In 2010, the view of SeaWorld shifted from a fun family amusement park to a hazardous environment for the people who work there. This was the year that an orca trainer, Dawn Bradshaw, was killed during a show with one of the whales, Tilikum. All eyes were on SeaWorld, and people began to question the iconic attraction.

Then in 2013, the documentary "Blackfish" was released that explored more about the sea-park industry, with an emphasis on SeaWorld. This documentary sparked a movement of people pleading SeaWorld and other parks like it to stop the whale shows and release them back into the wild. Because the mass majority of these whales were born in captivity, this was an unreasonable request, but SeaWorld has responded the most logical way they could.

On Mar. 17, SeaWorld announced that they are starting the process of phasing out the orcas from their amusement parks. The whales they have are the last ones to be featured in the parks. They will live out the rest of their lives in the parks and once they are gone, they’re gone. For the remainder of their lives, the whales will be used to educate the public instead of entertainment purposes. SeaWorld went on to announce that they are going to build more natural enclosures for the whales.

Growing up, I was SeaWorld’s biggest fan. I loved the Shamu shows and was fascinated with the whales. In the recent years, I began to realize the reality that is SeaWorld and the whale shows. It’s like a circus for sea creatures. We thought it was wrong that elephants were locked in small cages and forced into doing silly shows for societies entertainment. What is the difference with the whales? In the wild, orcas do not jump out of the water and hit a ball, swim around waving at people or eat fish from a person’s hand. Ever since I have came to realization of what was happening at SeaWorld, I have been an active supporter of change happening in SeaWorld.

I am so glad that SeaWorld has listened to pleas of others. Whales are not meant to be entertainment. Orcas are beautiful, wild creatures. My hope is that SeaWorld will take this opportunity to showcase how majestic these creatures truly are. It will be impossible to perfectly replicate the natural environment that orcas would live in the wild. Instead of arenas for shows, they can use that space for larger enclosures for the whales (fingers crossed on that one).

Thank you for listening, SeaWorld. I am so excited to see where this transition takes this organization. This kind of change shows that it is never too late to make something right. For the time we have left with the orcas, I hope SeaWorld presents these creatures in a more accurate way than in the past.

Here is a farewell to my beloved Shamu, and I could not be happier.

Follow the link below to see SeaWorlds official announcement: