skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Amid Criticism, SeaWorld San Diego to End Orca Shows

play audio
Play

Tuesday, November 10, 2015   

SAN DIEGO – Wildlife advocates are praising SeaWorld San Diego's decision to let Shamu retire, so to speak, but they have reservations about the park's announcement that killer whale shows will change at the end of next year.

SeaWorld says the orcas will still be on display at the amusement park, but they won't be doing any tricks. It's a response to criticism over treatment of orcas in captivity that crested with the release of the 2013 documentary "Blackfish," which led to a drop in park attendance.

Marine biologist Maris Sidenstecker, co-founder and program director at Save the Whales, wants the orca exhibit closed altogether.

"Honestly, I think SeaWorld should not have orcas in captivity and should phase this out completely," she says. "I think they should just be a rehab center for injured wildlife and animals."

Sidenstecker says orcas swim 100 miles a day in the wild, so it's impossible to recreate their natural habitat in captivity. She says many of the whales should be carefully reintroduced into the ocean.

Joel Manby, CEO of SeaWorld Enterprises, explained the company's plans in an investor's forum on Monday.

"We are listening to our guests. We're evolving as a company, we're always changing," he says. "In 2017, we will launch an all-new orca experience. It's going to be focused more on the natural setting, natural environment and also, the natural behaviors of the whale. And it will have a strong conservation message."

In addition, Manby says a project called "Blue Ocean," involving a massive $100 million expansion of the killer whale tanks, will not go forward in light of a recent California Coastal Commission decision to ban breeding of captive killer whales.

California Congressman Adam Schiff, D–Burbank, has said he'll introduce a bill to prohibit trade in killer whales, block their capture in the wild and outlaw the breeding of captive orca.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021