SeaWorld Fires Back Against ‘Blackfish’ Allegations, Takes Out Full Page Ads

Since Blackfish’s theatrical release and Netflix’s streaming expansion, director Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s eye-opening documentary of the mistreatment of killer whales has struck an enormous chord with viewers.

Numerous top musical acts have pulled out of performing at the SeaWorld parks. Those musical acts were largely affected by what they saw in the Blackfish documentary that showed just how the orcas are treated, which lead to psychological bullying by their circumstances, and attacks on various trainers.

Musical acts such as Barenaked Ladies, Willie Nelson, Martina Mcbride, and Heart have all pulled out of performances after a viewing of Blackfish. Now because of the uproar, SeaWorld has responded publicly by putting up ads in New York Times, USA Today, and the Orlando Sentinel defending their practices.

The ads made by SeaWorld were released in bullet points that said:

“SeaWorld does not capture killer whales in the wild.”
“We do not separate killer whale moms and calves.”
“SeaWorld invests millions of dollars in the care of our killer whales.”
“The killer whales in our care benefit those in the wild.”
“SeaWorld is a world leader in animal rescue.”

Another bullet point states that their whales live as long as orcas do in the wild.

During The Inquisitr’s exclusive interview with the director from Blackfish, which dates back to July, The Inquisitr asked Cowperthwaite if she had heard response from SeaWorld. At the time she had this to say:

“Yes, they did issue a response to every film critic. They took issue with certain things in the film. They’re focusing on some strange details. We’re a little baffled by their response but we knew they had to do something. We knew there was going to be some damage control right before the film.”

Of the film as a whole Cowperthwaite said:

“I never intended it to be anything but a truthful story that everybody has the right to know about. Whether it would be an agent of change, I never even allowed myself to think that far. I come from the school of documentary film and we all tend to have very limited expectations for our films. Now that I see the attention it’s getting, I’m inspired that people will come out of the film not only angered and shocked but with questions themselves.”

Which side are you on?