SeaWorld Is Ending Their Killer Whale Show, But Only In One Park And There’s A Catch

Due to declining attendance and pressure from critics, SeaWorld will phase out its traditional Shamu show in San Diego. However the killer whales will still be in captivity and they will still be on display for park-goers to see.

On Monday morning, SeaWorld announced that the theatrical performances by the animals will end in 2017. However the killer whales will transition into an “entirely new orca experience, designed to take place in a more natural setting.” The new show will highlight the park’s conservation efforts of the orcas.

CEO Joel Manby, who joined the company in March, did not provide specifics of the upcoming revamped exhibition during the press conference.

“We start everything by listening to our guests and evolving our shows to what we’re hearing, and so far that’s what we’ve been hearing in California, they want experiences that are more natural and experiences that look more natural in the environment,” said Manby. “But it’s not universal across our properties.”

Changes were prompted not only from critics, but from also plunging attendance. The SeaWorld in San Diego saw attendance plummet 17 percent last year.

Special interest groups have been condemning the iconic orca show at the SeaWorld parks for some time. The general public garnered interest when the critical documentary, Blackfish, was released in 2013. The scathing doc about the poor conditions that the animals are subjected to gained huge popularity when it was available on Netflix and even more ill repute when it was repeatedly aired on CNN last year. SeaWorld fought the negative publicity with a media campaign, but the theme park couldn’t shake the black eye.

There is also pressure from the government. Last Friday, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, revealed that he planned to introduce federal legislation that would prohibit the breeding of captive orcas, end the capture of wild orcas and stop the import and export of the killer whales.

This change only affects the San Diego park where there are 11 orcas in captivity. There were no plans to change the Shamu show in the other two SeaWorld parks where there are 13 orcas.