Well, this is a fine kettle of fish…
By Linda Perine / Democratic Woman’s Club
San Diego taxpayers find ourselves as mainly unwitting, possibly unwilling and almost certainly undercompensated partners with a corporation in a Sea World of hurt. From Wall Street to Austin City Limits, Washington to Sacramento, Hollywood to Lindbergh Field Sea World is under attack for its treatment of Orcas (that’s Shamu to you and me)
In July, 2013 the documentary Blackfish about the 2010 death of a Sea World trainer finally caught the public’s attention after decades of challenges to Cetacean captivity. The 2009 Academy Award winning documentary The Cove also raised questions about the possibility that Sea World obtained dolphins from the horrific Taiji dolphin drive.
Sea World vehemently denied the assertions of both documentaries. However, Sea World stock prices have been cut in half since the Blackfish premier. Sea World is now the target of shareholder class action lawsuits involving at least 6 law firms specializing in securities fraud for initially denying that Blackfish negatively affected attendance and for misrepresentation about its treatment of Orcas in its prospectus when it went public in 2013.
Blackstone Group, the private equity firm that took Sea World public in 2013 is dramatically reducing its holdings as are othersignificant institutional investors. Southwest Airlines has terminated its 26 year-long mutual promotion relationship with Sea World, as has Taco Bell. Entertainers from Bare Naked Ladies to Willie Nelson have cancelled performances at Sea World venues in protest of their treatment of orcas
OSHA has told Sea World it must stop putting trainers in tanks during Shamu performances. In 2015, the California Assembly will address AB2140, a bill to ban holding orcas in captivity for performance or entertainment purposes in California and to end captive breeding programs. The bill has the support of 1.2 million folk with more signing up every day.
In addition to the structural problem of a business model that is deeply unpopular and may soon become illegal, Sea World is in debt up to its flippers.
And I should care because……?
For better or worse, San Diego is closely tied to Sea World.
In 1964 the city leased land and water in Mission Bay Park giving “Sea World advantages that few if any theme parks in the region had. It specified a certain rate of return on profits to the city, guaranteed long-term access to valuable city real estate [on Mission Bay], and left open a door to future expansion of the theme park. Sea World has used this door often, expanding its original allocation to more than 150 acres.”
We, the citizens of San Diego, are Sea World’s landlord. More accurately, we are business partners.
We, the citizens of San Diego, are Sea World’s landlord. More accurately, we are business partners.
The lease provides that the city is paid varying percentages of the income Sea World receives from things like admission charges, parking and the sale of those cute stuffed Shamu dolls. Last year Sea World paid the city $14 million dollars, a figure that critics say should be much higher given the valuable city assets Sea World has obtained from the city. Sea World also paid about $5 million in taxes last year on property valued at $425 million.
In addition to real estate and transportation concessions, we allocate millions of our public tax dollars each year to promote this private enterprise .
Shamu and Sea World have been a huge part of tourism promotion and city identity for 50 years. This is why more and more citizens are concerned that changes in the way the world views the captivity and commercial exploitation of highly intelligent, social mammals will injure our city’s image as well as our city coffers.
From Enron by the Sea to the recent Balboa Park Centennial fiasco to the take down of Bob Filner we have suffered a number of body blows to our city’s public image. Civic leaders need to address the image crisis and the looming fiscal crisis Sea World’s flawed corporate strategy represents.
The Silly, Silly Whale in the Room
Blackfish has been a publicity nightmare for Sea World and Sea World clearly has a growing image problem.
At the AB2140 hearings in Sacramento Scott Welsh, the lobbyist for Sea World, called AB2140 a “silly, silly bill.” He went on to threaten that Sea World would simply move the orcas out of San Diego to another state if the bill advanced. SeaWorld San Diego President John Reilly bluntly claimed the bill was simply “animal rights rhetoric and bias.”
When SeaWorld ENTERTAINMENT Inc. went public almost a year ago, it bragged: “We won’t be a taxpayer for several years to come,” SeaWorld President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Atchison told prospective investors shortly before the company went public. “That’s a great advantage for us.”
Keep in mind the multiple lawsuits arising from Sea World’s misleading assertion that Blackfish did not impact attendance.
Given the smarter business plan of “phasing out shows, placing its female killer whales on oral contraception, & leading the way on coastal sanctuaries” SeaWorld pompously announces more captivity, more pools, more breeding, and international expansion.
