SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby told San Diego Union-Tribune that the theme park's San Diego shows will cease to by the end of 2016. It will be replaced by a more a new attraction that promotes the conservation of killer whales. It is set to open by the year 2017. Unfortunately, the CEO did not mention about releasing captive orcas back to the wild.
It can be recalled that the "Jackass" star attracted attention months ago when he climbed a crane at the back of SeaWorld's Los Angeles resort as a form of protest for SeaWorld's alleged mistreatment of the animals, including the orca killer whales.
"Since the news broke about my 30-day jail sentence for it, California banned breeding of captive orcas, and SeaWorld has now announced it will cancel its orca show in San Diego beginning in 2017," Steve-O said. He also admitted that the said stunt was somehow "idiotic."
Since then, the attendance to the park had fallen and the company's stock prices dropped.
Although Steve-O is currently facing a 30-day jail sentence for his stunt, he was also one of the firsts to praise the theme park's bosses for the announcement.
Steve-O also told Sky News, "It totally sucks that they will still be allowed to keep orcas imprisoned until 2017 (and that there is no news like this coming from their other locations), but it's a step in the right direction and I like to think I helped make that happen. I hope they will issue a specific and concrete timeline for when we can expect these long-overdue changes to take place."
Furthermore, 2013 "Blackfish" director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, said she is afraid that the announcement is just "the latest attempt to survive the PR nightmare that is Sea World."
"I am always optimistic when I hear that there is some semblance of change. But it appears that they are not stopping their orca shows at all. Just repurposing them," she told The Hollywood Reporter. She added that "until they stop the breeding and retire their whales into sea sanctuaries we just can't let up. Nothing else they're doing truly changes anything for the animals. It just makes us feel better about watching the shows."
Jason Biggs, "Orange Is the New Black" actor, also called for SeaWorld to modify their decision with regard to orca shows. "SeaWorld still plans on keeping Orcas in captivity, in a more 'natural' setting and with a 'conservation-oriented theme.' This is not OK. Until all of the orcas are rehabilitated and released, any move on the part of SeaWorld is merely an attempt to placate and go back to business as usual," he said.
