PETA Messes Up and Blames SeaWorld For Walrus’s Death

By R. Brownell

Obie the Walrus, a beloved SeaWorld attraction, passed away on June 10th, 2015.  The reason for Obie’s sudden demise? Well, SeaWorld killed him obviously! Or at least that’s what PETA would have you think as the radical progressive, animal rights group broadcast to the world shortly after Obie’s death.

According to the San Diego Tribune:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, long a critic of the marine parks for holding animals in captivity, released a statement claiming that Obie the walrus was bored, blind and died a decade earlier than what it says is the life expectancy for walruses. The activist group referred to an online National Geographic article stating that walruses live up to 40 years in the wild.

PETA put the messaging on hold temporarily when the verdict as to the cause of Obie’s death was released:

SeaWorld has yet to determine the cause of Obie’s death and is awaiting the results of a necropsy, which could take a few weeks to complete. While preliminary findings from a necropsy did not show anything of significance, Obie had been suffering from gastrointestinal inflammation, and a CT scan of his head on Wednesday revealed a significant mass in his brain, said SeaWorld senior veterinarian Todd Schmitt. It’s unclear, though, whether it was a factor in Obie’s death

Recently PETA responded* in order to provide more insight to the matter:

As a veterinarian recently exposed, Obie the walrus had nothing to do at SeaWorld but press his mouth against the glass of his tiny, algae-covered tank and repeatedly regurgitate and swallow his food. He was bored, he was blind, and he died a decade short of his species’ natural life expectancy. This is SeaWorld’s much-hyped “rescue program”: life in a sad tiny tank. SeaWorld needs to do what’s right for these animals—and that’s building them coastal sanctuaries where they’ll finally have some semblance of a normal life.

SeaWorld has not released a statement as to whether or not changes will be made to the current state of the Walrus exhibit.

*NOTE: PETA recently contacted TLR and provided additional information correcting the article’s original publication in order to provide the whole picture in regards to the condition and psychological state of the walrus which may or may not have contributed to it’s unexpected death.