The death knell for killer whale shows has been sounded after officials banned orca breeding at a top US ocean park.
Animal rights activists celebrated the ruling against SeaWorld in California as a major victory in the campaign to free captive whales.
“This vote ensures that no more orcas will be condemned to a non-life of loneliness, deprivation and misery,” said the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
The California Coastal Commission approved a £65 million expansion of the tanks SeaWorld uses to hold 11 killer whales at its San Diego park — but outlawed breeding of the whales that would live in them.
No more orcas will be condemned to a non-life of loneliness, deprivation and misery
<p>Peta</p>
The commission also prohibited the sale, transfer or trade of captive orcas — effectively placing a death sentence on the “Shamu” shows that are the No 1 attraction at SeaWorld and popular with British holidaymakers.
SeaWorld San Diego’s president John Reilly said: “A ban on breeding sentences these animals to a slow extinction in our care.”
The company said it was disappointed by conditions attached to the approval of its Blue World expansion, set to open in 2018, which would triple the size of killer whale enclosures.
It added: “Breeding is a natural, fundamental and important part of an animal’s life and depriving it of the right to reproduce is inhumane.”
Animal rights groups have called on SeaWorld to release its orcas to a seaside sanctuary, a sort of halfway house to the ocean to allow the whales to re-acclimatise to their natural habitat.
Attendance has dived since the 2013 documentary Blackfish alleged the park abused and neglected its orcas.
