For Immediate Release:
October 27, 2021

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Miami – Kate del Castillo sent a letter today on behalf of PETA and PETA Latino to Eduardo Albor, the CEO of Cancún-based The Dolphin Company, which plans to buy the Miami Seaquarium, urging him to send lone orca, Lolita, to a seaside sanctuary before she dies—several dolphins recently died of trauma in small concrete tanks there. Del Castillo took action after a damning inspection report revealed that Lolita had recently sustained eye lesions, was fed partially decomposed fish, and was forced to continue performing tricks that had likely injured her.

“There’s a chance for Lolita to be reunited with her long-lost family—but only if you give the word,” writes del Castillo. “I’m asking you—at a time when the world is in desperate need of some good news—please be a hero by allowing Lolita to live out her remaining years at home.”

The Reina del Sur, Weeds, and The 33 star also appeared in a Dia de Muertos–themed ad for PETA and PETA Latino, in which she paid homage to the many orcas and other dolphins who have died at marine parks, from Tilikum at SeaWorld to Hugo—who repeatedly rammed his head into a wall—at the Miami Seaquarium.

PETA Latino—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information about PETA Latino, please visit PETALatino.com or follow the group on Twitter,  Facebook, or Instagram.

Del Castillo’s letter to Albor follows.

October 27, 2021

Eduardo Albor, CEO

The Dolphin Company

Dear Mr. Albor:

I’m writing to you today because I can’t stop thinking about Lolita, the lone orca at the Miami Seaquarium. She has been swimming in circles for more than half a century—and you have the power to bring her relief and a second chance at life in a seaside sanctuary.

After taking over a marine park in China, British-based attractions operator Merlin Entertainments moved the two beluga whales, Little White and Little Grey, confined there to a seaside sanctuary in Iceland. You could do the same for Lolita right now. Please give her the life she deserves. Allow her to swim longer distances, dive to greater depths, and potentially even communicate with her family once again. Scientists, researchers, and industry experts have endorsed seaside sanctuaries—safe ocean coves in which formerly captive orcas can thrive in the sea while still receiving food and veterinary care as part of the rehabilitation process.

The global calls to release Lolita are louder now than ever, as the Seaquarium’s decades of failing to provide animals with even the bare minimum necessary for their well-being has come to light. As you must know, a damning federal inspection report revealed a slew of animal welfare violations at the facility, including for holding incompatible dolphins together who ended up dying from trauma, feeding animals bad fish, forcing Lolita to perform tricks that likely injured her jaw, and repeatedly acting against its own veterinarians’ instructions.

For the last 51 years, Lolita has suffered in the smallest orca tank in the world. She was abducted from her family and has endured an existence that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. There is still time for her to experience the ocean’s currents and to live as an orca should. Her family still swims in the waters of the Pacific Northwest, and the orca many believe is her mother is still alive. There’s a chance for Lolita to be reunited with her long-lost family—but only if you give the word.

As The Dolphin Company purchases the park, all eyes are on you to do the right thing. I’m asking you—at a time when the world is in desperate need of some good news—please be a hero by allowing Lolita to live out her remaining years at home.

Sincerely yours,

Kate del Castillo

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