Author Archives: Helene O'Barry

Orcas are among the most powerful predators on planet Earth, but years of confinement in a show stadium reduces them to powerless performers who constantly stick their heads out of the water and open their mouths, much like baby birds who open their beaks as wide as they can to show they are hungry

30May

Blog, Campaigns, Captivity Industry | Posts by : Helene O'Barry

Loro Parque Downgrades Role of Orcas as Predators

Posts by : Helene O'Barry

Loro Parque in Tenerife, Spain, recently posted a video on their Facebook page. In it, Wolfgang Kiessling, the founder of Loro Parque,

The show has ended, and Keto, who killed his trainer in 2009 out of sheer frustration, spends his time swimming in pointless circles, going nowhere. According to Loro Parque, this is an appropriate life for an orca, even though he belongs to one of the most intelligent and complex species in the animal kingdom.

20May

Blog, Campaigns, Captivity Industry | Posts by : Helene O'Barry

Complex Animals, Barren Enclosures at Loro Parque

Posts by : Helene O'Barry

Loro Parque recently published a video on its Facebook page in which they announce the results of one of their studies on

Naya with her unnamed daughter who was born on December 29th 2023 and died 28 days later, on January 26th 2024. Since the death of her daughter, Naya once again lives in complete isolation at Moskvarium’s dreary orca stadium. Credit: Moskvarium; Inherently Wild

16May

Blog, Campaigns, Captivity Industry | Posts by : Helene O'Barry

The Last Surviving Orca at Moskvarium

Posts by : Helene O'Barry

A conversation with Russian dolphin freedom advocate Oxana Fedorova about Naya, the last surviving orca at Moskvarium in Moscow, Russia. Background: Naya,

Kolmården Zoo, Sweden, Author: Kigsz, Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

24Apr

Blog, Campaigns, Captivity Industry | Posts by : Helene O'Barry

Let’s Never Forget Nephele

Posts by : Helene O'Barry

Last month, we reported on the death of 40-year-old Nephele at Kolmården Zoo’s dolphin stadium in Sweden. She died by suffocation when

The dolphins at Kolmården Zoo in Sweden spend 24/7 in this artificially lit theater. More than 60 dolphins have died here since the show stadium opened in 1969. Even though Kolmården Zoo announced in 2022 that it would finally close its dolphin exhibit, the zoo has yet to announce what will happen to the dolphins. With Nephele’s recent death, 11 dolphins remain trapped at the zoo.

20Mar

Blog, Campaigns, Captivity Industry | Posts by : Helene O'Barry

Dolphin Dies at Kolmården Zoo in Tragic Accident

Posts by : Helene O'Barry

Nephele, the oldest dolphin at Kolmården’s Zoo in Sweden has died after suffocating on artificial seaweed which became trapped in her throat.

22Feb

Blog, Campaigns, Captivity Industry | Posts by : Helene O'Barry

One Dolphin’s Story – Keet

Posts by : Helene O'Barry

Keet was born at SeaWorld San Antonio, Texas on February 2, 1993. His mother is Kalina who died at SeaWorld Orlando in

Wikie was born at Marineland d'Antibes in June 2001. Her mother is Sharkan, and her father is Kim 2 who were captured in Iceland in 1989 and 1982. In 2018, Wikie became world famous when Marineland announced that she had learned to say the words "hello" and "bye bye." Back then, Marineland proudly marketed Wikie as the first orca in the world who had learned to copy human speech, but now that the commercial exploitation of orcas in France is set to be phased out by 2026, Marineland apparently can’t get rid of her fast enough. According to an anonymous source inside the park, Marineland is preparing to pack Wikie, Inouk, and Keijo into transport boxes and shipping them to Japan with the purpose of abandoning them there indefinitely.

15Jan

Blog, Campaigns, Captivity Industry | Posts by : Helene O'Barry

Orca Transfer to Japan Imminent?

Posts by : Helene O'Barry

Update: 1/17/24: A court decision was handed down on January 17, 2024, after the animal welfare organization One Voice brought the case

Veera swims in endless circles at Attica Zoo in Greece

10Jan

Blog, Campaigns, Captivity Industry | Posts by : Helene O'Barry

One Dolphin’s Story – Veera

Posts by : Helene O'Barry

Quick Facts Captured: August 1984, Pine Island, Florida Died: 2021, Oltremare Park, Italy Veera was captured near Pine Island, Florida in August

The stadium presents Morgan’s rescue story to spectators by displaying various drawings and text on the stage backdrop: “We want to share with you all the great story that brought her here,” the text reads. Loro Parque goes on to say that Morgan’s family, unfortunately, was never found, and she cannot be returned to the sea.

18Dec

Blog, Campaigns, Captivity Industry | Posts by : Helene O'Barry

Morgan’s Monotonous Existence at Loro Parque

Posts by : Helene O'Barry

With the passing of Skyla, Ula, and Kohana during 2021 and 2022, Morgan has become the sole female orca left at Loro

Kotar, SeaWorld, USA, credit: acj_34, InherentlyWild

29Nov

Blog, Campaigns, Captivity Industry | Posts by : Helene O'Barry

One Dolphin’s Story – Kotar

Posts by : Helene O'Barry

Kotar is one of more than 50 orcas captured off the coast of Iceland for the aquarium industry from the mid-’70s until

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