Amid the heavy criticism brought about by the 'Blackfish' documentary, SeaWorld Entertainment has announced a change of policy - that the company will no longer accept whales captured in the wild.
According to The Dodo, SeaWorld has been looking forward for the government to approve a permit requested by Georgia Aquarium to import 18 beluga whales caught in the wild from a Russian facility.
Although the application was denied by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Georgia Aquarium appeals for reconsideration in court that will eventually send some of the whales into SeaWorld tanks - as initially planned.
SeaWorld, however, made the unprecedented action of calling off the deal and announced recently that "an evolution" is happening.
"SeaWorld has informed the Georgia Aquarium that we will not accept any of the belugas listed on their NOAA Fisheries import permit application," the company stated on its website. "The Marine Mammal Protection Act supports the collection and importation of animals for public display in accredited zoological facilities, and SeaWorld's decision on this matter does not in any way reflect judgment on those facilities leading or participating in this beluga whale conservation effort. Rather, it reflects an evolution in SeaWorld's position since this project began more than eight years ago."
This "evolution" surprised animal activists since SeaWorld has been known to be ruthless in capturing orca whales and not being completely responsible in taking good care of these wild captives used for entertainment business.
According to the Animal Welfare Institute, this change of action is rooted on public pressure and is considered to be a major impact on SeaWorld following the release of the 2013 documentary, Blackfish.
"SeaWorld is not known for publicly admitting that anything about it was historically in need of evolution. They usually don't talk about any changes that they implement because, in their mindset, any changes they implement implies that what they were doing before was wrong," said marine mammal scientist Naomi Rose. "For them to publicly announce on their website that not only are they changing their position on these beluga whales, but also that it is in fact a change - an evolution - in their position, is a new precedent for them."
The outspoken critic also believes that this "evolution" is SeaWorld's strategic plan for business after its huge drop in ticket sales in the past year.
