12-Year-Old Foe Of "Cruel" SeaWorld Arrested At Rose Parade

By Melissa Cronin

Published on 1/2/2014 at 11:08 AM

<p>Flickr, <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 30px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 38px;">Fremlin</span></p>
<p>Flickr, <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 30px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 38px;">Fremlin</span></p>

A 12-year-old girl was among several activists arrested in Pasadena on New Years' Day for protesting a SeaWorld-inspired float at the annual Rose parade. The girl, Rose McCoy, also made headlines back in November when she jumped a barricade at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City to protest the same float. The float, which had to be accompanied by a police escort, has been targeted by PETA before for its depiction of orca whales.

"I want every family to know Sea World is a cruel industry," McCoy said. CBS reports that 18 other activists were arrested alongside McCoy, who credits the recent documentary "Blackfish," which details the 2010 death of a trainer at SeaWorld, with helping to inform her stance on the park.