The headline of San Diego Tribue shows SeaWorld's announcement on Monday that it is phasing out its "Shamu" killer whale shows next year. The park will offer new attractions in its place, in an effort to boost attendance again.
According to Reuters, SeaWorld experienced great decrease in visitors in the last few years, following the stream of criticisms coming from animal cruelty groups. The company has been getting negative feedbacks for its alleged mistreatment, abuse, inhumane marine shows, and trainer attacks of the captive whales.
The issue was brought up and the park was scrutinized following the airing of "Back Fish," a 2013 documentary about captive marine animals and how they were used in public exhibitions. The show special also sparked anger and led to various petitions like the one from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA. They want the whales to be freed and put back to where they belong.
Moreover, Animal rights groups did not stop their protest to put an end to the exploit of the whales. Their continuous and firm stand to fight for the ‘abused' marine animals also got the attention of government officials and people around the world. And the pressure from all of this might have weighed so heavy that SeaWorld finally gave in.
"Shows at the San Diego park will stop by the end of 2016, while a ‘new orca experience' will debut in 2017 with a "strong conservation message," Joel Manby, CEO of SeaWorld, stated.
IBTimes also quoted the CEO as saying, "I am excited about the alternatives that we are coming up with, and we're definitely going to still hit the 2018 window on that."
Furthermore, Adam Schiff, U.S. Representative for California's 28th congressional district, said that he will be introducing a strict bill to stop the capture and breeding of captive orcas. He added that he will also restrict the import and export of these marine animals.
Meanwhile, the themed park's decision to end orca shows was lauded by animal activists and lawmakers that have been fighting for the killer whale's rights for years.
On her brief interview with NBC News, Noami Rose, a marine scientist from the Animal Welfare Institute called SeaWorld's announcement, an ‘interesting' change because of the company's plans to replace the orca's shows with educational entertainment programs .
Then again, despite the confirmation that the SeaWorld in San Diego is closing the whale shows, it is not clear whether this decision is also applicable to the parks located in Florida and Texas. What will happen to the whales after the show's phase out was not mentioned either.
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