This is the USDA effectively washing their hands off Lolita and no longer requiring that she be held consistent with the Animal Welfare Act and, because of that, she doesn’t have adequate protection under the law.
LOUIS AGUIRRE: After 52 years, the show is finally over for Lolita. The 56-year-old orca, also known as Tokitae or Toki, has now retired from performing at the Miami Seaquarium- and so has Li’i, the Pacific white-sided dolphin that shares her tank.
It’s a move that animal rights activists have long been fighting for. Attorney Jared Goodman, of PETA, said they are hopeful and calling on the Dolphin Company to ensure that this is a first step toward sending her and Li’i to a seaside sanctuary before they die in this incredibly cramped tank…
Lolita hasn’t performed in months. Recently she has been very ill. There have been reports she was battling pneumonia. In a scathing inspection last June, the USDA deemed her stadium a safety hazard and reported her pool, the smallest whale tank in the nation, was also in serious disrepair.
The structure is now permanently closed to the public. Recently, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said, “We are excited to work with the new management team to make sure that she can be safe in her environment and that she can be safely moved”…
Is a new home also in her future? That is the big question that as of yet cannot be answered, but animal activists who have long been fighting to set her free see this as a positive step forward toward finally sending her home…
The Dolphin Company is the Seaquarium’s new owner. The USDA granted them a new license to operate the park on the condition that they no longer display Toki or Li’i, but that also means the animals lose their federal safety nets.
“This is the USDA effectively washing their hands off Lolita and no longer requiring that she be held consistent with the Animal Welfare Act and because of that, she doesn’t have adequate protection under the law,” Goodman said.
The Dolphin Company has yet to announce their plans for Toki and Li’i only that they will continue to take good care of them using their current team, but the company, which has 32 parks all over the world, has never owned an orca before. Naomi Rose, a marine mammal expert, said they’re not into orcas and she doesn’t know why they are buying Lolita and what are they going to do with her…
And in the background of all this is an ongoing USDA investigation into serious animal welfare violations by the previous owners of the Seaquarium and how that will affect operations going forward is still not known. What is certain is that after 52 years, it is the beginning of a new era at the Miami Seaquarium — one without Lolita. SOURCE…
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