Not long ago, a San Diego family vacation would have demanded a visit to the marine mammal park that has been a celebrated Southern California attraction for decades.
No longer.
The place has become an anathema.
As I planned a weeklong spring break vacation for my family, friends warned against visiting SeaWorld. We chose the zoo, Legoland and the beach instead.
SeaWorld fell out of favor after the 2013 documentary “Blackfish,” which has become a PR nightmare. The film explains the deadly consequences of keeping killer whales in captivity, chronicling the violent behavior and circumstances behind a whale at SeaWorld that was responsible for the deaths of three people.
The film’s underlying point is that holding the majestic whales captive in concrete tanks has caused them mental and physical stress.
A year after the film’s release, visits to the theme parks dropped 4 percent.
The company’s stock dropped more than 40 percent. And CEO Jim Atchison resigned in December.
Now, a book Hargrove, who was also featured in “Blackfish,” is compounding those problems.
Hargrove alleges SeaWorld’s practices include separating young whales from their mothers and inbreeding.
SeaWorld has launched a counterattack, sending out a disparaging .
He appears drunk and uses offensive language, including a racial slur a number of times.
Hargrove has called the video’s release a smear, which it is. But he should be ashamed.
The theme park publicity campaign that focuses on its efforts to care for animals in captivity and in the wild.
And SeaWorld announced last year it will rebuild its whale tanks, starting in San Diego’s park. The tanks will double in size and be completed by 2018.
As a display of the good work SeaWorld does, workers are being called in to help with the sudden calamity of hundreds of starving sea lions washing ashore on California’s beaches.
The theme park’s officials have ardently defended its whale program, saying it has increased conservation awareness. And they are adamant that they treat the animals with utmost care.
The officials are trying to strike a difficult balance for a theme park that relies on animals for entertainment but also has a mission of conservation and research.
I still cannot get past the horrifying and sad allegations.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey faced similar criticism for how it treats its elephants. The circus should be applauded for recently announcing it would phase out its elephant shows by 2018 — a smart move.
SeaWorld has built its brand on the killer whales. It needs to diversify. It should follow the lead of Ringling Brothers.
Don’t forget that it hasn’t been that long ago that moviegoers were driven to tears by the film “Free Willy,” in which a boy releases a killer whale back to the ocean.
Despite SeaWorld execs’ assurances that they are treating these magnificent and smart mammals well, the public knows better, and is voting with its feet.
E-mail Jeremy Meyer at jpmeyer@denverpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @JPMeyerDPost
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