MAN FOUND DEAD IN ORCA WHALE TANK

We were saddened to hear this morning that the staff at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida, found a dead man draped over the back of a captive orca
whale called Tillicum. 

Apparently the man had spent the night inside SeaWorld and had jumped into one of the orca display tanks where Tillicum is kept alone. Tillicum is not allowed to interact with the other seven orcas held in that facility, and has been kept in solitary confinement since he was sold to SeaWorld in January 1992.

After being captured off Iceland's coast in October 1983, Tillicum was shipped to the now defunct Sealand of Victoria, a facility which closed shortly after the death of orca trainer Keltie Byrnes in 1991. During what became the last whale show at Sealand, Keltie slipped into the orca tank and could not be saved. Tillicum was one of the four whales involved in drowning the trainer.

The four Sealand whales were then sold to SeaWorld, where the trainers routinely ride orca whales and the public is encouraged to swim, pet and feed these wild animals kept in captivity for profit and entertainment.

We blame the aquarium industry for the senseless and tragic death of the Florida man. We urge the Vancouver Aquarium to stop its Swim-With-The Whales Program, which mis-educates the public into believing that wild whales are "pets" when kept in captivity. According to the law, captive whales are wild animals even if born in captivity, and should be treated as such.

For more information please contact:

Annelise Sorg, Director
COALITION FOR NO WHALES IN CAPTIVITY
Box 461, 1755 Robson St.
Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6G 3B7
Tel: (604) 736-9514
Fax: (604) 731-2733
E-mail: annelise@direct.ca
www.whaleprotection.org