“Breeding is a natural, fundamental and important part of an animal’s life and depriving a social animal of the right to reproduce is inhumane”, the park said in a statement.
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“SeaWorld has admitted that it meant to breed even more orcas to fill the new tanks, but the commission’s action today ensures that no more orcas will be condemned to a nonlife of loneliness, deprivation, and misery”. Around 650 park supporters attended the meeting, according to the report and another 9,500 observers joined via livestream. “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”, said Jared Goodman, PETA’s Director of Animal Law.
The commission staff recommended approval after SeaWorld officials pledged that the facility will not house any orcas that were taken from the wild after February 12, 2014, nor will it utilize killer whale genetic material taken from the wild after that date.
SeaWorld said it would consider whether to proceed with the expansions or possible legal challenges to the commission’s conditions.
The company issued a short statement in which it indicated it will review its options.
SeaWorld has been taking a major drubbing from animal rights activists and the broader public in the last few years, and the marine theme park is now running into major opposition from California regulators. Dayna Bochco, the commissioner who made the amendment to halt breeding and transfers from SeaWorld, said captivity harms the whales. “I often look out at the handsome ocean and wish the whales confined at SeaWorld had freedom, as nature intended”, she said.
The upcoming plan consists of replacing and expanding two existing orca facilities with larger tanks, one containing 5.2 million gallons of water and another with 450,000 gallons.
The Orlando, Florida-based company has faced ongoing pressure from animal activists since the release of the 2013 documentary “Blackfish”, which argued that killer whales shouldn’t be kept in captivity.
Her sentiments were shared by Pamela Anderson. Why do they have any say over Sea World’s orca breeding?
“The whales at SeaWorld don’t need anti-depressants”, said SeaWorld’s chief veterinarian, Hendrik Nollens.
As Thursday’s hours-long meeting dragged on, Reilly told the commission the park would be willing to accept a cap of 15 orcas but that banning breeding at the park would eventually lead to the “extinction” of the orca program.
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However, Ingrid Visser, head of the Orca Research Trust in New Zealand, pointed out to the Los Angeles Times that whales in the wild swim an average distance of 138 miles per day and dive to depths of about 600 feet. “Blue World is going to be a great enhancement to our habitat for whales, but also for researchers and guests”. “Not one whale is receiving anti-depressants”, he reportedly said.
