SeaWorld Feels the Pain — Stocks Sold, Performances Cancelled

“Blackfish” has definitely enraged the entire nation by exposing the true nature of marine parks like SeaWorld and the animals they hold captive.

Since its showing on CNN (along with its subsequent screenings), a growing number of people, many who once loved SeaWorld and similar parks, have turned their backs on marine park captivity, finally realizing that it is no place for any wild animal.

Social media pages have lit up with comments against SeaWorld, and even a five-year-old boy has spoken out in a recent YouTube video.

Now, it’s been confirmed that eight out of the 10 artists originally scheduled to perform at SeaWorld’s “Bands, Blues & BBQ” have dropped out of the concert series. Martina McBride, 38 Special, Willie Nelson, Barenaked Ladies, Trisha Yearwood, Cheap Trick, Heart, and REO Speedwagon have all cancelled their appearances, with only Justine Moore and Scotty McCreery remaining.

What’s more, according to WKRB 13, one of SeaWorld’s major shareholders, Delaware L.P. has sold 18,000,000 shares of their stock in the company, and Nasdaq reports that another major shareholder, Blackstone Holdings, sold 19,500,000 additional SeaWorld shares recently.

While this is a huge slap in the face to SeaWorld and clearly shows that people are very upset at their past and current decisions in regards to their animals, the marine park still seems to think that it’s all a bunch of mumbo-jumbo.

According to CBS News, SeaWorld said, “This is a coordinated campaign of digital harassment and does not in any sense represent the opinions of the American public. A far better measure is the number of people actually coming to SeaWorld.”

Um, sorry SeaWorld, but the American public has spoken: they don’t like you anymore, and have no plans in the future to reinstate their Support. And why should we?  Captivity has no place in our modern world — orcas and other marine animals deserve to be swimming free in the sea, not confined to small, barren concrete pools.

Image source: Loadmaster / Wikipedia Commons