alone or
with little company in small tanks that are essentially glorified bathtubs.
We need legislation that will protect other orcas from this cruel fate.
In the wild, orcas like Kayla have an expected lifespan of 40-60 years, and
may live to 80 or 90 years old. In captivity, that lifespan is substantially
reduced. A 2015 study finds that captive orcas in the United States live on
average of 12 years.
Nearly three years ago, in response to public demand, SeaWorld promised to
end its orca breeding program and to phase out its orca shows. The orca
shows are still occurring, though the company says they will end in 2019.
There is no way, though, to enforce these promises and SeaWorld has
dispatched lobbyists to defeat attempts to codify its voluntary commitments.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund has proposed the Florida Orca Protection Act,
which would make it illegal to hold orcas in captivity for any purpose —
grandfathering those already in captivity in Florida. It would also be
illegal to breed captive orcas, or to transport captive orcas into Florida
or out of North America, unless provided by federal law or to rehome to
sanctuary. Additionally, the bill would require that orcas held for
rehabilitation or research purposes be returned to the wild whenever
possible.
Thanks to Representative Jared Moskowitz, the bill was filed for the 2018
legislative session as HB 1305 but the legislature adjourned before the bill
was debated. We are working with lawmakers to reintroduce the bill in the
2019 legislative session.
We need the Florida Orca Protection Act because Kayla deserved better than
what she got: a short life in a small tank. Orcas are counting on us to make
sure this generation of captive orcas is the last.