Immediately after the precipitous plummet of its stock price Sea World announced with great fanfare the “Blue World Project”: SeaWorld would spend millions to build a 50×350 foot pool. Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Councilmember Todd Gloria were on hand to assure us this would address the captivity issues of a 30 foot long 8 ton mammal designed by nature to swim 100 miles a day and dive 1000 feet into its deep wild ocean habitat.
Gloria was “grateful to SeaWorld for the investment in these new facilities.” CEO Jim Atchinson told The Today Show August 15 “We make no apologies for what we do and how we do it.”
The arrogance is simply staggering.
It’s Not Just Love that Means Never Having to Say You’re Sorry
Being very well connected and making a lot of contributions to politicians allows a business a fair amount of leeway, especially in San Diego.
As Voice of San Diego pointed out in one of its somewhat boosterish articles Sea World By the Numbers Sea World employs up to 4,500 people, albeit many are temporary positions and minimum wage.
As was mentioned before, Sea World pays a percentage of its income as rent on a lease to the City that some view as extraordinarily favorable to Sea World. While putting $14 million into the public coffers may be an attention getter, it is nowhere near what it ought to be.
…it is the mutual back scratching benefit of interlocking boards and contributions to politicians that allows our Mayor and City Council to be so unquestioning in their support of this morally and fiscally compromised corporation.
Sea World is deeply imbedded in the San Diego conservative hierarchy. It is a heavy contributor to the PACs of the Lincoln Club,the California Restaurant Association’s local chapter and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. Sea World has a presence on the board of many local organizations like San Diego County Taxpayers Association, Equinox, San Diego Tourism Authority, the Chamber and many others.
Yes, that is the same Lincoln Club, Taxpayers Association, Chamber and Mayor who oppose increasing the minimum wage so that the workers at Sea World can afford to feed their kids. So, no, they are not going to get all misty eyed over some “black fish”.
In the interconnected world of Who Runs San Diego it is the mutual back scratching benefit of interlocking boards and contributions to politicians that allows our Mayor and City Council to be so unquestioning in their support of this morally and fiscally compromised corporation.
Sea World is imbedded. It’s a player. As its Prez said – they make no apologies. And we are to be grateful?
What’s a Shamu Loving, Regular Taxpayer Who is Tired of Giving Away the Farm to People Behaving Badly To Do?
Surprising as it may seem, we are not without resources.
- Let your councilmember know this sucking up to bad corporate behavior displeases you and you vote.
- Encourage the city council to enforce the lease. As I read the lease it requires that the City Council approve Activities other than operating an Aquarium “as may from time to time be deemed desirable to serve the patrons of” the then Marine Life Exhibit. Good luck with that, but it does seem to suggest that the City is entitled by the lease to take a more active role in the Sea World decision making process. It is our bay, our water, our 170 acres. Maybe we could encourage them to take a look at ways of making money that are not so Shamu-centric.
- Enforce the City Charter. Some folks think that Sea World sits on Pueblo Land and the City Charter disallows leases of longer than 15 years for those lands. It is certainly worth discussing.
- The SEC may be taking a long look at Sea World for a variety of reasons: some less than forthcoming disclosures about the “problem with Tilikum”; misleading the public about Blackfish’s negative effects on admissions; a possible takeover bid by a theme park not wedded to the captivity of cetaceans. The City might play a role in those conversations.
- If the “Blue World Project” was more than smoke and mirrors, Sea World will need to dredge Mission Bay, do an EIR, get Coastal Commission approval and amend the lease. This is a wonderful opportunity for some negotiating on lease payments and the treatment of Shamu.
The first article I wrote about Sea World got over 2,200 likes. It was tweeted nearly 500 times. I am not widely known, nor is SDFP the NYT. That means there are a LOT of people committed to the idea that the cessation of cetacean captivity is an idea whose time has come. Hopefully, some of those people are also committed to the idea that San Diego needs to stop giving away our beaches and bays and other precious resources to the well connected and the big contributors.
Here are the e-mail addresses for the city council and the mayor. Maybe we should talk to them.
