A Los Angeles-based graffiti artist has transformed the boarded-up windows at PETA's Bob Barker Building on Sunset Boulevard into an anti-SeaWorld mural.
An SUV slammed into the animal rights group’s office on Jan. 16 during a SeaWorld protest planning meeting. There were no injuries, but the crash left a gaping hole in the office’s wall.
The group "decided to make good use of the temporary wall" by enlisting local graffiti legend Cache, PETA said in a statement Wednesday.
His work of art protests SeaWorld’s alleged treatment of its orcas. The mural depicts orcas swimming in the ocean alongside the artist’s signature chickens holding signs that reads: "Hey, SeaWorld: Empty the Tanks!" and "Born to Be Wild."
"PETA loves turning lemons into lemonade — and with Cache's help, we've turned this accident into an eye-catching reminder that orcas belong in the ocean and that for keeping orcas in tanks, SeaWorld is the biggest lemon of them all," PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in a news release.
"As people's awareness of SeaWorld's cruelty to orcas rises, SeaWorld's ticket sales, stock, and sponsorship plummet."
PETA is against using animals for entertainment and "encourages caring people to visit only interactive parks that don't condemn animals to a lifetime of suffering," according to its website.
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The theme park has been under fire since the 2013 release of "Blackfish," a film that centers on the treatment of a captive orca named Tilikum.
"PETA is an extremist organization that is more interested in getting media attention than helping animals," said SeaWorld Communications Director David Koontz.
"SeaWorld San Diego, on the other hand, has rescued more than 65 ill and emaciated sea lion pups and seals stranded on San Diego County beaches just since the beginning of the year. Most people recognize that SeaWorld, not PETA, is the real animal welfare organization."
