Peta sues Miami aquarium to demand release of Lolita the killer whale

Animal rights groups condemn orca’s 40 years in captivity at the Miami Seaquarium, leaving her unable to ‘carry out virtually any natural behaviors’

Reuters in Miami

Monday 20 July 2015 21.21 BSTLast modified on Monday 20 July 201521.49 BST

Animal rights groups seeking the release of Lolita, a killer whale in captivity since 1970, sued the Miami Seaquarium and its parent company Palace Entertainment on Monday saying her conditions violate the Endangered Species Act.

“For more than 40 years, Lolita has been unable to swim any meaningful distance, dive, forage, or carry out virtually any natural behaviors,” said the complaint, filed in the southern district of Florida by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta).

Activists have long bemoaned her tank, which measures 80ft (24 meters) long, 60ft (18 meters) wide and 20ft (6 meters) deep, as one of the smallest whale enclosures in the world. She has also been without another orca since 1980 when her tank mate, Hugo, died, the complaint added.

The federal government cleared a path for the lawsuit earlier this year after adding the 7,000lb orca to the endangered species list.

Lolita, who performs seven days a week, was captured in the summer of 1970 off the coast of Washington state when she was between three and six years old, according to court documents.

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Lolita the killer whale closer to freedom with inclusion on endangered list

Sunday 25 January 2015 20.10 GMT

Lolita, a killer whale that has lived in a tank at Miami’s Seaquarium for 44 years, could move a step closer to freedom this week.

After decades of campaigning, animal rights activists hope US officials will include the orca on a list of endangered whales that frequent the waters where she was captured, off Washington state. That decision could trigger a lawsuit by activists who want to fly 7,000lbs (3.2-tonne) Lolita across the country and prepare her for release into the wild.

About 1,000 protesters gathered outside the Seaquarium this month to demand the release of Lolita, who performs in shows seven days a week and was the subject of the 2003 video documentary Lolita: Slave to Entertainment. Officials at Miami Seaquarium, where the orca has lived since 1970, say the release plan is dangerous and Lolita would not survive in the wild after so many years in captivity.

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