SeaWorld stopped breeding killer whales after the backlash caused by 'Blackfish' - but its CEO says activists 'don't know what they're talking about'

Mike Blake/Reuters

Trainers have Orca killer whales perform for the crowd during a show at the animal theme park SeaWorld in San Diego, California March 19, 2014.

• SeaWorld ended its killer-whale-breeding program in 2016, after facing backlash regarding its treatment of animals.
• The company's CEO said on Monday that its current pool of whales will stay in parks for 50 years.
• "I get frustrated with the small-minded arguments from activists that really don't know what they're talking about," CEO Joel Manby said.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - In 2016, SeaWorld announced it was ending its killer-whale-breeding program after years of scrutiny about the theme park company's treatment of animals. The decision was seen as a necessary refocusing away from SeaWorld's iconic, live killer whale show.

However, according to the CEO, the theme park has the whales necessary to continue a version of its most famous attraction for decades. While SeaWorld began phasing out its live show at some parks in 2016, its "signature killer whale show" and animal viewings continue at others.

"We will still have the whales for 50 years," CEO Joel Manby said on Monday at the ICR Conference. "They live a long time. This is a decision that is for the immediate. But, we get to keep the whales and have the experience, yet have some relief from a legislative standpoint."

Magnolia Pictures

The life span of killer whales, or orcas, was a key point in the backlash against SeaWorld's breeding program, which reached a fever pitch after the release of the 2013 documentary "Blackfish."

After activists petitioned for a ban on killer-whale breeding, arguing orcas die younger in captivity, SeaWorld launched an ad campaign proclaiming that whales live as long in its theme parks as they do in the wild. (Experts told PolitiFact that SeaWorld's claim is backed by some research, but it ignores issues such as the animals' quality of life.)

According to SeaWorld, female killer whales' average life expectancy is roughly 46 to 50 years, while males' is 30 to 38 years.

Before April 2016, SeaWorld planned to spend $300 million expanding its pool of killer whales through breeding. Manby says that that money was reallocated toward building more attractions.

The company's strategy, more generally, has shifted toward education and animal conservation, and away from its live animal shows.

Senia L/Flickr

"When you thought of SeaWorld five years ago, you thought of it as Shamu the killer whale," Manby said. "When Shamu became a liability, it created somewhat of a confusion around the opportunity for us."

Manby clarified that SeaWorld is committed to its decision not to breed and will not restart its breeding program again, at least in his "human lifetime."

The CEO said that he is a believer in SeaWorld's mission - and argued that many people misunderstand the company. Backlash against SeaWorld has been driven by "lies," and people lacking in "critical thinking," he said.

"One hundred years from now, people are going to be begging for zoos and aquariums to take the animals from the wild because the extinction rate is so high," Manby said.

With millions of sharks, dolphins, and whales killed every year due to fishing, Manby said that people are wrong to focus on SeaWorld.

"Those are the issues we should be talking about, not 29 whales at SeaWorld that have been born at SeaWorld and have lived there their entire life and cannot be released to the wild because they would die," Manby continued. "So, I get frustrated with the small-minded arguments from activists that really don't know what they're talking about."

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