District 1
Council President Pro Tem Sherri Lightner
Email: sherrilightner@sandiego.gov
District 2
Councilmember Ed Harris
Email: edharris@sandiego.gov
District 3
Council President Todd Gloria
Email: toddgloria@sandiego.gov
District 4
Councilmember Myrtle Cole
Email: myrtlecole@sandiego.gov
District 5
Councilmember Mark Kersey
Email: markkersey@sandiego.gov
District 6
Councilmember Lorie Zapf
Email: loriezapf@sandiego.gov
District 7
Councilmember Scott Sherman
Email: scottsherman@sandiego.gov
District 8
Councilmember David Alvarez
Email: davidalvarez@sandiego.gov
District 9
Councilmember Marti Emerald
Email: martiemerald@sandiego.gov
Mayor Kevin Faulconer
Email: kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov
This is the eleventh installment of the Who Runs San Diego? series, a project of the Democratic Woman’s Club, published weekly in the San Diego Free Press. The Democratic Woman’s Club mission is to promote Democratic Party principles including equality of opportunity, a level playing field, and fair and equal treatment for all. The first article on SeaWorld can be found here.
Linda Perine is the President of the Democratic Woman’s Club. She was chair of the LGBT Redistricting task Force in 2011 and served as Mayor Filner’s Director of Community Outreach.
At Large
Latest posts by At Large (see all)
- Future of Journalism is in Our Hands - December 13, 2018
- 30 Arrested at Border for Nonviolent Action in Support of Migrant Caravans - December 11, 2018
- The Dorn Effect | Remembering Bob Dorn - December 5, 2018
Blackstone Group, the leveraged buyout group (oh, excuse me “private equity fund”) that took Sea World public will probably load it up with debt and then sell it. This is the way private equity groups operate. They take things public, take them private, load them up with debt give the CEO and executives of Blackstone huge bonuses and eventually Sea World will go bankrupt. The City’s interests in this whole process need to be evaluated in terms of the leveraged buyout scams track records. We shouldn’t be caught by surprise.
The interlocking directorate outlined by Linda Perine in the article’s middle passage should stagger even the most cynical. SD Taxpayers Assn. is SD Chamber of Commerce is SD Tourism Authority “and many others” on whose boards Sea World has representatives. This is a marriage of local commercial propagandists to a company that can exist only on land created by public dollars. The land Sea World sits on was once a natural swamp alive with fish and clams that kept indigenous and conquistadores alike happy and prosperous. Now we’re talking about prescribing birth control pills to Orcas.
If capitalism could create a robot that ate only birthday presents it would do it, so long as it controlled all birthday presents.
The city of San Diego should follow the lead Southwest Airlines, Taco Bell, and numerous musicians and cut ties with SeaWorld as fast as it can. The vast majority of people agree that it’s fundamentally wrong to confine intelligent, sensitive animals to barren tanks that (to them) are the size of bathtubs and force them to perform silly tricks to bring in the bucks. SeaWorld is a black eye on the city.
Thank you so much for writing this article! It draws attention to sooooo many important facts and why SeaWorld is in such denial. I can’t believe how far-reaching their political ties are – scary stuff. The public knows the truth now and thanks to your detailed information on what to do, we can act. Time to cut your losses and go belly up #seaworldofhurt
Appalling! There are hundreds of thousands of kind, compassionate San Diegoans who condemn SeaWorld, and its abuse of orcas, dolphins, polar bears and other marine mammals and sea life. Why should once cent of taxpayers go to this for-profit abusement park? Residents should be up in arms and make their outrage known loud and clear and immediately.
Articles like this are so important. Sea World’s exploitation and abuse is finally getting the exposure it deserves. The people of San Diego should stand up and join the fight by doing everything they can to let Sea World know that animal cruelty and captivity are wrong!
This is the best series I’ve read regarding SeaWorld’s relationship with San Diego, a fine city that folks want to visit. The reality, as described, is that the corporation is raking San Diego over the coals… producing low paying jobs, diminishing Mission Bay (which is also pollutes), not paying it’s fair share in taxes, and making millions off the backs of captive killer whales. The company can yell and scream, but the science is clear; captive orcas don’t do well in captivity. They break their teeth, live shorter lives, experience dorsal fin collapse, die from exotic infections (such as West Nile and St Louis Virus encephalitis via mosquito bites) and suffer social strife. When tensions exist, subdominant animals have no where to run. Please phase out the shows, SeaWorld. You’d earn the respect of many. Thank you, Linda, for describing the “bad deal” for the tax payers of San Diego.
Like everything else… FOLLOW THE MONEY.
and you will know who runs San Diego.
This is not good, San Diego. Remember, animals are not ours… So many better ways to make a buck. How about taxing the feedlot and dairy producers who pollute your water system, for starters.
Sea Worlds days are numbered and the sooner, the better. Another great documentary to see is “Fall From Freedom” which is on Netflix and has way more info than “Blackfish”. Sea World should’ve closed back in the 90’s when “Fall From Freedom” came out. It’s been updated twice since then with new facts. Then you all need to see “Cowspiracy” which is on You Tube, while you’re up for hearing the truth and speaking of following the $.
