California Just Banned SeaWorld

From Breeding Captive Orcas

The state of California has ruled that they will no longer be able to breed their
captive orcas. In a ruling made by the California Coastal Commission, they
granted approval for a $100 million (65 million) expansion to the orca tanks at
SeaWorld San Diego, which will double the size of the animals current enclosure,
but made this on the key condition that they cease all breeding of the whales.

The decision came after over 600 people gathered both in support and against
SeaWorld at a hearing in Long Beach, California, with both sides giving
impassioned speeches, according to
a report from CNN. While the
breeding of orcas in captivity will
still be legal in the other 49 states of
America, the ruling will prohibit the
sale,
trade, or transfer of all captive whales.
This now means that the 11 orcas
currently kept at SeaWorld San
Diego will be the last in California.
They are also calling on SeaWorld to stop building new tanks and to send the
remaining whales to coastal sanctuaries so that they can have some semblance
of a natural life. Opposition to the chain of marine mammal parks has been
building since the documentary Blackfish hit the screens in 2013, which detailed
the controversy surrounding the captivity of orcas in tanks. It particularly focused
on the whale Tilikum, and the psychological and physical damage done to the
whale from being in captivity.