SeaWorld San Diego to phase out killer whale show

An orca, like the ones that perform at SeaWorld.

SeaWorld’s announcement Monday that it would end its orca shows was greeted with muted praise from a few lawmakers and activists who have been clamoring for the park to change its treatment of killer whales.

“They want the orca experience to be activities the whales do in the wild”, Manby said of California customers.

Manby said a third to a half of the investment planned for Blue World project would now be diverted to other uses as a result of the change to a conservation-oriented exhibit.

It’s noted that all of this only impacts events in San Diego, and not in a few of its other 10 parks like San Antonio and Orlando.

The San Diego Union Tribune reported that the park’s Shamu Stadium would be replaced, offering a new, natural setting that would hold a “conservation message, inspiring people to act”.

SeaWorld said it plans to challenge the commission’s decision in court. “Just look at Whole Foods….”

Last year, SeaWorld shares fell 30 per cent in its second quarter following rounds of negative publicity. “Orcas do not belong in captivity”.

SeaWorld has dismissed the documentary as inaccurate and misleading, pointing out that it has not captured a whale in the wild for 35 years. The company’s stock has remained depressed since mid-2014 when attendance problems began to emerge in public response to the Blackfish docmentary film critical of SeaWorld’s handling of its captive orcas. The park has spent millions pushing back against the documentary’s allegations, which it denies, but that hasn’t helped: Protests of SeaWorld over the the last couple years have grown louder and more intense, especially in California, and attendance has declined. The state agency added the condition that the park must end its killer whale breeding program and halt the transfer of new whales to the park.

And as USA Today points out, the California Coastal Commission recently refused to give the company permission to breed killer whales, a decision that would have threatened its theatrical shows. “People could stay at poolside all day if they wanted, watching how the trainers did veterinary sampling, trained the animals to do new tricks, and so on”, she said.

Rose said that though a new “informational” presentation might be more educational for visitors, “it won’t improve the welfare of the whales. That can’t be improved by repackaging the show”.