SeaWorld to challenge California commission ban on captive killer whale breeding

It was a clever way for the commission, which was charged with evaluating the parks habitat expansion on its merits as a construction project and its impact on the land, to achieve something local and global activists have been pressing for since 2013, when the movie Blackfish turned public opinion against SeaWorld.

The company President, Joel Manby, said the Coastal Commission has gone beyond its authority and straightaway banned breeding of killer whales at SeaWorld. (Credit: AP) On October. 8, the Coastal Commission conditionally approved Sea World’s plans to build a massive new orca habitat at its San Diego park, but with conditions…

SeaWorld has announced that it will challenge a state ruling that banned the company from breeding captive killer whales at its San Diego park. They say captivity has cut the life spans of the highly intelligent animals that should be transferred to ocean sanctuaries on the coast. The AZA states that SeaWorld is “meeting or exceeding the highest standard of animal care and welfare of any zoological organization in the world”. The ruling had outlined a series of restrictions on SeaWorld. “We feel these newer tanks will just be more prisons for these orcas”, Bruce said.

A few California legislators have joined in the left-wing efforts to kill SeaWorld operations, sponsoring legislation that would shut down captive breeding a orca shows.

SeaWorld said it would “pursue legal action” and hired a law firm.

Noaki Schwartz, a spokeswoman for the commission said it received more than 120,000 emails about the SeaWorld proposed expansion, mostly from people opposing the plans. Zoey said whales are wild animals and should not be kept in “swimming pools”.

Under the expansion, SeaWorld would demolish parts 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.