Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Protests: Animal Activists Plan Naked Demonstration to Protest SeaWorld Float
In addition to the dozens of colorful and oversized floats that will be featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, spectators may also spot naked activists who are planning to demonstrate against the SeaWorld float on Thursday.
Earlier this month, animal rights activists announced that they will strip down in protest of accusations of animal abuse at SeaWorld, and the fact that the theme park is included in the parade.
"We're asking Macy's to stop partnering with SeaWorld and having SeaWorld floats in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade," Ashly Byrne, a PETA Campaign Specialist, told Mashable. "The float last year was a blight in what should be a great New York tradition," she added.
According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), activists demanded that the SeaWorld float be excluded from the parade last year, however their demands were denied.
Despite New York City's frigid temperatures, the demonstrators plan to wear nothing but black and white body paint to represent orcas and sit inside of a bathtub to mimic the restricted conditions that orcas at SeaWorld endure. The demonstration will take place outside the Macy's flagship store in midtown Manhattan.
"It is unacceptable to confine orcas to barren tanks that, to them, are the size of a bathtub," Delcianna Winders, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' (PETA) deputy general counsel, told Reuters.
SeaWorld has vowed to keep the float in the parade in spite of the criticism, which increased after the 2013 documentary "Blackfish."
"SeaWorld's animals are well cared for, and their health and well-being is a responsibility we take extremely seriously. We are proud of our world-class standards of care," said SeaWorld spokeswoman Aimée Jeansonne Becka.
Macy's, which has organized the famous holiday parade for the last 88 years, has avoided getting in the middle of the controversy.
"The parade has never taken on, promoted or otherwise engaged in social commentary, political debate or other forms of advocacy, no matter how worthy," Macy's spokesman Orlando Veras said in a statement.
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