New Bill Could End Cruel Capture and Breeding of Whales—Help Now!

A historic bill that seeks to prevent the future capture and breeding of marine mammals for entertainment has been reintroduced by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.-30) in the House of Representatives and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) in the Senate. The Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings (SWIMS) Act (H.R.7145; S.3694) would amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the federal Animal Welfare Act. This bill would ensure that the current generation of orcas and whales languishing in cramped tanks at marine parks is the last in the U.S., and we need your help urgently to get it passed.

The SWIMS Act would give specific protection to orcas, beluga whales, false killer whales, and pilot whales, all keenly intelligent social animals who suffer immensely in barren tanks. In nature, they swim vast distances, engage with their environments in stimulating ways, and develop deep bonds with their social groups. At marine parks, they’re deprived of everything that’s natural and important to them. Exploiting marine mammals for entertainment is a form of speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview.

Please use the form below to urge your U.S. representative and senators to protect whales by cosponsoring the SWIMS Act.

Note: If your representative or one of your senators is already cosponsoring this bill, you won’t be able to send them a message via the form.