In a desperate attempt to recover their sinking financial ship, SeaWorld Orlando is targeting Christians by hosting a Christian musical festival called Praise Wave. The documentary Blackfish exposed the cruelty that animals at SeaWorld are forced to endure—causing SeaWorld’s profits and stocks to plummet. Dozens of performers, including Martina McBride, Willie Nelson, and Trace Adkins, have canceled performances at SeaWorld after hearing from concerned fans. But the abusement park has recruited more, announcing this week that Christian musicians Lecrae and Colton Dixon are scheduled to perform at Praise Wave.
Representatives from LAMBS wrote to Lecrae and Colton Dixon weeks before SeaWorld’s announcement letting them know about SeaWorld’s abuse of marine mammals, including the following facts:
- At SeaWorld, marine mammals are kept in pitifully small tanks and are denied everything that is natural and important to them. Orcas would have to do more than 3,400 laps in the largest tank at SeaWorld to approximate the 100 miles that they would naturally swim in the ocean each day.
- Orcas navigate by echolocation, but in SeaWorld’s tanks, the reverberations from their own sounds bounce off the walls, which has been said to cause them to go insane.
- Some of the orcas at SeaWorld were violently captured from their ocean homes, and many are forced to learn circus-style tricks. According to whistleblower tips from trainers, food is sometimes withheld to get animals to perform.
- Terrified baby orcas are separated from their frantic mothers. In the wild, orca pods contain multiple generations, but in captivity, they are often denied the fulfillment of their God-given desire to be with their families.
- As a result of being held captive, orcas can become neurotic, self-destructive, and downright dangerous. Many have injured themselves and other orcas, in addition to killing their human trainers.
Playing a show at SeaWorld is a clear rejection of the Christian call to merciful stewardship, which requires protecting animals, not supporting their abuse. Please click the button below to politely ask Colton Dixon and Lecrae to stand up for the animals held captive at SeaWorld by canceling their planned performance.
