A world of trouble for SeaWorld

Washington Post ^ | December 12, 2014 | Terrence McCoy

[C19fan]

Under normal circumstances, an institution as big and famous as SeaWorld would be impervious to any number of public assaults on its standing. Like Wal-Mart or Comcast or Disneyland, one would assume it could bear any bad press and keep chugging. But after the release of the documentary “Blackfish” in the summer of 2013, it became clear to onlookers that these were not normal circumstances and not the usual bad press. That became dramatically clear Thursday, when the company’s CEO, Jim Atchison, resigned in a departure many link to the fallout.

[C19fan]

The CEO of Sea World, which runs the Sea World parks and Busch Gardens Williamsburg/Tampa Bay, resigned. For Black Friday, they were offering buy one get 1 free annual passes to Sea World Orlando. Looks like the company is taking a hit on the "Blackfish" controversy. Also, competition in Orlando has gotten much more intense with Disney World adding parks and Universal Studio. When I used to be a kid it was just Magic Kingdom and Sea World in Orlando. The scary part is Sea World has over $1.5 billion in debt. Anheuser-Busch used to run Sea World/Busch Gardens, including free beer samples :), but when Anheuser-Busch was acquired by InBev the parks were spin-offed and acquired by one of those private equity firms through a leveraged buy out adding the debt to the balance sheet. I used to be a regular annual pass holder to Busch Gardens Williamsburg but prices of the passes has gone up rapidly in a few years.

[Buckeye McFrog]

The worst thing they ever did to a killer whale was forcing one to live in Cleveland.

[LadyBuck]

We took the kiddies to Seaworld Orlando back in ‘06.

The Shamu show was entertaining.

At lunch, I noticed fish on the menu...and commented that we must be eating a “slow learner”.

Didn’t go over so well with the family, or the employees who overheard me.

I understand preservation goals, but in general I despise zoos & aquariums. But, whatever, it’s for the animals’ own good.

[twister881]

SeaWorld has done more for marine rescue, conservation, and education than any private, public, or nonprofit institution on the planet. The treatment of an organization so dedicated has been shameful. And it comes from the left, including any number of enviro terrorist groups...the same ones who torched the LA apartment complex earlier this week.

[Resolute Conservative]

Yet putting an orca in a swimming pool is not conservation nor rescue. The drop of the dorsal says it all.

[Sherman Logan]

SeaWorld was the one to first introduce the greater public to a species that until then had been ... misunderstood as bloodthirsty killers.

Umm, they ARE bloodthirsty killers.

There's video out there of a pod of orcas surrounding and gradually eating alive a humpback whale calf that the mother is unable to defend. More than a little disturbing.

[twister881]

Read SeaWorld’s rebuttals to “Black Fish” to get both sides (and yes, opinions) of the issue. Dorsal fin drop is addressed. The environments in which the killer whales are located are not swimming pools. And now a multi-billion dollar program to expand their habitat well beyond even recent modifications.

[Cecily]

SeaWorld are shameless liars and that is depicted in “Blackfish.” I wouldn’t believe a word they said about the welfare or longevity in captivity or any other issue having to do with the orcas.

[xone]

More than a little disturbing.

For a creature named 'killer whale'? Lol, doing what comes natural to them.

[twister881]

Can't help you then, particularly if Blackfish is your source of information and you believe the distortions & lies it presents. Am a long term San Diego resident, 36+ years, and I know what good community partners such as SeaWorld, the Zoological Society, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography have been. Also what they have done to rescue animals & return them to their environments, preserve species, advance scientific & medical knowledge, and educate millions about marine & wildlife ecosystems and their importance to the planet. That they do so in an entertaining manner that enriches and not harms the animals is no sin.

[Cecily]

I’m glad that SeaWorld lost their appeal against OSHA regarding putting trainers in the water with the orcas during shows. At least the trainers (whose welfare SeaWorld also doesn’t care about) will be safer.