Georgia Aquarium Named 4th-Worst Tank in North America

An international animal protection organization has named the Georgia Aquarium as the fourth-worst tank in North America for dolphins and whales in North America.

In Defense of Animals released its list on Wednesday and named SeaWorld as the "most disappointing."

The organization said the list was selected from more than 60 facilities from southern Canada to Mexico where almost 1,000 whales and dolphins are on public display.

“These 10 aquariums really plumb the depths in their exploitation of intelligent and sensitive animals,” said In Defense of Animals President Dr. Marilyn Kroplick. “Even with the most modern technology, veterinary care, and infrastructure, cetaceans still suffer intensely in captivity and exhibit surprisingly high mortality rates. Please help protect dolphins and whales in the wild where they belong, by pledging to never visit facilities that imprison them.”

In a statement to Patch, Georgia Aquarium CEO and Chairman Mike Leven said In Defense of Animals "is an activist-driven organization that leads only with the forethought of removing all cetaceans from accredited zoological facilities.

"Without accredited zoos and aquariums, millions of people would not be able to learn about thousands of aquatic species and in turn, learn to respect and conserve them. This organization and its list are by no means credible or scientific, no empirical data is mentioned and scientific experts provided no justification for their reasoning."

Here are the 10 worst tanks, according to the organization:

1. SeaWorld, San Antonio, TX; San Diego, CA; Orlando, FL
2. Marineland, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
3. Puerto Aventuras Dolphin Discovery, Mayan Riviera, Quinta Roo, Mexico
4. Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta
5. Miami Seaquarium, Miami
6. Six Flags Mexico, Mexico City
7. Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Gulfport, MS and a new facility planned by same owner also in Gulfport
8. Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas
9. Vancouver Aquarium, Vancouver, B.C.
10. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago

Leven also said the facility "is ranked the no. 1 aquarium in the U.S. and the no. 2 aquarium in the world by TripAdvisor and we honor our commitment of excellence to our animals and our guests every day."

Earlier this month, in a story first reported by Patch, the aquarium temporarily suspended the acceptance of MasterCard as a form of payment after the credit card company appeared to endorse a blog post by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

However, a few days later, the aquarium reinstated MasterCard after the company "clarified with us that PETA’s public blog post does not reflect their company policy," according to an aquarium spokesperson.

The controversy stemmed from a June 28 PETA release that said MasterCard has ended its promotion of a swim-with-dolphins program "after PETA let them know just how inhumane these events are," the organization said.

See also:

• Georgia Aquarium Reinstates MasterCard
• Georgia Aquarium Rejecting MasterCard Over PETA Protest

Image: Georgia Aquarium