SeaWorld has been facing some serious issues after the release of the documentary Blackfish that has drawn a lot of negative attention to their practices and treatment of wild orcas and killer whales. Another issue SeaWorld faces is some new legislation in California and also within the country.
Officials are hoping that the legislation will help to limit and potentially end the breeding and capture of wild orcas. Because of the publicity and new laws, profits are said to have dropped by 84 percent. SeaWorld is attempting to rebrand, after Blackfish sparked serious opposition to the cruelty that has been highlighted to the public. The company is spending 100 million dollars to get bigger tanks for their orcas and hopefully avoid some of the new laws. They are also working to change and even end some of their infamous shows.
So far, SeaWorld has only stopped shows in one location and now are changing their practices in other locations to create a more natural and informative show that is less based on rigid and unnatural training of these wild mammals. It is unclear if other locations will do the same, but their San Diego location is trying to end all killer whale shows by 2017. Although they are working to make themselves seem less harsh in their treatment of their orcas, SeaWorld still has a lot of work to do.