KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. – A Mexican actress is calling on the Miami Seaquarium to free Lolita the killer whale.
Kate del Castillo teamed up with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in a new video admonishing the Seaquarium for keeping Lolita in captivity.
"I want to tell you the true story of an orca named Lolita," del Castillo said in the video, released Monday.
Del Castillo said Lolita was "violently torn away from her family in the wild" off the coast of Washington and has spent the last 46 years "swimming in endless circles" in the smallest orca tank in the U.S.
"She lives without orca companionship in this hellish tourist trap and is forced to spend her life performing ridiculous tricks for dead fish," del Castillo said.
Del Castillo claims that Lolita's tank mate, Hugo, died in 1980 after ramming his head into the side of the tank. She said the "apparent suicide" is a result of "severe frustration and psychological distress" that hasn't been seen in wild orcas.
The video was released less than two weeks after the death of Tilikum, an orca who killed a trainer at SeaWorld Orlando in 2010.
Del Castillo asks the community to boycott the Miami Seaquarium and other marine parks.
"An actress looking for publicity and an activist organization committed to the elimination of zoos and aquariums are not experts when deciding what is best for Lolita the killer whale," Andrew Hertz, general manager of the Miami Seaquarium, said in a statement. "She is healthy and thriving in her home of almost 46 years. … Lolita will continue to be an ambassador for her species from her home at Miami Seaquarium."