SeaWorld Putting an End to Orca Breeding

It’s a historic day for SeaWorld as they announce the end of their orca breeding program.

This means, the orcas that are in captivity will stay there, but they will be the last generation to live at their parks.

Besides that, SeaWorld says they are changing up their live shows to be, “new, inspiring, natural orca encounters.”

According to the company, everything will reflect the natural world, with a focus on research, education, exercise and care of the animals.

Their existing show pools and viewing areas will be redesigned into a more naturalistic setting, while still having scheduled shows before an audience. This transformation will start at their San Diego park in 2017, followed by San Antonio and Orlando in 2019.

SeaWorld opened over 50 years ago, and since then has hosted about 400 million guests.

While they say the announcements will change how they do business, they want to protect animals in the wild and inspire visitors to do the same.

SeaWorld President & CEO Joel Manby said the company is proud to have, in part, helped to change how the public view “killer whales.”

“We’ve helped make orcas among the most beloved marine mammals on the planet,” said Manby. “As society’s understanding of orcas continues to change, SeaWorld is changing with it.

“By making this the last generation of orcas in our care and reimagining how guests will experience these beautiful animals, we are fulfilling our mission of providing visitors to our parks with experiences that matter.”

SeaWorld has not collected an orca from the wild in almost 40 years, and most of the animals in captivity now were born in human care.

“These orcas have never lived in the wild and could not survive in oceans that include environmental concerns such as pollution and other man-made threats,” according to a statement by the company.

One orca named Takara became pregnant last year, and her and all the remaining animals will stay in the company’s park habitats, with constant care and marine veterinary medicine.

Big news!

Watch our announcement and read how SeaWorld is changing here: https://t.co/Oe1xv2sFUGhttps://t.co/0Ke3pcw6UV

— SeaWorld (@SeaWorld) March 17, 2016

SeaWorld insists that the work they do is critical for the protection of animals in the wild, especially marine mammals. On Thursday, they announced that they have committed $50 million over the next five years to advocate for an end to the commercial killing of whales and seals and an end to shark finning.

Lastly, SeaWorld announced a new partnership with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the largest animal protection and advocacy organization in the U.S.

“The historic partnership helps each group extend its own mission and is based on their joint interest in preserving and protecting wild animals and the places they live,” continues the company’s statement.

HSUS and SeaWorld will work on a variety of priorities including fish and marine mammal protection, healthy oceans and sustainable seafood.