6th Annual Empty The Tanks London

“Organizer of the London event, Jo Phillips of Dolphin Freedom UK comments; “Despite the constant rain, London once again had a great turn out with many new faces. Armed with creative placards, informative banners and thousands of leaflets, we all marched from Leicester Square, down Whitehall and across Westminster Bridge, raising awareness to the passing public/tourists about the plight of captive dolphins and whales. We finished by Jubilee Gardens on the South Bank with powerful speeches given to the crowd on why we all must use our voices to help these marine mammals. As the saying goes – “Some People Feel the Rain. Others Just Get Wet” and it was a day to remember with the UK proudly standing together with 70 other participating countries around the world.”

– Article excerpt from Marine Connection

A capture of myself documenting the event with photography & videography. (c) C. Kempen

“Empty the Tanks is not a radical movement demanding the release of all captive marine mammals into the wild. Some of these animals might be great candidates for release, but those that are not should be retired into sea pens, where they can enjoy the rest of their days in natural seawater, feeling the waves of the ocean around them. They should not be worked until their last breath is taken and then thrown out like trash and replaced.

This is a campaign to educate the general public about what captivity means to cetaceans. These annual events allow activists to reach the public all over the world in a positive and productive way.

In 2013, the eye-opening documentary “Blackfish” premiered, showing the world that cetaceans in captivity suffer from a wide range of issues such as medical ailments, fights with tank mates, stress and much more. The backlash from the film has caused financial losses for SeaWorld and other marine parks around the world.”