Animal rights defenders protest this Sunday againstthe death of the orca Lolita at the Miami Seaquarium, where it was kept in captivity for more than 50 years.
Dozens of animal rights activists gathered in front of the facilities with banners and messages denouncing what they considered a display of abuse against animals.
Crowds gathered outside the aquarium to mourn the loss of the iconic orca, also known as Tokitae or Toki.
After being closed on Saturday "to allow our team to reflect on Lolita's life and legacy," the doors of the Miami Seaquarium reopened on Sunday, but from early hours dozens of protesters gathered around the facility.
Some of the activists were seen trying to convince arriving visitors not to enter the theme park, according to theMiami Herald.
The beloved 57-year-old orca died on Friday whileplans to release her were beginning to take shape. In a post on its social media, the Seaquarium reported that Lolita developed kidney disease in recent days.
Hours after her death, her remains were loaded into a sling and transferred by crane to a truck filled with ice that took her to the University of Georgia for an autopsy.
Animal activists condemned the Seaquarium over the years for confining Lolita in a tank so small that it took only seconds for her to swim from one end to the other.
According to the sitelifestyle_miami, several groups of animal rights activists would be planning a large protest at the Miami Seaquarium for Saturday, September 2 at 11 in the morning.
In this Sunday's demonstration there were expressions of love for beloved Lolita, but also calls to stop what they describe as the mistreatment of other animals in the park.
"Lolita's death taught us a lesson and reignited the debate about animals in captivity," he told7News Heidi Anthony, who was a dolphin trainer in the mid-to-late 1980s at the Seaquarium.
"I think we are where we are today, very, very, very far from where we were in the '60s and '70s, when we thought this was entertainment, so let's hope the world is becoming a better place," added the activist, who described Tokitae as “bright, curious and intelligent.”
For its part, the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA, in English) reported that Lolita "died as she had lived: after spending more than five decades imprisoned at the Miami Seaquarium in the world's smallest and bleakest orca tank, deprived of any semblance of natural life."
His death follows years of PETA protests, lawsuits and an endangered species designation. On its website, the organization shared alist with "12 things Lolita would like visitors to the Miami Seaquarium to know."
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