Political Quotes

“I rise to speak in support of legislation that I introduced today along with Senators Booker, Wyden, Duckworth, Padilla, and Warren: the Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings (SWIMS) Act. This is a companion to legislation introduced by Congressman Adam Schiff in the House of Representatives. Our bill would ban the importation and exportation of orcas, beluga whales, pilot whales, and false killer whales for public display, with an exception for animals being released to a marine sanctuary or back to the wild. Our bill would also prohibit breeding captive whales to raise their newborns for public display, ensuring that the current generation of these whales in captivity would be the last. The evidence is clear: Orcas, beluga whales, pilot whales, and false killer whales are intelligent and emotionally complex animals that cannot thrive in captivity. In the wild, these whales can travel up to 100 miles per day and dive hundreds of feet deep. However, many animals in captivity live in tanks so small they cannot even turn around. Often, these whales are so stressed that they gnaw on the concrete walls of their tanks until the dental nerves of their teeth are exposed, permanently damaging their teeth and requiring constant antibiotics. The inhumane confinement for these animals has consequences, which are made clear when news breaks of yet another whale dying well before its time. In the wild, the average orca lives for 40 years.…”