Thanks to a new California law, SeaWorld can no longer breed killer whales in captivity.
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On Thursday, the group approved a $100 million expansion of the orca holding tanks at SeaWorld San Diego, known at the Blue Project.
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. The trade, sale or transfer of captive killer whales has also been prohibited by the last minute amendment and animal rights activists are applauding all the changes.
The condition was among several set by the commission that regulates land and water use along the California coast, including that no new whales from the wild will be kept in the new tanks.
SeaWorld has faced criticism from PETA and the Blackfish Documentary for quite a few time now, so they are building bigger tanks for their killer whales.
The panel’s decision raised an array of questions, including whether the company would proceed with the project or raise a legal challenge.
SeaWorld executives had agreed before the commission meeting not to increase the park’s orca population, except through occasional captive births or rescues authorized by government agencies. They will over time mean the end of the park’s whale programs.
Opponents of keeping whales or orcas in captivity have suggested moving the giant mammals to sea cages.
“PETA is calling on the California Coastal Commission to vote down SeaWorld’s Blue World Project, because what these orcas need is to be released into a seaside sanctuary, not a rebranded prison”.
SeaWorld San Diego’s top attraction may be on its last legs, er, fins. “It fails to recognise that breeding is a fundamental part of orca life”, The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board wrote.
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.
CNN notes that during the hearing SeaWorld did say it would be OK with a cap of 15 orcas.
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Park officials have declined to say how much of the company’s revenues are generated by the SeaWorld marine parks.
