Empty the Tanks: End Captivity, Protect the Oceans

Empty the Tanks is campaign of Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project, a 501(c)(3) organization

The Empty the Tanks Mission:

We aim to educate and raise awareness to end cetacean captivity and promote global ocean conservation. Our vision is a world free from cetacean captivity, alongside healthy oceans and thriving marine life.

Marine entertainment parks have no place in our world. Dolphins and whales are social, intelligent, and emotional beings. They are exploited in entertainment parks and swim-with-dolphin attractions worldwide. Keeping them in captivity is wrong, and it is time to phase out these businesses. We must work to end captive breeding, to break the cycle of captivity, and educate the public about the reality behind the dolphin’s smile.

Empty the Tanks is not a radical movement demanding the release of all captive marine mammals back into the wild. While some of these animals may be suitable candidates for rehabilitation and release, those that aren’t should be retired to sea sanctuaries. In these sanctuaries, they can spend the rest of their lives in natural seawater, experiencing the waves of the ocean around them.

As we continue our mission, we must ask why the corporate owners of these facilities, as well as the authorities and governments, are not being held accountable. They created, supported, and profited for decades from a system based on capture, captive breeding, and long-term confinement. The responsibility lies with them, not with the grassroots activists, organizations, and individuals who have spent years speaking out and working tirelessly to end this cycle of cruelty.