SeaWorld San Diego has followed through on its promise to sue the California Coastal Commission for approving a new orca enclosure, but only with the condition that the park stop breeding and transferring its killer whales.
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The lawsuit claims that the California Coastal Commission, which oversees coastal development, lacks jurisdiction over marine mammals, which are typically regulated by federal authorities.
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The new condition, which was attached to the commission’s approval of the park’s expansion, set to open in 2018, prohibits all whale breeding, including the use of artificial insemination.
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But that step also included a ban on breeding and prohibited the company from selling, trading or transferring the whales.
Last month, the Florida-based company said it would end theatrical orca shows at its San Diego park after visitors said they prefer seeing killer whales act naturally rather than doing tricks.
While the Coastal Commission approved the habitat expansion in October, they said it could only be done under the condition that SeaWorld no longer breed captive killer whales.
“The orcas are not, in any way, part of the coastal or marine environment”, their suit said.
“The coastal commission is not the overseer of all activity that takes place in the coastal zone – its jurisdiction extends only to the regulation of development that affects the coastal or marine environment, including public access thereto”.
A commission representative says the agency is still reviewing the lawsuit and has no immediate comment.
Critics who attended October’s seven-hour hearing questioned SeaWorld’s treatment of animals in captivity and demanded the park’s 11 orcas be released into the wild.
“The Coastal Commission process became unhinged”, the complaint states.
SeaWorld claims restrictions imposed on plans to revamp its orca exhibition would effectively kill off the show. More than that, another way in which orcas are abused is by forced breeding which is done by collecting sperm from the males and inseminating the females at a much younger age and for many more times than they would in nature.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which fought hard for the ban, skewered SeaWorld over the legal move and defended the commission’s decision in a statement provided to Mashable.
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The shows will continue at the company’s Orlando and San Antonio parks, which are not affected by the breeding ban.
