For many years, Sara Wan was a member and the chairperson of the California Coastal Commission. So, what she had to say to the Commission carried with it extra weight.
Luckily for the captive orcas of SeaWorld, Sara was on their side!
Wan addressed the Commission's jurisdiction granted to them through the California Coastal Act, authorized by public vote through a citizen’s intitiative. She highlighted section 30230 which protects marine resources and assured the members that, through this section, it is within their power to decide on matters of the cetacean's welfare at SeaWorld.
She also encourages the ban on breeding and notes that this ban is what would allow the Blue World project tol be consistent wiht section 30230. Sara and the lawyers from the Animal Legal Defense Fund wrote the wording of the conditions eventually adopted by the Commission on an 11-1 vote.
Watch Wan's articulate speech here:
Sara Wan Speaks to the California Coastal Commission from Int'l Marine Mammal Project on Vimeo.