SeaWorld has announced plans to phase out its theatrical killer whale public displays at its San Diego
park in California by 2018 in favour of a new presentation designed to "engage and inform guests by highlighting more of the species' natural behaviours."
In a conference call to investors, SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby said the controversial displays will be replaced in San Diego with a new format. Reports suggest that a new orca experience in a "more natural" setting will be introduced, while killer whale displays will likely continue in their current form at other SeaWorld parks in the US.
It is not yet clear why San Diego alone has been earmarked for a revised schedule, although it could be linked to the recent
breeding ban imposed on the park by Californian authorities as a condition for the expansion of the site’s orca habitats.
SeaWorld has been under immense pressure from wildlife advocates, who want all of the park’s cetaceans released into sea pens to live out the rest of their lives. The company’s profit margin
has dropped by more than three quarters as it struggles to regain its reputation, tarnished by the 2013 documentary
Blackfish, which alleged a
SeaWorld orca killed its trainer because it was traumatised by its living conditions.
Manby said the revamped offering at San Diego forms part of the company’s strategy to reverse fortunes, amid falling attendances across its 11 US theme parks.
