An End In Sight? The ORCA Bill
On November 5, 2015, Congressman Adam Schiff (D-Pasadena/West Hollywood,CA) introduced a bill that proposes amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. If passed, the bill would end the public display of captive orcas, halt captive breeding, making artificial insemination illegal, and ban the capture of wild orcas. In other words, it represents a total phasing out of orca captivity in the United States.
According to Schiff, the Orca Responsibility and Care Advancement Act (ORCA) (HR 4019) would guarantee that the orcas in captivity today will be the last ones, declaring that “We will appreciate these incredible creatures where they belong—in the wild". The bill outlines plans for a phaseout of the current captive orca programs, such as those at SeaWorld’s San Diego, San Antonio, and Orlando parks, “giving orca-holding facilities time to transition to a more humane future,” as stated within the bill.
There can be no doubt that the public is increasingly supportive of such a phaseout, and many hope that places like SeaWorld will begin to transition their business models away from making profits off of the lives of orcas and other marine mammals. Ethically, there is no question that holding animals captive in prison-like conditions for our amusement is wrong. While SeaWorld touts the benefits of mental enrichment and healthcare for captive orcas, such ‘benefits’ are incomparable to wild free orcas living with their families in their complex and ever-changing ocean habitats.
ORCA is far from being passed, however. What is needed is a concerted effort to show support for this bill. Already the Animal Welfare Institute has circulated a letter that will represent support from a plethora of organizations and notable individuals. Yet even more is needed.
Last year, on the advent of the decision regarding California Assembly member Richard Bloom's bill, the Orca Welfare and Safety Act in the California state legislature, IMMP Associate Director Mark J. Palmer and I headed to the state capitol in Sacramento and spoke with many representatives, providing education and arguments as to why the bill should succeed. SeaWorld's representatives were also there that day, traipsing through the halls with their SeaWorld-branded shirts and disseminating slick presentation packages to the reps. Later in the day, we attended a public meeting held by SeaWorld. Before their presentation began, one of the company's lobbyists attempted to drive Mark and me out of the meeting, behaving quite aggressively (he ultimately did not succeed, as we had every right to be there). The point is that we can be positive that SeaWorld will put everything they have behind lobbying efforts to squash this bill - and as we have seen time and again, they are not afraid of using deceptive claims and spending loads of cash.
Fortunately, SeaWorld already has a lot on its plate, what with its recently announced lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission. Coupled with floundering stock prices and attendance, SeaWorld is set to have another bad year.
We can only hope that ORCA will pass. We will continue to do all we can to support this important bill.
Contact your own member of The U.S. House of Representatives to urge co-sponsorship of HR 4019: the ORCA bill. We will have more information in the future on ways you can further help.
Sign our petition to force SeaWorld to stop selling lies about their orca treatment, and please consider a donation to support efforts against orca captivity.
(Photo: C./flickr/cc)