SeaWorld Banned From Breeding Killer Whales

After an all-day meeting that drew hundreds of supporters and critics of the park, the California Coastal Commission moved to ban captive whale breeding and drastically restrict the movement of whales in and out of the park. “This new tank does not meet even (the most) basic requirements”, she said.

SeaWorld officials had agreed earlier not to increase its orca population except through occasional captive births or rescues authorized by government agencies.

“Depriving these social animals of the natural and fundamental right to reproduce is inhumane, and we do not support this condition”, SeaWorld chief executive Joel Manby said in a statement.

According to a CNN report, which quoted attending actress Pamela Anderson, saying, “No whale is happy in a bathtub”, this is the biggest issue the Coastal Commission has faced in its 40-year history. The testimony portion of the meeting stretched over eight hours.

The California Coastal Commission on Thursday approved a $100 million expansion of the tanks at SeaWorld in San Diego.

“The California Coastal Commission did right by orcas in requiring, as a condition of approval for the Blue World Project, that SeaWorld stop breeding them, which will ultimately end captivity for long-suffering orcas in California.”

CBS San Diego says 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 utilize killer whale genetic material taken from the wild after the same date.

Under the expansion, SeaWorld would demolish portions of a 1995 facility that included a 1.7-million gallon pool and replace it with a 5.2-million gallon tank and 450,000-gallon pool. Thanks to the no-breeding vote, these animals could be “the last 11 orcas there”, PETA lawyer Jared Goodman told the Associated Press after Thursday’s meeting.

It also battled two highly-publicized lawsuits over its treatment of animals, one brought by PETA and another by shareholders, and was the focus of proposed legislation in California that sought to ban the captivity of orcas. “We have nothing but the whales’ best interests at heart”.

The commission oversees development along the coast, and SeaWorld falls under its bailiwick because it is along San Diego’s bayfront. “It is controversial due to ongoing debate over the treatment of killer whales in captivity, particularly exhibits. #SeaWorld admitted it meant to breed more to fill new tanks”, PETA said.

Animal rights activists said the new tanks would only lead to more captivity for orcas.

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”. Whales at Sea World are not stressed.