Activists have wanted to free Lolita for 25 years. But the orca will remain at the Seaquarium, court rules
MIAMI _ More than three years after activist groups sued Miami Seaquarium over its treatment of the captive orca Lolita, a federal appeals court has rejected their petition to reopen the case.
The suit claimed that Seaquarium was violating the Endangered Species Act by confining the orca. But in a decision filed Tuesday, the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit determined that while Lolita's case was "unique" due to her age and the continuing medical care present at the aquarium, there was "no threat of serious harm" sufficient to trigger a violation of the federal animal welfare law. The court also noted that there is "no realistic means for returning to the wild without being harmed."
Lolita, a Southern Resident Killer Whale thought to be about 51 years old, is the star attraction at Seaquarium, a popular tourist attraction on Virginia Key, where she has lived since her capture off Puget Sound in 1970. At 80 feet by 60 feet and 20 feet deep, her tank is the smallest orca aquarium in the country.
Her endangered status means that any move would require a permit from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. While orcas can live up to 80 years in the wild, the median life expectancy is considered between 38 and 50 years old.
PETA was joined by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Orca Network and its founder Howard Garrett in its initial lawsuit against Miami Seaquarium. In January, the federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that Lolita could stay at her home of nearly half a century, and the activist groups petitioned for a panel rehearing in February.
_Miami Herald
