This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/17/seaworld-to-stop-breeding-killer-whales-orcas-blackfish

The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
SeaWorld to stop breeding killer whales 'A defining moment': SeaWorld decides to stop breeding killer whales
(about 1 hour later)
Theme park operator SeaWorld Entertainment has said it will stop breeding killer whales, and those currently at its parks will be the last. SeaWorld will stop breeding orca whales in captivity, the company announced Thursday, a move applauded by animal rights activists who have been calling for an end to the public exhibition of the animals altogether for years.
Orlando-based SeaWorld has faced falling visitor numbers and years of criticism over its treatment of the captive marine mammals as well as pressure from animal rights activists to end the public exhibition of killer whales. “By making this the last generation of orcas in our care and reimagining how guests will experience these beautiful animals, we are fulfilling our mission of providing visitors to our parks with experiences that matter,” said Joel Manby, president and CEO of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc.
SeaWorld, which operates parks in San Diego, Orlando and San Antonio, said in November it would replace its signature “Shamu” killer whale shows in San Diego with displays focused on conservation. The breeding program will end immediately, and the killer whales currently at its parks will be the last, Manby said.
California regulators had said earlier that they would bar SeaWorld San Diego from continuing to breed killer whales, or orcas, if it went ahead with a planned expansion of the artificial habitat. The Orlando-based theme park operator has faced falling visitor numbers and years of criticism over its treatment of the captive marine mammals as well as pressure from animal rights activists.
SeaWorld has 29 killer whales under its care, including six on loan to third parties, according to its website. Peta director Mimi Bekhechi welcomed the news, but called for those still in captivity to be allowed ocean access.
A killer whale was first born in a SeaWorld park in 1985. Since then, 30 have been born in the parks, including the first ever births through artificial insemination. “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,” said Bekhechi in a statement.
The company faced a backlash after the release of the 2013 documentary Blackfish, which depicted the captivity and public exhibition of killer whales as inherently cruel. But SeaWorld said the remaining whales – including a pregnant whale, Takara – will live out the rest of their lives under the care of their veterinary staff, as releasing them into the wild will likely kill them.
The film, which SeaWorld has said is inaccurate and misleading, also explored the circumstances leading to the 2010 death of a top SeaWorld trainer, Dawn Brancheau, who was pulled underwater and drowned by an orca she had performed with in Florida. “These orcas have never lived in the wild and could not survive in oceans that include environmental concerns such as pollution and other manmade threats,” said the company on its site. Although a few of SeaWorld’s orcas were born in the wild, the majority were bred in captivity by the company.
The company has sought to counter negative publicity surrounding Blackfish with a public relations blitz aimed at drawing attention to SeaWorld’s role in marine mammal research and its rescue and rehabilitation of animals in the wild. “In fact, no orca or dolphin born under human care has ever survived release into the wild. Even the attempt to return the whale from Free Willy, Keiko, who was born in the wild, was a failure,” said Manby in an op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times.
SeaWorld’s shares, which have fallen about 11% in the past year, closed at $17.12 on Wednesday. “The decision to end its orca breeding program globally and to commit to ending the collection of exhibit animals from the wild, as well as to a ‘no orca’ policy should SeaWorld expand its brand into new international markets, is a monumental and important first step forward in achieving a more humane business model for the company,” said the Animal Welfare Institute.
Data from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation says SeaWorld has 23 orcas in its US parks. Eleven of those live in its San Diego park.
In October 2015, the California Coastal Commission, which has authority over coastal building projects, said it would only approve Sea World’s renovation plans if the company ended its controversial breeding program.
Jon Reilly, then president of SeaWorld San Diego, opposed the decision, declaring “a ban on breeding would sentence these animals to a slow extinction in our care”.
The 2013 documentary Blackfish, which told the story of Tilkum, a SeaWorld whale kept in captivity and involved in the deaths of several people, propelled the theme park’s treatment of orcas into the public eye.
Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the director of Blackfish, called the end of the breeding program “a defining moment”.
“The fact that SeaWorld is doing away with orca breeding marks truly meaningful change,” she said in a joint statement with SeaWorld and the Humane Society.
The film’s effect on the park was staggering: profits dropped 84% between 2014 and 2015 as sales and attendance collapsed. Now the company is attempting to reverse its fortunes.
Rather than training whales to perform tricks on demand for treats, the theme park will introduce “new, inspiring natural orca encounters”. The end to circus-like shows was first announced last November as part of the company’s overhaul aimed at stemming financial losses.
Existing pools will be renovated to more closely depict a natural setting. Whales will appear to the public in regular shows, but “these programs will focus on orca enrichment, exercise and overall health”, read the announcement on SeaWorld’s site.
The new shows will start in the San Diego park next year, before being rolled out to San Antonio and Orlando in 2019.
The company also announced a new partnership with the Humane Society. SeaWorld has committed to donate $50m over the next five years to fight illegal fishing of whales and seals and end shark finning.