On Wednesday, March 16^th, 2016, SeaWorld made a groundbreaking announcement: an end to the breeding of orcas in captivity. This decision comes after three years of public backlash against the once popular theme park thanks to the release of the documentary Blackfish.

2010 death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau has since become a major turning-point in the anti-captivity movement. Although SeaWorld denies the claims made by the film, other sources, such as the Dodo, and public opinion dictates that SeaWorld is guilty of negligence and is harmful to the whales in captivity.

All opinions aside, facts support that killer whales are not meant to be kept in captivity. The life of wild orcas allow them to travel thousands of miles, communicate extensively with those in their pods and raise their young and hunt sharks, seals and other animals. In captivity, these normal life experiences are taken away from the whales. Because of SeaWorld’s status as a leader of ocean themed parks, it has become the prime source of research of orcas in captivity and this research supports that captive whales react aggressively.

Throughout the three years since Blackfish was released, SeaWorld has attempted multiple times to address and rebut the claims made by the documentary. With stock prices down as much as 84% according to Time magazine, SeaWorld has fought for damage control through the creation of the SeaWorld Cares website, the SeaWorld Cares commercials and #AskSeaWorld on twitter.

However, this final step towards phasing out orca performances and breeding and creating new ways for the public to interact with killer whales safely and humanely might just be SeaWorld’s saving grace. This decision is a concrete affirmation that the world is truly changing, something every animal activist can get behind, despite every other debate to be had about the whales who remain in captivity.

As someone who went to SeaWorld multiple times as a young child, owned several Shamu stuffed animals, is an ocean activist, has seen the film Blackfish and who has subsequently done hours of research behind the film and SeaWorld, I cannot fully express my gratitude for the end of this era and I look forward to participating in the shift away from captivity and towards conservation.