California bans SeaWorld from breeding orcas

Along with the approval for the $100 million expansion of SeaWorld’s San Diego facility killer-whale habitat, the California Coastal Commission has introduced a serious stipulation, they are banned from breeding the orcas that would inhabit them. “A much better result for SeaWorld would have been if the Coastal Commission had denied their request”.

Deciding the next step could be tricky for SeaWorld.

The vote, condemned by the park, comes as SeaWorld tries to fend off criticism highlighted in the 2013 documentary “Blackfish” accusing the marine park of neglecting and abusing its killer whales.

San Diego’s SeaWorld will no longer be allowed to breed orcas, meaning the 11 whales at the park might be their last.

“We would not come if the orcas were not here”, he said.

John Hargrove, a former SeaWorld trainer in California and Texas who has written a book about his experiences and appeared in the “Blackfish” film, said whales are heavily medicated and family structures that define life in the wild are broken. That company announced in March that its three touring circuses would phase out elephant acts by 2018 because of a shift in public attitudes.

SeaWorld lawyers have argued the California Coastal Commission does not have jurisdiction to restrict breeding or the transfer of the park’s whales, but it’s unclear whether or not they’ll go to court to try to have the decision overturned. “The writing is on the wall and it’s time for them to stop fighting and evolve”.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) released a statement following the vote that read, in part, “The Commission’s decision confirms that SeaWorld’s days of breeding and warehousing orcas for entertainment are numbered”.

The New York Times reports that SeaWorld believes that “depriving a social animal of the right to reproduce is inhumane”.

“I don’t think those were as of paramount importance to the health of those parks as they might have been in San Diego”, said Joel Simkins, an analyst with Credit Suisse.

The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously to give SeaWorld San Diego a permit to build two new orca pools, giving the mammals greater room to swim while enhancing viewing and research. SeaWorld claimed it hasn’t actually captured any wild whales in more than 30 years.

“They’ve made the argument this is the right thing to do for the whales and it’s been approved in theory”, he said.

But Jared Hall and his wife, Tiffany, said the proposed ban on whale breeding helped address their increasing unease with the treatment of orcas at SeaWorld.