Dottie the dolphin was born at SeaWorld Orlando in 1987. She died there 39 years later — having never once felt the ocean. She spent her entire life in concrete tanks, performing for crowds, and being shipped between parks. She gave birth to four calves. SeaWorld separated her from every single one. Two of her calves died before she did.

Dottie is not an exception. More than 400 dolphins have died in SeaWorld's parks — many long before the end of their natural lifespan. SeaWorld will point to Dottie's age as evidence of good care. But living long in a tank is not the same as living well. It is simply surviving confinement.

In the wild, dolphins swim miles every day alongside their pods. Mothers and calves stay together for years. Family is not temporary — it is everything. SeaWorld took that from Dottie. It is taking it from every dolphin still trapped in its parks right now.

Seaside sanctuaries exist where dolphins can live in ocean waters, choose their own relationships, and experience something close to a natural life. There is no excuse for keeping these animals in barren tanks when that alternative exists.

We're calling on SeaWorld to immediately stop breeding dolphins in captivity and commit to transferring all surviving dolphins to accredited seaside sanctuaries.