SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. announced Oct. 15 that the company intends to pursue legal action against the California Coastal Commission for imposing the condition (per its approval of larger tanks) that would ban killer whale breeding at SeaWorld San Diego. The vote by the Coastal Commission came during the course of its approval of the Blue World Project at SeaWorld San Diego. 
“As a regulatory board charged with managing coastal development and related land-use decisions, the Coastal Commission went way beyond its jurisdiction and authority when it banned breeding by killer whales at SeaWorld. By imposing broad new jurisdiction over all future SeaWorld marine animal projects, as well as aquarium projects elsewhere in the state, the commission has overstepped both federal and California law,” said Joel Manby, SeaWord president and CEO.
“The California Coastal Commission did right by orcas in requiring, as a condition of approval for the Blue World Project, that SeaWorld stop breeding them, which will ultimately end captivity for long-suffering orcas in California,” said Jared Goodman, PETA Foundation director of animal law, in a released a statement in response to the California Coastal Commission’s conditional approval for SeaWorld’s new orca tank.