SeaWorld in San Diego may no longer breed orcas and the eleven orcas currently at the theme park could very well be the last.
The California Coastal Commission on Thursday approved a $100 million expansion of the tanks at SeaWorld that hold the killer whales — but on the condition that it would no longer breed its whales. SeaWorld is also not allowed to sale, trade, or transfer the orcas.
“These 11 orcas would be the last 11 orcas there,” PETA lawyer Jared Goodman told 10 News after the meeting. PETA also offered a statement saying that the vote, “ensures that no more orcas will be condemned to a nonlife of loneliness, deprivation and misery.”
SeaWorld was not pleased with the decision. “Breeding is a natural, fundamental and important part of an animal’s life and depriving a social animal of the right to reproduce is inhumane,” the park said in a statement.
SeaWorld has seen its attendance drop since the release of the documentary Blackfish, with The San Diego Union Tribune reporting that attendance at the theme park dropped 12% last year – while Disneyland and Universal Studios saw their attendance jump 3 and 11 percent.
