California Agency To Eye Bigger Whale Tanks At SeaWorld

A California agency dealt SeaWorld Entertainment a major blow Thursday evening when it ruled the company can only expand its San Diego killer whale tanks if it ends captive breeding.

SeaWorld says its animals have normal breeding interactions in the healthy environment provided by the park, and not allowing its killer whales to breed would be inhumane.

According to PETA, thousands of people have written to the California Coastal Commission in opposition to SeaWorld’s plan. The amendment does provide a potential exemption for certain whales caught in the wild but it wasn’t immediately clear whether that applied to any of the orcas at the San Diego park. Reuters reported that a spokeswoman from the California Coastal Commission said that the agency received unprecedented levels of feedback on the proposal, in the form of letters, postcards and emails. SeaWorld is a sea circus, and the orcas are its abused elephants.

The staff of the commission has recommended approving the expansion under nine conditions that include forbidding SeaWorld from housing recently captured orcas in San Diego.

Park attendance and income have suffered since the release of the popular 2013 documentary “Blackfish”, which suggested SeaWorld’s treatment of orcas provokes violent behavior.

The commission staff recommended approval after SeaWorld officials pledged that the facility will not house any Orcas taken from the wild after February 12, 2014, nor will it use killer whale genetic material taken from the wild after the aforementioned date.

The whales gnaw the edges of their pools, breaking or wearing teeth, and inbreeding has created “hybrid orcas who have no true social identity”, he said.

At the meeting, SeaWorld veterinarian Hendrik Nollens disputed what he called “outlandish accusations” from critics of the park.

“So many of us believe that they don’t have to close down SeaWorld, they can just move in a new direction that is better suited for these whales that have been working so hard for years”, she said.

“We care for these animals as if they were family”, Nollens told the panel.

Coastal Commissioner Gregory Cox, who favored the expansion, said it would be a good thing to increase the size of the orcas’ habitat.

“They don’t belong in captivity”, she said.

Orlando, Florida-based SeaWorld says the orca population at the San Diego facility would not significantly increase if the project is approved and opens in 2018.

Executives at the theme park on Mission Bay will build two orca pools, one filled with 5.2 million gallons of water and the other with a capacity of 450,000 gallons, to replace the current 1.7 million gallon tank.