Pamela Anderson has called for SeaWorld to release Corky the killer whale back into the ocean so she can live out the rest of her life with her family in a natural habitat.
The former ‘Baywatch’ actress turned 52 on Monday (01.07.19) and she has used her birthday to raise awareness of the plight of the orca, who was captured in 1969 off the coast of British Colombia, Canada, near Pamela’s hometown and is the same age as her.
The activist has written a letter to to new SeaWorld CEO Gustavo Antorcha pleading for Corky to be released from captivity and for the theme park to co-operate with a Canadian scientist who wants to reunite the orca with her brother and sister in the wild.
Pamela doesn’t want Corky to "die in a tank that, to her, is comparable to the size of a bathtub" and to illustrate the point the Playboy legend has posed nude for a new PETA ad which depicts her in a bath along with the words "Could You Live in a Bathtub for Decades?"
Her letter reads: "Dear Mr. Antorcha, As one of PETA’s honorary directors, I’m writing to ask that you free Corky, an orca SeaWorld
has held captive since 1987. She’s always on my mind when my July 1 birthday approaches. She and I are the same age, but as a baby, she was torn away from her mother in the sea off British
Columbia – right near where I grew up on Vancouver Island.
I’m launching my new ad campaign for PETA in Corky’s honour. Please don’t let her die in a tank, that, to her, is comparable to the size of a bathtub. With your extensive experience at Carnival
Cruise Line, you surely have an appreciation for the open ocean. Won’t you allow Corky to go back where she belongs?
"Corky’s brother and sister are still alive and flourishing in the wild, and a Canadian scientist who has been studying her family wants to bring her home. It’s within your power to release this long-suffering orca to a seaside sanctuary in a protected bay of her home waters. There, she could dive to new depths, relearn natural behaviour, and even communicate with her brother and sister, who often visit the adjacent Blackfish Sound. She’d have a taste of freedom, instead of dying in a concrete tank at SeaWorld like so many orcas before her."
In her letter, Pamela also spoke about how Corky has endured "confusion, pain and death" during her 49 years at SeaWorld and has had to endure the death of seven of calves, all of which were conceived by artificial insemination.
There is currently global momentum for SeaWorld to create sea sanctuaries for their captive animals.
The National Aquarium in the US is retiring the dolphins it held captive – including one who was born at SeaWorld – to such a habitat, beluga whales are being moved from a Chinese marine park to a sanctuary in Iceland, and Parliament in Pamela’s native Canada just voted to ban dolphin and whale captivity outright.
At the end of her letter, Pamela called for SeaWorld to become "a leader – rather than a resister – of the trend away from animal displays" and she is now awaiting the company’s response.
Pamela Anderson calls for SeaWorld to release orca Corky
