PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — It’s been nearly a month since Gulf World Marine Park guests reportedly witnessed a dolphin hit the shallow end of the pool and die during a show.

In recent days, online activism has called for immediate change. There is a state investigation underway with officials from the local to federal level involved.

Still, the community continued their fight, taking their efforts from social media to the streets on Saturday.

The popularity of the protest online prompted Gulf World to close down for the day. The animals remain inside, but just steps away from its front door, protesters lined Front Beach Road demanding the animals be released and relocated.

“It’s just really sad because the dolphins might jump for a fish in here, but that’s the only reason they’re jumping. They’re not jumping for joy,” protester Savannah Dean said. “In the ocean, they’re jumping just because it makes them happy. It’s what they do. There’s a big difference.”

“As humans, we are stewards of all of the creators of the world,” protester Jo Johnson said. “And this establishment, they’re not doing what they need to do to protect these animals. Animals aren’t entertainment.”

“The dolphins, if they’re going to have them in there, they need to be treated with the utmost respect that they can be treated, or they need to let them go,” protester Amanda Roberts said.

The protest brought out many first-time demonstrators.

“There’s children here, teenagers, people in their 40s, 50s and 60s here. So it really is a community effort,” protest organizer Jamie Marghany said. “We don’t have anyone from PETA here. There are no activists here. These are just residents of our beautiful area.”

“This is his first protest, and I thought it was important to get younger kids involved in the community,” protesters Monique and Jett Scrimager said. “And we love this community. And there are a lot of things that bring tourists here, but we don’t want it to be at a place where animals are actively dying and being abused. And I don’t think there’s any mistreatment, but the facilities themselves and the filtration and the unclean water — it’s just not feasible. And it’s inhumane.”

The parents who used to bring their children to Gulf World are the same ones protesting the park’s current conditions.

“I used to take my kids a long time ago. They loved it,” protesters said. “They got to enjoy a beautiful experience, and now to see that this happened, it just breaks our hearts.”

Gulf World was closed Saturday, but there were park employees inside the facility during the protest. The park reportedly had to issue refunds for pre-purchased tickets for Saturday, but it’s selling tickets for Sunday’s shows.