It’s been a tough year for SeaWorld. The aquatic theme park has found it difficult to escape the shadow of the Blackfish documentary and many of their attempts to regain popularity have fallen short.
Orcas who lived in petting pools show higher levels of aggression than others http://t.co/lYkEogTEoF pic.twitter.com/pJYNlkPrA9
— The Dodo (@dodo) April 2, 2015
SeaWorld is under the magnifying glass. The corporation cant make one move with out animal rights activists having something to say about it. The death of a dolphin early last month caused a new wave of criticism, even though it was ruled the park was not in violation of animal rights laws.
From mynews13.com:
The cause of the animal’s death was not immediately known. The 22-year-old dolphin had not shown signs of illness before its death, according to Fred Jacobs, SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment’s vice president of communications
According to SeaWorld, most bottlenose dolphins live 20 years or less, but studies have shown they can live into their 40s and 50s. On average, bottlenose dolphins in marine parks and aquariums live longer than their counterparts in the wild, and are expected to live more than 25 years.
One of the most well documented of those marketing flubs was the ill-advised hashtag campaign. Twitter users were encouraged to ask SeaWorld questions about their practices using #AskSeaWorld. The campaign opened the door for widespread criticism on a highly accessible and well known platform. Here’s an example of some of the harsh tweets the Twitter campaign evoked:
#AskSeaWorld if freedom is a right or a privilege pic.twitter.com/zzVvEQjCo5
— Sandy McElhaney (@SandyMcElhaney) March 31, 2015
#AskSeaWorld why RU spending $10 Mill on your ad campaign rather than on larger living quarters for your #Blackfish http://t.co/5rP5wTkBb4
— Cindy Seip (@SplashFoto) April 1, 2015
SeaWorld continues to push back against the negative publicity it has received. This week, it made a point to publicize its efforts to save young turtles and release them back to the wild, as mynews13.com reports:
Wednesday’s return marks the largest turtle return for the Orlando Animal Rescue Team since the return of 30 sea turtles rescued from the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 due to a massive oil spill.
These sea turtles were part of the 72 juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtles rescued during a mass cold stranding near the Massachusetts coast in 2014. They were transferred to SeaWorld Orlando from the New England Aquarium by the U.S. Coast Guard for rehabilitation and care.
Despite these efforts to change their public image, the future of Seaworld is still unknown. It seems as though their trying may mean nothing animal rights activists, who wont stop until the tanks are empty.