Naked 'Orcas' to Protest SeaWorld at Macy's Parade

Activists wearing only body paint will squeeze into bathtub
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 20, 2014 11:15 AM CST
Naked 'Orcas' to Protest SeaWorld at Macy's Parade
Police officers and deputies accompany the SeaWorld float "Sea of Surprises" in the 125th Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 1, 2014.   (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

Next Thursday is a day to give thanks for family, life's blessings, and the fact that we're not shivering naked at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But PETA activists are doing just that in protest of the SeaWorld float by sporting only black-and-white body paint to resemble orcas—the animals in Blackfish, the scathing 2013 documentary about SeaWorld—and then cramming themselves into a bathtub right outside the world-famous department store, Reuters reports. "It is unacceptable to confine orcas to barren tanks that, to them, are the size of a bathtub," a PETA lawyer tells Reuters. Macy's is staying out of it, with a spokeswoman saying, "The parade has never taken on, promoted, or otherwise engaged in social commentary, political debate, or other forms of advocacy, no matter how worthy."

It wouldn't be the first time SeaWorld has had to fend off parade demonstrators: Last year, a 12-year-old girl crashed the Macy's parade in a solo SeaWorld protest, the New York Daily News reported, while 40 protesters at the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena last New Year's Day solemnly demonstrated carrying a huge black balloon, perhaps meant to represent the creatures in Blackfish, NBC Los Angeles reports. SeaWorld has gotten wind of the planned protest, but it says it's not canceling the "Waves of Celebration" float and that the park has nothing to be ashamed of. "SeaWorld's animals are well cared for, and their health and well-being is a responsibility we take extremely seriously," a SeaWorld spokeswoman tells Reuters. "We are proud of our world-class standards of care." (SeaWorld mounted an entire ad campaign to combat charges of animal abuse.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X