Mission: Honor Lolita—Help Free the Dolphins at the Miami Seaquarium to a Seaside Sanctuary

Posted by Calvin on March 15, 2024

Update (March 14, 2024): It’s time to celebrate—The Miami-Dade County Mayor’s Office has announced that the county will terminate the Miami Seaquarium’s lease! 🥳🥳🥳 Thanks to a yearslong PETA campaign aided by advocates like you, the notorious animal prison has been ordered to vacate the premises by April 21. 👏

Why Did the Miami Seaquarium Lose Its Lease?

Animals have suffered at The Miami Seaquarium for decades. The shady facility let Lolita waste away and die, allowed animals to eat trash in their enclosures, and ignored its veterinarian’s instructions. 😡 But now, help is finally on the way for the sentient beings confined there. 🙏

PETA’s campaign—which included lawsuits, celebrity ads, letters to and meetings with county officials, lively rallies, and a decade’s worth of weekly protests by local activists—؅has paid off. Thanks to the relentless work of animal defenders, nobody else will be forced to endure misery at the Miami Seaquarium.

What We Need to Do Now

While we thank Miami-Dade County officials for this massive W, we can’t stop here—please urge The Miami Seaquarium to move swiftly to send the animals to reputable facilities. 🐬🐋🌊

Originally posted on August 24, 2023

We have some seriously tragic news: On August 18, Lolita died in the world’s smallest orca tank at the Miami Seaquarium. 💔

For 53 years after she was abducted from her ocean home, Lolita was denied even a minute of freedom. There were plans to move her to a seaside sanctuary—but it’s obvi too late now. It’s not too late, though, for the other dolphins imprisoned at the marine park.

Let’s honor Lolita in the most compassionate way possible. Help us get her fellow dolphins the freedom they deserve. 🐬🌊

Suffering at the Miami Seaquarium

The lives of dolphins at the Miami Seaquarium are really restricted. In their natural homes, dolphins can swim up to 60 miles a day with their fams. But at the Miami Seaquarium, all they can do is swim in endless circles in tiny tanks. Think about how frustrating it would be to live this way for years. 😤

Holding them captive for amusement is an example of straight-up-speciesism—a belief in human supremacy—and it has to stop now. The other dolphins trapped in this marine park prison need our help before they die in a tiny tank like Lolita.

What You Can Do

Politely urge The Dolphin Company—the owner of the Miami Seaquarium—to release the remaining dolphins at the facility to a seaside sanctuary. They deserve to finally enjoy freedom—and the clock is ticking. ⏲️

1. Draft an email politely asking The Dolphin Company to release the dolphins. Please feel free to use our sample letter below, but remember that using your own words is always more effective.

Dear Mr. Albor:

I was heartbroken to learn that Lolita passed away before having the opportunity to dive deep and swim freely in a seaside sanctuary and that her former dolphin tankmate, Li’i, has been condemned to spending the rest of his life in a concrete cell at SeaWorld. I hope you’ll move the remaining dolphins at the Miami Seaquarium to a sanctuary, before they suffer the same fate as Lolita.

Dozens of companies have severed ties with marine parks that hold cetaceans captive. In the U.S., the National Aquarium is building a seaside sanctuary for the dolphins in its care. Two whales have been moved from a marine park in China to a sanctuary in Iceland, in Indonesia captive dolphins were rehabilitated at a sanctuary and released into the sea, and you made history with the announcement earlier this year of plans to move Lolita and Li’i to a seaside sanctuary.

All eyes are on you to do the right thing and honor beloved Lolita’s memory. Will you please move all the surviving dolphins to a seaside sanctuary?

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.

2. Send your email to:

Eduardo Albor

CEO, The Dolphin Company

[email protected]

3. Take a screenshot of your email, sign into your peta2 account, and submit the screenshot for 15 peta2 points from our rewards program. (Heads-up: You’ll only be awarded points for taking this action once.)