How Sea World Became Such An Unpopular Company

It began with the film, Blackfish, a documentary about a performing killer whale named Tilikum,  who killed several of his trainers in captivity.  It documents the heart wrenching story of his captivity, shows shocking footage and emotional interviews that reveal his cruel treatment.  This film was released in 2013, and it's been all downhill for SeaWorld ever since.

Under normal circumstances, an institution as big and popular as SeaWorld would be impervious to any number of public assaults on its standing.  It was expected that it could bear a little bad press.  After the release of Blackfish, SeaWorld dispatched a detailed, preemptive critique of 50 movie critics lambasting Blackfish.  Most companies would not fight back, realizing the film had a small viewing audience, but SeaWorld chose to fight.  Their strategy didn't work.  The film has forever damaged the giant corporation, whose estimated annual attendance was around 10 million.  Now those numbers are plummeting and the park's chief executive, Jim Atchison, resigned in December.

Since the movie's release, SeaWorld Entertainment's share price has dropped nearly 44% to $16 per share.  Its attendance shrank by 500,000 during this year's third quarter.  It has to deal with animal activism, spearheaded by the Oceanic Preservation Society and a slew of anti-SeaWorld websites.  Additionally, there is proposed California legislation to ban the use of orcas in performance.  SeaWorld is now on the list of the 32 most despised American companies, (it's in the final 4) along with Wal Mart, Comcast and Monsanto.

Capturing these amazing creatures and making them perform for delighted children sends the wrong message to children about man's place in the world.  Are whales here to delight audiences?  Children are getting the message that they belong in the wild.  In California, children have journeyed to the state capital to make their feelings known.  Let orcas stay free, in the ocean, where they belong.  My advice to you stock market players out there, SeaWorld is not a buy.  (just my opinion).