Worked to help marine mammals
Russ Rector, the eyepatch-wearing liberator of dolphins and controversial crusader for marine mammal rights, has died. He was 69. A former dolphin trainer who viewed his activism as penance, Rector was key in forcing the 1994 closure of Fort Lauderdale’s Ocean World, outspoken about the captivity of Miami Seaquarium’s killer whale, Lolita, and president of the Dolphin Freedom Foundation.
A man considered dedicated by his admirers, a maniac by his detractors and persona non grata by some of his fellow anticaptivity crusaders, Rector died in his sleep Sunday at his Fort Lauderdale home.
“He made such a difference, and he was a curmudgeon that I loved,” said Rector’s wife, Linda. “He wasn’t everybody’s favorite person … he didn’t bow down. He was tenacious if he felt he was right, and that’s why he persevered so long.”
Last summer, Rector was the first to obtain videos of fishermen dragging a shark behind a speeding powerboat, shooting fish and pouring beer down a fish’s throat, which sparked outrage and led to criminal charges in the case.
Her husband’s biggest victories, Linda Rector said, were the 1993 exposure of the slaughter of dolphins in Venezuela and the 1994 closure of Ocean World in Fort Lauderdale.
"I find it very flattering that [marine park operators) are afraid of me. And it is well-founded. They should be afraid of me because I will bring them down. It's just a matter of time,” Rector told the Sun Sentinel in 1993.
In 1968, at age 20, Rector answered a newspaper ad for a “porpoise show assistant” at Fort Lauderdale’s Ocean World. During the eight years he worked there, the captivity of dolphins became unreasonable to him, but it would be several years before he decided to do something about it.
He left the park in 1976 to start a marine towing service that was shortlived. Months later, while working on a construction site, a bale of wire unwound and whipped into Rector's right eye, causing severe damage.
Rector was awarded a large settlement for his injury. That, along with support from his wife's job, enabled him to be a fulltime activist.
Rector’s era of advocacy was influenced by a 1990 meeting with Ric O'Barry, former trainer for Flipper and founder of the Dolphin Project, which started the dolphin freedom movement.
“The passing of my buddy, with whom I have fought many a battle, quiets but does not silence a very loud voice for voiceless animals,” Rick Trout, a fellow dolphin rescuer in Key Largo, wrote on Rector’s Facebook page. “The void of Russ Rector's drive, passion, compassion, hilarity of outlook and delivery fit for stand-up comedy, that dogged bureaucracies and corporate abusers of especially marine mammals, will not be replaced easily or anytime soon.”
Rector is survived by Linda Rector, his wife of 47 years. At his request, there will be no memorial service; he will be cremated and his ashes spread to the sea. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society at seashepherd.org.