SeaWorld in San Diego, California, once home to Shamu the orca, announced Nov. 9 the discontinuation of their orca shows, causing mixed responses from BYU–Hawaii students. There will be a “new orca experience” in 2017, reported the Washington Post.
“It made me happy,” said Ashlyn Egbert, a freshman marine biology major from Utah, “because I didn’t like the idea of orcas being in captivity in the first place. It’s one thing to take in an injured animal, but the idea of going out and capturing animals to put them in shows for entertainment – it’s not good for the animals; it’s not good for the people.”
According to AP, SeaWorld executives declared the change due to customer criticism of the captivity and training of killer whales. CEO Joel Manby, reports AP, explained attendees of the shows want to see orcas in their natural setting instead of being coerced to perform in a theatrical production.
The announcement to end “Shamu” shows, according to AP, does not affect San Diego’s sibling resorts in Florida and Texas. Another reason for the shutdown, reports AP, is the recent financial news SeaWorld executives received which revealed that revenue for the shows missed the mark of expectations, and their $100 million killer whale tank expansion plans, although approved, came with stipulations.
According to the New York Times, the California Coastal Commission told SeaWorld they could only follow through with their expansion plans if they agreed to ban breeding of orca whales. SeaWorld executives feel such a ban is unreasonable, according to AP, and intend to fight in court; until then, they have abandoned the proposal, and are considering adding hotels to increase the park’s recently declining ticket sales.
California’s Democratic Representative Adam Schiff and animal rights activists agree the end of orca shows is a step in the right direction, reports AP, but also hope the company will completely end orca captivity as well - Schiff with formal plans to introduce the idea to federal legislature.
“Personally I’m conflicted because zoos are good because they teach people about animals. But at the same time, I don’t know how much I love the idea of animals in a tank,” said Egbert. “I volunteered at an aquarium, and I saw so many animals die, stingrays hurt because people would touch them, whereas if they’d been left in the wild they would’ve been fine. And maybe it’s because I just have a soft spot for whales.”