SeaWorld says it will end orca shows in San Diego by 2017

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SeaWorld says it will end orca shows in San Diego by 2017
By JULIE WATSON and MIKE SCHNEIDER

SAN DIEGO (AP) — SeaWorld will end orca shows at its San Diego park after visitors at the tourist attraction made it clear they prefer seeing killer whales act naturally rather than doing tricks, the company's top executive said Monday.

CEO Joel Manby told investors the park — where the iconic "Shamu" show featuring killer whales doing flips and other stunts debuted decades ago — will offer a different kind of orca experience focusing on the animal's natural setting and behaviors, starting in 2017.

Animal rights activists called the move a marketing gimmick and want the company to phase out holding any whales in captivity.

"An end to SeaWorld's tawdry circus-style shows is inevitable and necessary, but it's captivity that denies these far-ranging orcas everything that is natural and important to them," said Jared Goodman of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "This move is like no longer whipping lions in a circus act but keeping them locked inside cages for life."

The Orlando, Florida-based company has seen revenue drop since the 2013 release of the documentary "Blackfish" that examined how orcas respond to captivity. It chronicles the case of Tilikum, a killer whale that caused the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010 by pulling her into a pool at SeaWorld Orlando.

Attendance has dropped the most at the San Diego location, and the decision to end orca shows would be limited for now to that park, the original home of Shamu, its first orca.

The shows will continue at its other two parks in San Antonio and Orlando.

The Shamu stadium in San Diego that hosted killer whale shows were the park's main draw in the 1970s and helped build SeaWorld as a top tourist attraction. Trainers would ride the whales in the giant pool before getting out and signaling for the orca to slap its tail in the water to splash spectators in a "splash zone."

Manby told investors Monday that California customers want to see less theatrical production, so the new attraction will have a strong conservation message.

"They want the orca experience to be activities the whales do in the wild," Manby said. "Things they perceive as tricks, they don't like as well."

However, that's not "universal across our properties," he added.

The news came days after SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. reported its third-quarter earnings missed Wall Street expectations.

SeaWorld earlier this year announced plans for a $100 million expansion of the killer whale tanks in San Diego to boost attendance, but the California Coastal Commission made approval of the project, dubbed "Blue World," contingent on SeaWorld agreeing not to breed, transfer or sell any of its captive orcas at the park.

Manby called the ruling — which SeaWorld plans to fight in court — a bad precedent for not only SeaWorld but all zoos and aquariums. He indicated to investors that the company might shelve the San Diego project.

"We certainly know with the regulatory environment out there that happened with orcas, and some of what happened in California, with the reputation out there, I think we would be foolish if we didn't look at other options," Manby said.

He announced that the company is considering adding hotels at its parks, starting with San Diego, to attract overnight visitors.

SeaWorld has reached an agreement with a hotel developer to embark on the exploratory phase.
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Schneider reported from Orlando.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-11-10

[RaoulDuke]

Very good news for Japan! Bring on the whale sashimi!

Seriously, this whole SeaWorld BS is a sick joke. I would agree 100% that all animals, including marine animals, would be far better off left in their own environment...if humans became extinct. Unfortunately, we have destroyed just about every environment that there is on this planet. We have even managed to trash the space surrounding the planet. Chronic overfishing has caused the marine food supply to plummet, along with the coral bleaching caused by an excessive rate of global warming. The vast majority of marine life has been shown to have a disturbing level of plastic inside their bodies, which all to often can contribute to their demise. And just off the coast of SeaWorld, we have an endless flow huge tankers, freighters, and cruise ships that continually dump extraordinary amounts of waste directly into the ocean and surrounding atmosphere, while mowing down any marine mammal that happens to get in their way.

There are so many horrible catastrophes that we are unleashing on the orcas of the world everyday that these hypocritical do-gooders have no interest in opposing. Instead they set all sights on the one organization that they can easily take down, despite the fact that SeaWorld spends millions of dollars every year on programs that provide far more benefit to marine life than these whiny hypocrites would ever dream of doing. That money comes from revenue from the parks, that they would not have if they did not have a park. They also provide an invaluable service of introducing millions of kids to the world of marine biology, with the hope of sparking at least a few future leaders into showing a greater respect and care for these creatures we so happily disregard with our blatant consumerism and pollution.

Shamu may not have the life that every orca dreams of, but he/she is still far better off than his cousin, on the back of a whaler or floating upside down after getting mowed down. The only way to truly make life better for all animals is to annihilate their one true enemy, humanity as a whole.

[Muzarella]

The report didn't said that 2 orca's trainers in San Diego' s Sea World were killed on the last 20 years...one in front of the audience.

The same problem with dolphins. When those animals are in mating season, like many other species, becomes very aggressive.