Freeing Willy is not an option quite yet as Assembly Bill 2140 was put on hold Tuesday during a hearing in Sacramento when the state’s Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee decided further investigation was required. If passed, the bill would end the public’s ability to use orcas for display and entertainment purposes in California. Losing their main attraction would be financially devastating for the San Diego marine park, SeaWorld. Although many animal activists groups are rigorously pushing for the bill to be passed, the immediate effects that it would have on the whales already being held in captivity, and the research that has been collected from them, could be disastrous if not handled correctly.

As stated in the bill’s content, once put into motion, its effects would end the use of orcas being used for entertainment purposes, stop humans from capturing or importing orcas from the wild and would diminish actions of breeding or impregnating orcas in captivity. AB 2140 was first introduced by Assemblyman Richard Bloom after the CNN documentary ‘Blackfish’ was released in July 2013. The film focuses on the horrific reality of the treatment of the orcas at SeaWorld, showing graphic images of numerous whale attacks on the SeaWorld trainers and heartbreaking evidence of orcas being captured from the wild and separated from their families. The film follows the life of the killer whale, Tilikum, who was captured and taken away from his mother at a young age and placed at the amusement park Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia. After being involved in the murder of one of Sealand’s trainers, the park closed down and Tilikum was bought by SeaWorld. Tilikum, who is now thirty-years-old, is known to be the largest killer whale in captivity. He weighs 12,000 pounds and is 23 feet long. Since being at SeaWorld, the killer whale has been found responsible for two more deaths occurring; one in which included his trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010. The film brings attention to the horrific mistreatment of the orcas, saying that captivity drives them to a state of psychosis, resulting in aggressive behavior. The whales being held in captivity have also been seen attacking each other, chewing on the bars of their enclosed tank, chewing off the paint in their enclosure and ramming their own bodies into their surrounding walls. Although clearly exhibiting manic behavior, Tilikum is still performing at SeaWorld today and is responsible for 54 percent of the offspring that have been born in captivity at SeaWorld.

According to David Koontz, SeaWorld’s Communications Director, the hearing on Tuesday brought to light multiple policy problems and lacked evidence to support that the bill would be beneficial. As stated, the proposed legislation is a solution looking for a problem and is based on the assumption that the current approach of keeping killer whales in human care is wrong. SeaWorld has worked rigorously through their veterinarians and animal care specialist to become one of the most respected zoological organizations in the world. The bill would diminish scientists’ efforts to learn about the orcas in a safe and controlled environment where the animals are not being harmed and are being enriched by their interactions with the SeaWorld trainer.

“Assembly Bill 2140 is an extreme piece of legislation that unfortunately is inspired by a propaganda film, is not based on science, and would place extreme restrictions on the care we provide our killer whales,” said Koontz. “By seeking to ban killer whale performances in shows, the bill would actually jeopardize the health and well-being of our whales, both as individuals and as a group. The legislation’s attempt to end our killer whale breeding program would require us to separate the whales by gender, resulting in unnatural social groups.”

In a letter to Assemblymember Toni Atkins, Jim Maddy, the President and CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, urges her to oppose AB 2140 on the grounds that it places unnecessary restrictions on the AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums), a non-profit organization that was founded in 1924 and has worked toward the goals of advancing zoos and aquariums through conservation, education, recreation and science. Maddy claims that these restrictions limit them from conducting their research and educating the public with information about orcas. The bill’s limiting factors would also create a dangerous situation for organizations such as AZA, in being equipped to make decisions for animals in their care with which they have little work experience. AZA is responsible for supporting more than 204,000 jobs and annually spending $160 million on field conservation by supporting more than 260,000 projects in 130 countries. If the bill is passed, its requirements would inhibit the AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums from saving wildlife, would be detrimental to their research and would limit the animals at SeaWorld San Diego from experiencing their full range of natural social behaviors. As stated in Maddy’s letter to the Assemblymember, SeaWorld has created an authentic opportunity for humans to connect with animals, inspired people to care for wildlife and has shown limitless commitment toward educating more than nine million students and teachers through their formal education programs. Since opening in 1964, SeaWorld San Diego has been an active leader in rescuing and caring for more than 7,000 sick and injured marine mammals.

Naomi A. Rose, a marine mammal scientist for the Animal Welfare Institute, has been actively campaigning for the passing of the bill. Rose believes that SeaWorld is engaging in bad practices, stating that the orcas are suffering by being placed in captivity and SeaWorld’s breeding program must be shut down immediately before more orcas are born into an environment in which they are not properly cared for. As reported in Rose’s publication stating why orcas should no longer be kept in captivity, orcas who live their lives in the wild live longer. In the wild, female orcas reach a maximum age of 70 years, whereas the males reach a maximum of 90 years. Among orcas being kept in captivity, only two females out of 200 orcas who have lived in captivity have made it past the age of 40. Although Rose is in favor of the bill being passed, she also recognizes that there will be ramifications that will greatly affect the lives of the ten whales being held in SeaWorld San Diego, as well as other countries holding orcas in captivity.

Making Assembly Bill 2140 a law could be detrimental to the research, knowledge, understanding and participation in the conservation of the ocean and the lives of the orcas. However, keeping orcas in captivity compromises the lives of the whales. The bill will be reviewed and official decisions will be made next year.