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Stop SeaWorld’s Exploitation of Protected Wildlife

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Sponsor: Free The Ocean

An endangered manta ray was dragged from Florida’s waters for profit—legally—and unless we act now, more protected marine animals will suffer the same fate.

Stop SeaWorld’s Exploitation of Protected Wildlife

Near the shores of Panama City Beach, a giant manta ray thrashed against the pull of a net as a crew dragged her from the ocean. Tourists watched, horrified. The ray, protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, had not been accidentally caught. She was deliberately targeted, wrestled onto a boat, and shoved into a plastic tub1.

The company responsible—Dynasty Marine Associates—had a permit. That’s how this was legal. With a Marine Special Activity License, businesses can remove endangered species from the wild for “exhibition” and “education.”2 This license was used to send the manta ray to SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, where she will live in confinement—if she survives at all3.

Protected Does Not Mean Safe

The giant manta ray is a pelagic animal, designed by evolution to roam vast open waters. In captivity, they suffer. Most do not live long. Yet Florida continues to grant permits that allow their removal. Even one sanctioned capture puts an entire species at risk, sending the message that federally protected wildlife can be taken for profit with the right paperwork4.

Manta rays are not props. They are intelligent, migratory animals essential to healthy marine ecosystems. Removing them from the ocean causes trauma, disrupts natural behavior, and weakens struggling populations5.

SeaWorld’s Legacy of Exploitation

This is not an isolated event. Dynasty Marine has captured at least one other manta ray for SeaWorld. The company’s history includes decades of orca and dolphin confinement, often under the same justification of “education.” But conservation does not look like confinement. It looks like thriving habitats, intact food chains, and wild animals left in the wild5.

The public no longer accepts the spectacle of suffering as education. The capture of this manta ray was filmed by a tour group who had just spent the morning swimming peacefully near dolphins. Their encounter turned into a lesson in cruelty6.

Demand a Full Ban

No permit should override federal protection. No license should allow an endangered animal to be ripped from the sea and shipped across the world for display. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission must act now to close this loophole and fully ban the capture of all species protected under the Endangered Species Act.

These animals belong to the ocean. Not to corporations. Not to tanks.

Add your name to demand a full ban on capturing endangered marine species in Florida waters.

More on this issue:

  1. Julie Cappiello, World Animal Protection (17 July 2025), "Ripped From the Ocean: How SeaWorld’s Cruelty Continues With Manta Ray Capture"
  2. Louis Aguirre, Local 10 News (15 July 2025), "South Florida company’s capture of protected manta ray sparks outrage: ‘That animal was in pain’"
  3. Erin Keller, The Independent (15 July 2025), "Footage of manta ray being captured in Florida raises animal welfare concerns"
  4. Amy Diaz, WMBB (13 Jul 2025), "Commercial boat crew caught manta ray near Panama City Beach"
  5. Julie Cappiello, World Animal Protection (17 July 2025), "Ripped From the Ocean: How SeaWorld’s Cruelty Continues With Manta Ray Capture"
  6. Michael Dahlstrom, Yahoo News Australia (16 July 2025), "Tourists 'totally outraged' by fishing crew's confronting act at sea"

The Petition

To the Executive Director and Commissioners of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC),

We, the undersigned, urge the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to immediately and permanently ban the capture of manta rays and all other marine species currently protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Recent events, including the sanctioned capture of a giant manta ray off the coast of Panama City Beach, have brought national attention to a legal loophole that permits the removal of endangered wildlife through Marine Special Activity Licenses. These permits undermine federal protections, enabling the aquarium trade to extract wild, sentient animals from their natural habitat for exhibition and profit.

Manta rays are intelligent, migratory species that require open ocean ecosystems to survive. Scientific consensus is clear: they do not thrive in captivity. Capturing them causes immense physical stress, threatens population stability, and compromises the ethical foundation of conservation. Allowing even one take opens the door for further exploitation.

True conservation protects life in the wild, not behind glass. Florida’s leadership is critical to closing this loophole and aligning state policies with the intent of the Endangered Species Act.

By ending this harmful practice, the FWC can ensure that Florida’s marine ecosystems remain vibrant, wild, and resilient—for the species who live there, for the communities who depend on them, and for future generations who deserve to experience the ocean’s wonders as they were meant to be: free.

Sincerely,

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