Update, 15 September 2016: We won! The Blackfish Bill has officially been passed by California. This means that SeaWorld is now required by law to end killer whale breeding and entertainment shows.

Update, 17 March 2016: Under enormous pressure, SeaWorld just announced that it will end its orca breeding program. This means that the orcas currently imprisoned by SeaWorld will be the last. This is huge.

But more than 20 orcas will remain in SeaWorld's captivity, including juveniles like Amaya who could live for decades and decades to come. And other parks continue to breed whales in captivity. That's why it's so important that lawmakers around the world pass legislation to end forever this animal abuse for corporate profit.

Original 2014 text:

SeaWorld got busted by a US government agency for violating the Animal Abuse Act -- and we may have a rare chance to end its animal cruelty for good.

SeaWorld keeps orca whales in tiny, cage-like tanks -- and the USDA citation reveals conditions at the park are dangerous to the animals' health. SeaWorld is still defending its barbaric practices, but pressure is building on the company.

A Californian Congressmen introduced a law to make it illegal to keep orcas in captivity earlier this year. This could change everything -- but SeaWorld is already mounting a vicious campaign to defeat this Congressman's brave move. We need to tell the State of California that the public won't accept SeaWorld's cruel treatment of orcas any longer.

California: Enact the Orca Welfare and Safety Act to stop SeaWorld's orca cruelty now.

SeaWorld's actions are no surprise to anyone who has watched Blackfish, the documentary exposé showing how SeaWorld forces these intelligent animals to perform tricks for the sake of entertainment and profits. But the Orca Welfare and Safety Act could change all that. The Act makes it illegal to “hold in captivity, or use, a wild-caught or captive-bred orca for performance or entertainment purposes."

SeaWorld would have you believe that the captivity of whales is about education, but we know better -- it's about profits. Through the years many groups, including SeaWorld's own trainers and staff, have called for an end to this cruel practice.

But with recent scrutiny, the company is under more pressure than ever. After CNN aired the groundbreaking Blackfish documentary, the world now knows that Seaworld still keeps orcas like Tillkum in captivity, taken from the wild at two years old. This is dangerous not just for Tillkum's own health, but for his trainers -- the mental effects of being locked in a 20-by-30 foot dark metal container has seen him implicated in the deaths of three people.

This latest bust by the USDA for violating the Animal Abuse Act is just sign that SeaWorld needs to stop this. Attendance is dwindling at SeaWorld as the world wises up about the cruelty of the business of capturing animals for entertainment. Parents and kids are understanding that forcing intelligent, sensitive animals to live in cages is a cruel, unethical practice. If this law passes, we can stop this practice in California for good.

Sign on to stop SeaWorld from keeping whales captive for profit.

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