Mossy background.

Obituaries

Remembering Animals Exploited
by the Tourism Industry

Peekachu the Beluga. Credit: Shedd Aquarium

Peekachu (c.2003-2026)

Featured Obituary

Peekachu died at Shedd Aquarium just two weeks after being flown in from the now-shuttered Marineland Canada.

Read More

Recent Obituaries

Browse All Obituaries

Captivity means ​death.

The USDA does not require facilities to report deaths in their care. So, there's no way to know exactly how many animals die in aquariums and zoos every year. From media reports, we know that species have included big cats, elephants, gorillas, giraffes, and red pandas (among others), and deaths have been attributed to a wide range of health conditions and accidents, such as falls and choking. 

 

This map represents just a selection of the publicized animal deaths in the US in 2025.

Map of animal deaths in zoos across the US in 2025.
A tiger at a Queensland Zoo.

The Myth of Zoo Conservation

Most animals held captive in zoos are not endangered or threatened in the wild, yet the message that zoos and aquariums are champions of conservation prevails. 

Don't be fooled–their main focus is to profit off of the backs of animals for entertainment. Accreditation doesn't make a venue ethical either; unfortunately, it's just not enough. 

Silhouette of a cow, pig, and chicken.

In Memoriam

Each year, billions of animals are brutally killed on farms across the US. These chickens, cows, pigs, goats, turkeys, and countless others may not be named or celebrated by the public in the way that many captive wild animals are. However, their lives mattered just as much, and we remember them.