Has SeaWorld changed since Blackfish?

In the year following Blackfish's release, SeaWorld's attendance dropped by one million visitors. In 2014, the company announced an 84% fall in income and saw its share price drop by 33%, although they attributed this to 'the seasonal nature of the business' and not due to the impact of the documentary.



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Blackfish is a 2013 documentary which brought to light the poor treatment of orcas at SeaWorld, in particular the whale Tilikum, who killed three people while in captivity. Blackfish received widespread publicity, and in the years following its release, SeaWorld saw an enormous drop in attendance.

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In a detailed rebuttal to film critics, SeaWorld argued that Blackfish wrongly asserted that captive orcas were bullied, when fighting was natural in the wild; incorrectly portrayed SeaWorld callously breaking up orca families, when it tried to keep groups together; and inaccurately implied SeaWorld used punishment ...

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As of 2021, SeaWorld has ended its use of orcas in its shows and breeding program. In 2016, SeaWorld announced that it would no longer breed orcas in captivity and that its current orcas would be its last.

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Tilikum was estimated to be about 36 years old at the time of his death. He was brought to SeaWorld after Canada's Sealand of the Pacific closed in 1992. He had been at the amusement park ever since.

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The Shamu Show was canceled today. Tilikum, the whale that yesterday killed a trainer at SeaWorld Orlando, will not be put down, The Orlando Sentinel reports.

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In 1971, at just 9 years old, Shamu died at SeaWorld from a uterine infection and blood poisoning. In the ocean, she could have lived for up to 80 years. Even in death, SeaWorld continued exploiting Shamu—the company trademarked her name, using it to sell even more tickets to abusive orca shows.

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