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Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell, who turned vegan after starring in the hit movie Babe, has been arrested at a protest at SeaWorld in San Diego.
Photo credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Award-nominated actor and outspoken ethical vegan James Cromwell, who is a passionate animal rights activist, was protesting against SeaWorld’s treatment of the orca’s they keep held in captivity, when he was handcuffed and taken into custody – along with his fellow protesters.
Cromwell took to the stage during a show called ‘Orca Encounter’ to talk about how animals have been mistreated and died at the amusement park.
PETA live streamed the video, and the footage shows Cromwell with a megaphone and proudly wearing a shirt that says ‘SeaWorld Sucks’.
In a statement, Cromwell said: “Orcas deserve a full life in the ocean, not a life sentence of swimming endless circles until they drop dead from disease. My friends at PETA and I want SeaWorld to move these intelligent animals to seaside sanctuaries without delay.”
Cromwell had been a vegetarian since the 1970’s, and it was his experience while filming Babe that led to his vegan diet. “I was doing a picture in Australia called Babe, working with a lot of animals and animal trainers. I cared about their welfare and then of course you have lunch and it’s all there in front of you, and I thought I should go the whole hog, so to speak. So I made that decision and kept that during the shooting. When I came back, I got involved with PETA, and of course the film opened and it was very successful.”
Cromwell became involved with PETA’s campaign rescuing pigs from school 4-H programs, and then narrating films on factory farming of pigs and chickens, which led to him working with Farm Sanctuary.
Three month old Orca Kyara dies at SeaWorld
Cromwell’s arrest comes in the same week that SeaWorld announced that Kyara, the final killer whale in SeaWorld’s orca-breeding program, had been suffering from an infection since last weekend. Kyara’s health continued to decline, despite receiving onsite treatment from veterinarians in their San Antonio park, and sadly she passed away at only three months old this week.
PETA released the following statement in response.
“SeaWorld executives have dollar signs where their eyes should be, but even they can’t ignore that three month old Kyara died on #BoycottSeaWorldDay while Academy Award nominee James Cromwell was preparing to lead PETA supporters in a takeover of SeaWorld’s orca show. Forty orcas have now died on SeaWorld’s watch – it’s time for the ‘abusement’ park to move the remaining animals to seaside sanctuaries before the death toll hits 41.”
