Despite the overwhelming evidence that the captive marine mammal industry is wrong, AT&T, Home Depot, Coca-Cola, SunTrust, Southwest Airlines and others support captivity of these sentient cetaceans by their partner$hip with Georgia Aquarium.

"The Humane Society of the United States (The HSUS) and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) employ scientific and ethical arguments to debunk the myths about marine mammals in captivity. And while humans can subdivide the captive experience and even conclude that one aspect is more or less damaging to the animals than another, the totality of the captive experience for marine mammals is so contrary to their natural experience that it should be rejected outright. The HSUS and WSPA believe it is wrong to bring marine mammals into captivity for the purpose of public display." https://www.worldanimalprotection.us.org/sites/default/files/us_files/the_case_against_marine_mammals_in_captivity_hsus.pdf  

In addition, the Georgia Aquarium asked NOAA for a permit to import beluga whales from Russia which was denied by the US authorities based on the effect the importation would have on the wild populations they are taken from – harming their potential to breed and survive.

"Since opening its doors in November 2005, four of Georgia Aquarium's eight belugas (3 wild-caught and 1 captive-bred) have died. In truth, the main contributor to the impending collapse of the captive beluga collection at Georgia Aquarium is the Georgia Aquarium. It was tragic enough that wild-caught Marina, Gasper and Nico died within a span of just two years, but the death of Maris’ 5-day old calf in 2012 also left a grieving mother swimming in the captive pool. Maris’ dead baby was the first captive-bred beluga at the Georgia Aquarium. The facility acknowledges that beluga whale pregnancies often have a low success-rate. They are correct. So what do they want to do? Put additional mothers through that heartbreaking ordeal! Though Maris conceived naturally (as naturally as it can be in the forced pods of captivity), most often in the perverse aquarium industry, employees masturbate male whales and dolphins, and the females are then inseminated. It is a vicious, unnatural cycle continued deceitfully under the name of conservation. In a statement following the death of Maris’ calf, Billy Hurley, Georgia Aquarium’s Chief Animal Officer commented, “Maris stood up to her end of the bargain, and we executed the plan we made. We will not give up.” Captive marine mammals don’t have the luxury of making bargains with their captors. Their lives are all about compliance: a trainer makes a hand gesture; the captives perform a trick and are rewarded with a dead fish. No tricks -- no dead fish. There is NO personal choice. For the wild-caught animals, like the 18 belugas the Georgia Aquarium so desperately seeks to import, this is an especially bleak scenario. These animals were rounded up in a manner not unlike the dolphins in Taiji. They went from the pure joy of freedom, to captive pens, tube feeding and antacids. If they are condemned to the Georgia Aquarium, they will never again experience a depth greater than a fraction of their natural diving depth – EVER." - Sandy McElhaney, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Despite all of this, the Georgia Aquarium still wants to import these whales and has now decided to fight this ruling. The questions MUST be asked - how exactly is Georgia Aquarium interested in the welfare of ANY of its captive marine mammals and its supposed zero-tolerance policy when it comes to abuse of any kind towards animals and humans alike, taking these facts into consideration. And WHY are corporations like AT&T, SunTrust, Coca-Cola and Southwest Airlines funding a company that continues to pursue the capture, relocation and captivity of marine mammals?

“There’s about as much educational benefit studying dolphins in captivity as there would be studying mankind by only observing prisoners held in solitary.” – Jacques Cousteau

"I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.”
― Abraham Lincoln

“He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.”
― Immanuel Kant

“The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but "Can they suffer?”
― Jeremy Bentham​, The Principles of Morals and Legislation

“We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace.”
― Albert Schweitzer

“The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men.”
― Leonardo da Vinci

"They like you very much, but they are NOT the hell your whales!" - Spock

Here are more sponsors of Georgia Aquarium: http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/members-and-donors/sponsors.aspx