California Lawmakers Pass Bill Banning Orca Shows and Captive Breeding

On Friday, the California State Legislature passed a bill that would, not only, ban the breeding of captive orcas and orca performances within the state, but also ban the sale of orcas to places outside of the United States.

The legislation passed, handedly, through the legislature 26-13 and violators will face a fine of up to $100,000.

“It took us long enough, and it was quite the wild ride, but it’s done, although it still has to go to Governor Brown,” said Naomi Rose, a killer whale expert and a marine mammal scientist at the Animal Welfare Institute, which cosponsored the bill.  "We hear [Brown] is inclined to sign it.”

“The governor has until Sept. 30 to take action,” Deborah Hoffman, Brown’s deputy press secretary, said in an email. “We generally don’t comment on pending legislation.”

“Today is a victory many years in the making,” said Democratic Assembly member Richard Bloom Bloom in a statement.  Bloom, responsible for writing the original legislation in 2014, went on to explain "the Orca Protection Act is a product of scientific consensus, immense public support, and a concerted legislative effort to protect this intelligent and majestic animal.”

The role of companies like SeaWorld is changing in the modern age.  What was once a captivity aquarium is now being converted to a sanctuary state.  “SeaWorld is already making the changes called for in the legislation," the company said in a statement.

“Importantly, the bill does allow for SeaWorld to rescue and rehabilitate stranded orcas, with the goal of returning them to the wild,” the company added. “And, if the federal government determines that the orca is not releasable, that animal could stay in SeaWorld’s care.”

This, after the company spent at least $300,000 lobbying against the congressional bill.