SeaWorld responds to ban on whale breeding
Though the theme park might challenge recent regulations, environmentalist and animal welfare groups celebrated the decision as a victory.
The California Coastal Commission banned SeaWorld from allowing its killer whales to breed as a condition of its approval for the $100 million expansion project. Questions remain over whether the commission has the authority to regulate the animals’ breeding habits.
Some, including San Diego Union Tribune, say that this would be a death sentence for SeaWorld in San Diego—and possibly for all of its parks:
The new conditions prohibiting captive breeding and whale transfers, apparently meaning SeaWorld also cannot bring orcas here from its other parks, were another matter. They will over time mean the end of the park’s whale programs. And that could mean the end of SeaWorld, at least in San Diego.
In its op-ed, the paper goes on to urge SeaWorld to take legal action against the commission. SeaWorld shared the article on Twitter:
Read @SDUT‘s editorial on the “Coastal Commission’s dubious decision to ban” whale breeding at #SeaWorld: http://t.co/qnb9kClYrQ
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