Skip to main content

SeaWorld Ends Killer Whales' Breeding Program



SeaWorld announced of stopping its killer whale breeding programs and take a "new direction" amid changing social attitudes.

The company said the 24 orcas it currently has in three parks would be SeaWorld's last generation, a long awaited move following intense criticism from animal-rights campaigners over keeping the whales in captivity.

Killer whale "Tilikum" appears during its performance in its show at Sea World on March 30, 2011 in Orlando, Fla. (Gerardo Mora / Getty Images)

"SeaWorld has been listening and we're changing," the company said in a statement. "Society is changing and we're changing with it. SeaWorld is finding new ways to continue to deliver on our purpose to inspire all our guests to take action to protect wild animals and wild places."

Joel Manby, president and CEO of SeaWorld, wrote in an op-ed article in the Los Angeles Times that its existing whales would remain in captivity because setting them free in the wild was "not a wise option."

"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," he wrote. "If we release them into the ocean, they will likely die."

Manby said the SeaWorld hasn't collected an orca from the wild in almost four decades and that this would be "the last generation of orcas in SeaWorld's care."

The 24 orcas SeaWorld currently has are at parks in California, Texas and Florida.



The company has been under pressure about its orcas since the 2013 release of the documentary "Blackfish," which argued that placing the whales in captivity made them violent, neurotic and decreased their life span.

Naomi Rose, marine mammal scientist at the Animal Welfare Institute said SeaWorld's decision was "a monumental and important first step forward in achieving a more humane business model."

The theme park was also feeling pressure from authorities. California's Coastal Commission last year approved a $100 million expansion at SeaWorld San Diego but only on the condition that it ended captive breeding at that facility — a ruling that CEO Manby at the time described as "inhumane."

Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) described Thursday's announcement as a "payoff" from its campaigns to change SeaWorld's policies.

However, it said: "Today is the day to stop breeding, not sometime later this year. SeaWorld must open its tanks to the oceans to allow the orcas it now holds captive to have some semblance of a life outside these prison tanks."

Source : NBC News

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nigerian army Claims the Second Rescue of Chibok Girl

A second schoolgirl that was seized in the Nigerian town of Chibok has been found, the army says. But a spokesman for the Chibok girls' parents has cast doubt on the claims, saying that the girl's name is not on the families' list of those missing. An army spokesman said Serah Luka was among a group of 97 women and children rescued by troops in the north-east. Islamist militant group Boko Haram has abducted thousands of other girls in recent years, rights groups estimate. This comes two days after the rescue of the first Chibok girl, Amina Ali Nkeki. The army has previously given misleading statements about the rescue of the Chibok girls - in its initial statement after Ms Nkeki was found, it used a wrong name. In all, 218 girls remain missing after their abduction by the Boko Haram Islamist group from Chibok secondary school in north-eastern Nigeria in 2014. Ms Nkeki told a Chibok community leader that six of the kidnapped girls had died, but...

Obama administration Issues Transgender Access to School Bathrooms

The issue of directing public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms matching their gender identity is being discussed by the Obama administration on Friday. A joint letter from the Departments of Education and Justice will go out to schools on Friday with guidelines to ensure that "transgender students enjoy a supportive and nondiscriminatory school environment," the Obama administration said on Thursday. The announcement comes amid heated debate over transgender rights in schools and public life, which includes a legal standoff between the administration and North Carolina over its controversial House Bill 2. The guidance goes beyond the bathroom issue, touching upon privacy rights, education records and sex-segregated athletics, all but guaranteeing transgender students the right to identify in school as they choose. "There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on ...

Will Ferrell and His Bird Collectian As "The Birds are for God"

An acclaimed actor and comedic genius like Will Ferrell is incredibly pleased to spend some valued time with his incredibly expensive bird collection, according to his good friend Adam McKay. McKay, who has directed Ferrell in films like "Anchorman" and "Step Brothers," told HuffPost Live on Monday that Ferrell's home is brimming with birds of all kinds, and Ferrell himself is a bit of a bird whisperer. "He has giant cages on his property filled with different tropical birds, and these are the kind of birds that will bite you, that you have to be careful with, but when it's him, they just fly right to his arm," McKay said. "Often times if you're at his house ... he has, like, a cockatiel on his shoulder for long stretches." An affinity for birds isn't exactly surprising, but what will shock you is the enormous monetary value of Ferrell's flock. "He had to have his bird collection insured, and I think it's wor...