Blackfish movie has raised the bar. More journalists realize they can have their voices heard by digging and informing the world on Cetacean welfare issues. Related corporates are working harder than ever to stay ahead of the game. Ethical businesses are breaking old habbits. So called ‘every-day people’ are now challenged to ask more questions – no longer content with old answers. Change is coming… do your bit.
I think that a few animal ambassadors (Sea World or otherwise) at responsible parks are critical to educating humans and keeping animals in our midst. Out of sight is out of mind. Since television shows and parks such as Sea World have come about, humans have been educated as well as entertained by the animals in our world. Should there be standards and concerns as to the welfare of these animals? Of course. But beware of the animal “rights” agenda! It’s extreme! They will stop at nothing to force their agenda on the world, believing that the end justifies the means. Don’t give them an inch – they’ll take a mile! Long live Sea World!
Not only are San Diego government officials betraying the public by siding with corporate interests, including Sea (Shit) World but also for more than 2 decades now, Sea (shit) World along with the help of San Diego employees, police, have been violating citizen’s constitutional rights of freedom of speech with intimidation, coercion, threats of violence and arrests at the publicly owned lands where Sea (shit) World resides. The entire park sits on publicly owned land and the city leases a portion of it to Sea (Shit) World to do business in exchange for revenue. Also why question only the mistreatment of Orcas? all the animals being held captive at this concrete prison are treated just as badly as the Orcas, if not worse. Subjected and forced to live in concrete barrens, robbed of everything that it is natural to them and coerced to live in submission and do unnatural, demeaning and humiliating acts in order to beg for food. Reducing animals to nothing more than props for the amusement of idiots and maximizing profits for greedy parasites.
How will this affect all the shares that PETA owns in SeaWorld, thinking they could control what goes on over there. Now try People Euthanizizing Their Animals. Sea World will be around forever, get over it. PETA, cut your losses and invest in something else, like helping the elephants being slaughtered for their ivory tusks.
When I was younger, I went to SeaWorld and gawked at the performing dolphins and orcas. I was entertained, not educated. All a marine park experience teaches people is that it’s acceptable to keep animals in highly unnatural environments and make them to do tricks for our amusement. People don’t see marine mammals behaving like marine mammals at SeaWorld — they see sick, stressed captive mammals behaving how someone manipulates them to. More people need to watch Blackfish! Then they’ll understand just how cruel and dangerous it is to keep orcas in captivity.
Kathy Najimy is an awesome PETA member and I hope she helps influence and educate people about cruelty to animals in captivity, something all city council members should be doing.
SeaWorld has lied to children and their parents for decades by telling them that life in captivity at SeaWorld was even better than life in the wild for killer whales. It was a fantasy designed to enable us to empty our wallets and visit SeaWorld parks guilt-free.
After 50 years it’s time for change. It is time to phase out killer whale captivity. Whether or not you reside in California, write to the California State Assembly in Sacramento in support of AB-2140, the Orca Welfare and Safety Act.
SeaWorld CEO Jim Atchison has said, “We make no apologies for what we do and how we do it.”
Do something, San Diego.
As a FORMER annual pass holder I would never buy a ticket again. Animals were not put on this earth to entertain humans. When you know better you do better. Sea mammals are not meant to live in captivity the are meant to swim free. They are not meant to eat dead fish and the process they go through to be “trained” to do so is horrific. I pray the people of San Diego help stop this awful corporation that is driven by greed and not animal welfare. No human has ever been killed by a killer whale in the wild and mankind must stop harming the harmless.
Thank you for presenting this thoughtful, well-researched article. Reading SeaWorld’s history here — the tax drain (and evasion), the arrogance evident in this corporation’s response to concerns from both the public & the government, several decades of blatant disregard of unacceptable living conditions for its growing population of captive marine mammals, plus now allegations in a class action lawsuit — I suspect there are many San Diegans completely frustrated and disappointed in both SeaWorld Entertainment, and San Diego’s city council.
It’s time for SeaWorld to take responsibility for its terrible track record. It’s also high-time that a bill like AB2140 — The Orca Welfare & Safety Act — is addressed (and passed) in order for the captive breeding of cetaceans to be banned. Given SeaWorld’s dodgy past, however, much caution must be taken regarding the legal loophole that makes it possible for this captive cetacean circus to simply pack up its orcas, dolphins and whales, and ship them out of state . . . or overseas.