By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Report : Expand SeaWorld killer whale tanks
Placeholder Image
SAN DIEGO (AP) — SeaWorld should be allowed to build a much larger facility for its killer whales, a state government report recommended Friday in a move that outrages animal rights groups that see it as a step toward breeding more orcas in captivity.The staff of the California Coastal Commission made the recommendations ahead of the regulatory board’s Oct. 8 meeting where it is scheduled to vote on SeaWorld’s permit request for the $100 million expansion.The staff recommends attaching nine conditions to the permit that include requiring SeaWorld to not house newly captured orcas at its San Diego location. The report states that while no orcas have been taken from U.S. waters since the 1980s, the new facility could “potentially create the incentive to commit such capture in the future, which would be an adverse impact to California’s coastal resources and to a species of special biological significance.”Tens of thousands have written the commission about the issue. Many expressed opposition to the plans, calling the expansion a marketing ploy to boost its plummeting marine-theme park attendance and not address their belief that orcas should not be in captivity at all.