How SeaWorld & the Humane Society Came Together

For decades, animal-rights activists have gone after SeaWorld and its Orca entertainment and breeding programs.  And for years, SeaWorld has fought-off those activists, in the Court of Law, as well as the Court of Public Opinion.

Rather than continue to fight in those two courtrooms, SeaWorld did a dramatic turnabout, announcing in full-page print and television ads this decision:

We’re making historic announcements at SeaWorld, including ending orca breeding, introducing new, inspiring and natural orca encounters, and launching new partnerships to protect oceans and marine animals. We’re creating a new vision for SeaWorld that will help us deliver on our mission that every guest who walks through our doors will be inspired to take action to help protect wild animals and wild places.

When SeaWorld opened its doors more than 50 years ago, killer whales were feared and even hunted. Now, they are among the most beloved marine mammals on the planet thanks, in part, to the inspirational encounters we’ve provided to more than 400 million guests.

The new vision for SeaWorld reflects changes in society and SeaWorld’s evolution with those changes, including ending killer whale breeding, new inspiring natural orca encounters, and new partnerships to protect oceans and marine animals.

While these decisions represent a shift in our business, they do not change our core values and purpose: to protect animals in the wild and inspire our guests to join us in this critical mission.

(You can read more from SeaWorld here)

Putting aside the pros and cons of SeaWorld’s business model and animal-rights activism, we give SeaWorld credit for making a series of tough, value-based decisions and doing an excellent job of communicating those decisions.

For the inside story about how SeaWorld came to these changes, check out this excellent article from the Orlando Sentinel here.