California bans whale captivity and breeding at SeaWorld

Times are changing for Sea World, and most would argue it is going to be for the better. California has become the first state to ban Killer Whale breeding and captivity, meaning SeaWorld will need to phase out the Orca shows by next summer.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed the law on Tuesday which enforces Sea World to stop using whales for entertainment and breeding.

In the past couple of years, there has been a spike of protesting whale captivity, mostly focused at Sea World. After the 2013 documentary, Blackfish, was released, Sea World received a lot of backlash about their Orca’s.

Those who watched Blackfish probably experienced some anger and sadness at the fact that these Orca’s were becoming violent, and their fins morphed due to keeping them in captivity. The attendance at Sea World dropped significantly after the documentary release.

After the year’s passed, the Sea World backlash slowed down heavily, but many protests continued leading to the new bill being signed.

Back in March of 2016, Sea World decided to end its killer whale breeding program and will phase out live entertainment shows.

Sea World said they will replace the shows with “natural orca encounters.” This means that the Orca’s already in captivity can stay at Sea World if they are being used for educational purposes only, which is in line with the new bill.

Because most whales were born in captivity, releasing them would cause an environmental threat to the whales. The law allows the whales to live out their lives at Sea World receiving quality care and good habitats.

It is unknown whether or not the backlash will subside after the new law takes effect, but it most likely will help Sea World’s humanity standings. It is a big step for Sea World to phase out the entertainment shows, but we doubt that it will make Sea World any less entertaining and fun.