Opinion ID: 2808357
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Lolita

Text: Lolita is a 20-feet long, 7000 pound Orcinus orca 4 held in captivity at Seaquarium. In 1970, Ted Griffin, the first person to swim with an orca in a public 3 We recount the facts in the light most favorable to USDA. 4 The Orcinus orca is colloquially known by the misnomer “killer whale.” The creature is not actually a whale; rather, it is the world’s largest member of the dolphin family called Delphinidae. Both whales and dolphins are members of an entirely aquatic group of mammals known as cetaceans. For the sake of scientific accuracy, we refer to Lolita as an orca. 4 Case: 14-12260 Date Filed: 06/15/2015 Page: 5 of 40 exhibition, captured Lolita in Whidbey Island’s Penn Cove, off the coast of Washington State. Lolita was approximately three to six years old and a member of the Southern Resident L Pod. Seaquarium purchased Lolita, and she has lived there since September 24, 1970. Lolita performs each day in an event called the “Killer Whale and Dolphin Show.” Lolita lives in a tank which is surrounded by stadium seating. The stadium covering leaves Lolita exposed to ultraviolet radiation as she floats along the water’s surface. As sunscreen, Seaquarium applies a black-colored zinc oxide on Lolita’s skin. The effect of this sunscreen on Lolita’s physiology is unknown. ALDF alleges Seaquarium’s failure to provide Lolita with adequate sun cover violates 9 C.F.R. § 3.103(b)’s requirement to afford adequate protection from the weather or direct sunlight to marine animals kept outdoors. Lolita’s tank is oblong-shaped with a 5 feet 2 inches wide, crescent-shaped concrete platform that extends from the bottom of the tank through the surface of the water. Lolita’s trainers stand on this platform during her performances. Her tank measures 80 feet by 60 feet. The concrete platform leaves an unobstructed circular pool of 80 feet by 35 feet. ALDF alleges Lolita’s tank is smaller than the 48 feet minimum horizontal standard permitted by agency regulation. See id. § 3.104(b) (providing cetaceans in captivity must be given a pool of water with a minimum horizontal dimension of at least “two times the average adult length” of 5 Case: 14-12260 Date Filed: 06/15/2015 Page: 6 of 40 the species). Orcas are primarily social in the wild and travel in large groups. Lolita has not interacted with another orca since Hugo, who was also captured off the coast of Washington State, died in March 1980. Lolita instead shares her tank with Pacific white-sided dolphins. ALDF alleges these dolphins are not “biologically related” to her, as prescribed by 9 C.F.R. § 3.109.