SeaWorld Entertainment (NYSE:SEAS) is ending its orca breeding program and phasing out theatrical shows featuring the iconic black and white whales following years of criticism from activists over how the captive animals were said to be treated.
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The changes will begin in San Diego next year, followed by San Antonio and Orlando in 2019, SeaWorld said.
SeaWorld has been under fire since a trainer at the Orlando park, Dawn Brancheau, was killed by an orca named Tilikum in 2010.
The San Diego SeaWorld is the only remaining in California that has captive orcas, but the park has been under intense scrutiny from critics who say the practice is inhumane and poses a threat to trainers.
The parks have been criticized for their treatment of the captive marine mammals, with some activists seeking an end to public exhibition of killer whales altogether.
Manby also said on a later conference call that the park will not take the easy way out.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who introduced the Orca Responsibility and Care Advancement Act in 2015, applauded SeaWorld’s announcement Thursday.
According to USA Today, the orca shows in San Diego will end in 2017.
SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. operates as a theme park and entertainment company in the United States.
“Whenever they would splash you, that was obviously a big deal”, said Raymond Ramos, SXSW visitor.
But orca shows will most likely continue at SeaWorld for a very long time – killer whales can live up to 29 years in captivity, and a number of the whales in SeaWorld’s control are very young.
Now, after years of plunging revenues and public relations disasters, SeaWorld is finally taking substantive action. SeaWorld long ago stopped capturing whales from the oceans, but it had continued breeding them.
Most of our orcas were born at SeaWorld, and those that were born in the wild have been in our parks for the majority of their lives, Manby wrote. “SeaWorld has been listening and we’re changing”, SeaWorld says in a statement on its website.
The new attractions will be “inspiring, natural orca encounters, rather than theatrical shows”, SeaWorld said, adding that it would maintain its “ongoing commitment to education, marine science research, and rescue of marine animals”.
In November, SeaWorld announced it will replace its signature killer whale shows with programs focused on conservation.
Orcas have always been a centerpiece of the SeaWorld parks.
Young children get a close-up view of an Orca killer whale during a visit to the animal theme park SeaWorld in San Diego, California March 19, 2014.
Humane Society CEO Wayne Pacelle said his organization and SeaWorld had been longtime foes, but he said it was time to turn criticism into collaboration.
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“SeaWorld has introduced more than 400 million guests to orcas, and we are proud of our part in contributing to the human understanding of these animals”, he said in a press statement.
