It’s really not “finny” anymore. SeaWorld is “gill-ty.”
A state law, though, may not be the right solution to help SeaWorld discontinue its practices of animal cruelty.
State Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, along with “Blackfish” Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, two former SeaWorld orca trainers and an animal welfare activist, comprise the gung-ho crew that has proposed legislation that would ban orca shows at SeaWorld.
The legislation is based on last year’s CNN documentary “Blackfish,” which documents the harm done to orcas kept in captivity. PETA, an animal rights group supporting the bill, has said that animals in human care “should be considered slaves under the 13th amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
It’s really sad that the animal cruelty allegations in “Blackfish” weren’t enough to make SeaWorld change its ways. Now that it’s gone to Congress, SeaWorld orca’s are dealing with a whole new audience — politicians.
While some lawmakers are considering the bill, others strongly oppose it simply because special interest groups, like PETA, are behind the push, according to an nbcsandiego.com article. Others oppose it because its passing would be costly for San Diegan jobs and tourism.
The solution is hard to find because SeaWorld is almost built on opposition. In part, it’s a conservation agency, hiring experts who can provide the best care for and understanding of extremely complex and intelligent creatures.
However, it is also a for-profit company. In “Blackfish,” trainers spoke with guilt about the pressures they received from SeaWorld to do things that they believed would harm the whales.
SeaWorld said in a statement against the bill that they are committed to an enriching and educational experience for park guests. On the contrary, it seems that they’re more committed to the profit they make from the killer whale shows. The show has become more lights and spectacle than education.
In an article in the San Antonio Business Times, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer said that SeaWorld San Diego employs 2,500 people during the winter and 4,500 during the summer. The park attracts more than four million visitors a year and pays the city more than $14 million in annual rent, as of last year, according to a Tech Times article.
Even though whales would stop being an attraction for paying fans if the proposed legislation passes, the whales wouldn’t be released into the wild because their chances of survival after such an extended period of time in captivity are slim.
The results would not be as immediate as many behind the bill hope; the bill says that if the captive orcas cannot be released immediately, they will stay in sea pens. Therefore, the only immediate result is a suffering Mission Beach economy.
Politicians backed by activists should send in experts to work with SeaWorld to gradually lessen whale captivity and change its business model in order to sustain a profit.
Legislators, along with animal rights activists need to investigate the issue further to find a solution that will keep SeaWorld afloat as well as treat the orcas more humanely.
SeaWorld’s attractiveness doesn’t need to come from pretty lights and flippin’ sea creatures.