What’s next for SeaWorld’s plans to expand its orca tanks?
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) supporters hold up signs while listening to Dr. Ingrid Visser address a California Coastal Commission meeting at the Long Beach Convention Center on Oct. 8.
Now that the California Coastal Commission has approved a plan to let SeaWorld San Diego expand its killer whale enclosure -- but only on the condition that the park end its breeding program and add no new whales in the future -- what options does SeaWorld have?
According to information released this week from the Coastal Commission, SeaWorld has up to two years to begin construction of the $100-million project as permitted by the state agency. That deadline can be delayed if SeaWorld asks for an extension.
But if SeaWorld wants to challenge the Coastal Commission’s conditions, which would ultimately put an end to orcas at SeaWorld, the theme park has until Dec. 7 to file a lawsuit, most likely in Superior Court.
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The commission approved the project with the last-minute conditions during a marathon sesson on Oct. 8.
SeaWorld has yet to announce whether it will move forward or scrap the project all together. The park only released a statement saying that officials were “disappointed with the conditions that the California Coastal Commission placed on their approval of the Blue World Project, and will carefully review and consider our options.”
SeaWorld officials say that the conditions would force them to separate male and female whales to keep them from breeding. The prohibition on bringing in new whales means that once those animals now in captivity die, there would be no more animals to continue the shows.
SeaWorld’s so-called Blue World Project, which would more than double the space for the park’s 11 killer whales, was announced last year, partly in response to criticism sparked by the 2013 release of the documentary “Blackfish,” which accused the park of neglecting and abusing the captive whales.
SeaWorld has denied the accusations but attendance has dropped and shares for its Orlando parent company, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, have plummeted in the past year.
Meanwhile, a state lawmaker who proposed a bill last year banning orca shows in California but later tabled the idea pending further study, said he was considering reintroducing legislation next year.
Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) said in a statement that if SeaWorld decided to scrap the Blue World Project and continue breeding whales in the park’s existing enclosures, “it may be necessary to pursue more extensive orca protections.”
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