Capping off a protracted political battle focused around animal rights and aquatic entertainment at SeaWorld, the San Diego’s longstanding tourist attraction, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation that will bring California’s iconic relationship with captive orcas to an end.

Wave of criticism

Authored by Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, the law has banned “orca breeding and captivity programs like the one formerly run by SeaWorld theme parks,” as well as “featuring the marine mammals […] in performances for entertainment purposes,” the Los Angeles Times reported. “Starting in June next year, orcas in captivity can be used for ‘educational presentations’ only.”

For the activists who spearheaded the legislation, inspired by the 2013 documentary Blackfish, victory in California has been seen as critical to codifying new nationwide norms. “Attendance has plunged, and company shares have fallen in half” at SeaWorld, the San Francisco Chronicle noted last year, after the film “made a compelling case that the confinement and exploitation of killer whales inflicted physical and psychological stress on creatures that thrive on socialization and vast expanses of the ocean.” The Animal Welfare Institute, which co-sponsored the bill, helped ensure that practices banned in California could not spread to other locales after the fact. “Besides outlawing orca breeding and theatrical performances, the so-called Orca Protection Act also bans the transportation of orcas to entertainment facilities in other states and foreign countries,” National Geographic noted. But it “does permit the transport of orcas to other facilities in North America,” as Dr. Lori Marino, president of the Whale Sanctuary Project, told NatGeo. “This will facilitate ongoing efforts to develop seaside sanctuaries for these animals as an alternative to living in tanks.”

Multiple challenges

The route taken through Sacramento by the captivity ban was an unusual one. After the passage of this year’s budget package, “the Assembly approved a natural resources budget ‘trailer bill’ that includes a provision with the new restrictions,” the Sacramento Bee recalled. “The orca provision is part of a budget-related bill that would be wrapped into the $171-billion state budget the governor signed in June,” as U-T San Diego observed as the state Senate cleared the legislation. Bloom’s bill, with similar wording, advanced simultaneously. 

Looking ahead

Given SeaWorld’s timing in shuttering its beleaguered orca programs, the bill’s completed journey into law ruffled few feathers. In a March op-ed at the Times, Joel Manby, SeaWorld president and CEO, revealed that public sentiments the company had ironically helped change in orcas’ favor had doomed its traditional offerings. “We are proud of contributing to the evolving understanding of one of the world’s largest marine mammals,” he wrote. “Now we need to respond to the attitudinal change that we helped to create — which is why SeaWorld is announcing several historic changes. This year we will end all orca breeding programs — and because SeaWorld hasn’t collected an orca from the wild in almost four decades, this will be the last generation of orcas in SeaWorld’s care. We are also phasing out our theatrical orca whale shows.”

Opposition had been closing in around SeaWorld throughout this year and last. The California Coastal Commission had approved a plan to expand SeaWorld’s orca enclosures, but only on the condition that the park stopped its breeding and transfer programs, effectively forcing the changes Manby announced in March. In Washington, D.C., meanwhile, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., had authored a bill imposing a federal ban on the captive breeding of orcas. “SeaWorld is certainly feeling the bite of public opinion,” ecological author Carl Safina told NatGeo. “Though they could carry on elsewhere with breeding and trans-shipping, they’d be wise to emphasize other aspects of their entertainment.”

Trying for a reboot

“In 2017 we will launch an all new orca experience” focused on the whales’ “natural environment,” SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby recently announced, according to the Guardian. “2016 will be the last year of our theatrical killer whale experience in San Diego.” But the traditional performances will continue at SeaWorld’s other locations in Texas and Florida.

“He said the decision to end the orca shows in California was in direct response to customers, who he said had made it clear that they want less of a theatrical experience and would rather see the whales in a more natural setting,” the Guardian added. “Attendance at the San Diego park is falling fast. Visitor numbers dropped 17 percent last year to 3.8 million, according to city authorities, and Manby warned investors last week that numbers are still falling and would contribute to a $10 million hit to SeaWorld’s profits this year.”

Activists and critics, to little surprise, welcomed the change but swiftly demanded more. “Animal rights activists applauded SeaWorld’s plans to end its orca shows at its San Diego park but said the company should phase out its captivity of killer whales altogether,” the Associated Press reported.

Growing opposition

The root of the crisis traced back to the debut two years ago of a harshly critical documentary film. “Attendance has plunged, and company shares have fallen in half, since the 2013 documentary ‘Blackfish’ made a compelling case that the confinement and exploitation of killer whales inflicted physical and psychological stress on creatures that thrive on socialization and vast expanses of the ocean,” as the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle noted. Tim Zimmerman, co-writer of the film, told CNN SeaWorld’s abandonment of the San Diego shows was a “first step.”

“That film, shown repeatedly on CNN, had a profound impact on how the theme park is percieved by the public. SeaWorld has spent millions of dollars on ads and social media to restore its reputation,” as NPR observed. ‘Blackfish’ took as its point of departure the 2010 death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, killed by one of the captive orcas at the company’s Florida location. SeaWorld withdrew its trainers from orca tanks after the incident, NPR added; but the damage to its reputation was done, as activists began to focus in on its treatment of whales and the psychology of the animals in captivity.

Legislators and regulators have also chipped away at the company’s fortunes. “SeaWorld suffered another blow last month when the California Coastal Commission approved a SeaWorld plan to expand its orca enclosures in San Diego but added the condition that the park must end its killer whale breeding program and halt the transfer of new whales to the park,” the Los Angeles Times recalled. “The conditions would eventually put an end to the park’s most popular attraction.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., has forged ahead with a plan to federally prohibit the captive breeding of orcas. “The fact still remains that as long as SeaWorld holds orcas in captivity, the physical and psychological problems associated with their captivity will persist,” he said, according to the AP.

Added troubles

In a grim irony, SeaWorld’s troubles have not been confined to their featured marine animals. “A Wilsonville man is suing SeaWorld in San Diego, California after a trained hawk attacked his service dog,” KATU reported. “His dog may have contracted an aggressive disease as a result. Robin Revel has mounting veterinarian bills for his service dog Yogi that he didn’t expect after the attack happened in February. That’s why his attorney e-filed the liability lawsuit in San Diego on Wednesday.”