Seaworld to replace killer whale show 'Shamu' with "conservation" focused displays in San Diego

SeaWorld announced Monday that it would remove the iconic "Shamu" killer whale show in San Diego and put a display inclined to "conservation" instead.

According to Reuters, SeaWorld has been facing challenges on declining attendance, as well as criticisms from animal rights activists, who have been advocating to end the shows featuring the captive killer whales. Activists brand the theme park's announcement as a window-dressing designed to still continue the display of the marine mammals to the public.

Tech Times reported that SeaWorld Entertainment Inc CEO Joel Manby said the current killer whale show would last only up to 2016 as the company plans to start a  new attraction soon in its San Diego park. The new show will engage and educate the audiences by focusing on the natural behaviors of the captive marine mammals. It will talk about the orca's habitat, environment, and on how these animals behave in the wild. Manby said, these animals jump and splash in the wild. The new program will also encourage a conservational feel that would engage the visitors.

The San Diego Union Tribune writes that the move is a strategy to increase attendance since SeaWorld San Diego's traffic went down 17 percent in 2014. The new attraction in the company's Mission Bay park will be shelving a $100 million plan to expand the killer whale tanks in the area. According to Manby, they will redeploy up to a half of that amount for the new attraction.

The move was reported to the company's investors after California regulators voted last month to prohibit SeaWorld San Diego to continue breeding the killer whales if it expands its artificial habitat. Representative Adam Schiff said he will introduce a federal legislation that would stop the breeding of captive orcas, prohibit the capture of orcas from the wild, and discontinue the import and export of these marine mammals.