At the Los Angeles Times, "What the Coastal Commission's ban on orca breeding means for SeaWorld":
If there's a star at SeaWorld San Diego, it's the 11 mammoth killer whales that thrill children and parents with their magnificent grace and acrobatic tricks.Fuck 'em. Fuck the totalitarian leftists who have not one fun bone in their bodies.
So does the animal park have a future without Shamu?
That's the existential threat the San Diego theme park is facing after this week's stunning decision by the California Coastal Commission to ban captive breeding of the park's killer whales — as a condition of building a much larger $100-million holding facility.
The vote, condemned by the park, comes as SeaWorld tries to fend off criticism highlighted in the 2013 documentary "Blackfish" accusing the marine park of neglecting and abusing its killer whales.
SeaWorld has rejected those accusations but faced plummeting attendance and a constant barrage of public criticism. It planned to win back public support by building a much larger living environment for its orcas — a 450,000-gallon pool and a 5.2-million-gallon tank in place of its 1.7-million-gallon pen.
The Coastal Commission approved the plan, but placed restrictions on the park that could mean an end to SeaWorld's orca program. Without breeding or bringing in new orcas, its animals would grow old and die in the park, ending the shows permanently.
"It means that the California Coastal Commission is asking them to manage these animals to extinction in the state of California," said Grey Stafford, director of conservation at the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium in Phoenix.
SeaWorld could abandon the project and allow the animals to live and continue performing in their current enclosure — in essence thumbing its nose at a growing chorus of critics.
But few see the company pursuing either option.
The twice-a-day shows by the animals, which weigh several tons, are by far the biggest attraction at the park, which also features other marine shows, animal exhibits, a roller coaster and water ride.
The commission's decision might complicate SeaWorld's future plans, but doesn't spell the company's demise, said James Hardiman, equity research analyst and managing director at Wedbush Securities.
"A lot would need to happen for SeaWorld's business to be over," he said. "This does not mark the end of SeaWorld." ...
Bill Hurly, past president of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks & Aquariums, an international accreditation body, said he expects that SeaWorld will follow through on its threat to challenge the legality of the decision, a move that would be supported by the industry.
"If I were SeaWorld, I'd use my legal resources," he said.
Indeed, aquarium and zoo officials have blasted the Coastal Commission's restrictions, saying breeding programs help biologists improve their understanding of the behavior and habits of killer whales. They blamed the panel's vote on "misinformation" disseminated on social media by animal rights activists.
"Most of what is known about marine mammal reproduction has been learned by studying animals in zoological facilities," said Rob Vernon, a spokesman for the Assn. of Zoos & Aquariums.
Even so, the vote will likely give animal rights groups new momentum to call on local agencies throughout the nation to change the way animals in captivity are treated after several unsuccessful reform efforts.
A bill introduced in the California Legislature to ban killer whale shows at SeaWorld San Diego was tabled last year for further study, and its author confirmed later that he won't reintroduce it this year. In Vancouver, British Columbia, a parks board voted last year to halt the breeding program at the Vancouver Aquarium, but the ban was never implemented.
"Blackfish" director Gabriela Cowperthwaite said the commission's decision shows that the public is now taking a greater interest in how animals are treated.
"It's a sign that everyone is exercising any authority they might have over this place to force them to do the right thing," Cowperthwaite said.
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