SeaWorld ending Orca Breeding program

KingstonsMom · ‎03-09-2010

YAY!

SeaWorld announced Thursday it will end 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.

Image: Killer whale "Tilikum" appears during its performance in its show at Sea World 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.

Last year, SeaWorld announced it was ending its orca shows — a move which drew muted praise from lawmakers and activists.

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."

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/seaworld-end-breeding-program-orca-whales-n540646

You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.

bri20 · ‎03-10-2016

That's good news!

ILTH · ‎05-18-2015

"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."

SeaWorld had been exposed and excoriated- very publicly. It's just a business decision on their part, nothing about ethics.

I'm glad it's, finally, happening, but, I won't give them a dime of my money. I wouldn't go to SeaWorld for at least a generation.

"I contend that we are both atheists . I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." Stephen Henry Roberts

Karnerblue · ‎03-18-2015

Happy Dance! It was long, long overdue.

"Never water yourself down just because someone can't handle you 100% proof."

millieshops · ‎03-09-2010

I applaud their decision, but I need to read and find out whether the people making this decision are the same people who decided to have the orcas in the first place.

I don't think there's any sensible way to release whales living or born into captivity out into their once natural environment and just as I don't hold my friends and family responsible for all the decisions their family members make, I would not hold today's executives responsible for decisions made by their predecessors.

No matter what we do, we cannot change the past. We can decide to change our current behavior.

songbird · ‎03-21-2010

Yay the freak show is over! Strange animals they were producing. Something so alien in nature, SeaWorld was only too happy to make. This should end Seaworld. They can become a real amusement park, not a pretend nature perserve.

These animals were so messed up genetically, they could never survive in the wild. They'll have to die in captivity. All of the Orcas were crossbreeds of different types of Orcas. In nature none of the would have happened.

Another new name Sue · ‎03-11-2010

This is good news. I never thought of this, but the CEO reminded readers that when Sea World first introduced the orcas, they were hated and feared as "killer whales." Because of the orca program, now we understand them better and their role in the marine environment. Now people value and respect them. That's so important. I appreciate what Sea World is doing, even tho' the captive animals cannot be returned to the wild, unfortunately.

ILTH · ‎05-18-2015

@Another new name Sue wrote:
This is good news. I never thought of this, but the CEO reminded readers that when Sea World first introduced the orcas, they were hated and feared as "killer whales." Because of the orca program, now we understand them better and their role in the marine environment. Now people value and respect them. That's so important. I appreciate what Sea World is doing, even tho' the captive animals cannot be returned to the wild, unfortunately.

And, how many decades ago was that? Just excuses, justifications and saving his rear.

And, how does that justify or fit in with using them for entertainment?

"I contend that we are both atheists . I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." Stephen Henry Roberts

SeaMaiden · ‎03-10-2010

What took so long?? Now we need to get zoos to close and to stop exploiting other wild animals,. And then stop the horse racing and dog racing that are considered legal games of chance...... but do nothing but injure and treat animals poorly.

The worst animal offenders are the counties that have so much illegal game hunting and poaching which is killing off and causing animals to go extinct. Little is being done. It is just horrendous!