SeaWorld Reports $25.4 Million Loss For The Last Quarter Of 2014
Since the 2013 release of the movie “Blackfish,” a documentary inspired by the deaths of two trainers who were working with the same killer whale named Tilikum, SeaWorld stock has dropped nearly 50 percent.
The film portrayed the tragedies as being the result of what it called “cruel treatment” of the animals in captivity, a charge adamantly denied by SeaWorld. It also kicked off a backlash against the company, including the introduction of legislation in New York, California and Washington to ban orca captivity. 
The response of the public after seeing or hearing about the allegations presented in the movie has been drastic. SeaWorld reported a $25.4 million dollar revenue loss in the last quarter of 2014.
The legislators and public are not the only ones to take notice. Corporate partners such as Southwest Airlines, Virgin America, Hyundai,Taco Bell and Panama Jack have all cut ties with SeaWorld in the past year, and frustrated investors filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that SeaWorld hadn’t fully divulged the impact that “Blackfish” had taken on its revenue.
Despite a proposal submitted to California’s legislature to have orcas in captivity banned, and protests by school children who have journeyed to the state capital to speak out, SeaWorld maintains that consumers still want to see orca whales.
[one_fourth]
[/one_fourth][three_fourth_last]
The company, whose CEO, Jim Atchison, stepped down in December, and is being run by interim CEO David D’Alessandro, currently has no plans to end the whale breeding program and retire the whales to seaside sanctuaries. They have discussed plans to build new marine parks in the Middle East, where there is less controversy surrounding the issue of whales in captivity.
SeaWorld’s stockholders are angry about the problems the company continues to have and feel they were misled in just how negative an impact the movie “Blackfish” would have to park attendance.
In a February 2013 corporate filing, months before the film’s release and before it launched its anti-”Blackfish” campaign, executives for the company conceded that the movie would harm their reputation, reduce attendance and negatively impact their business.
And it appears their troubles are still mounting as a beluga whale died this week after a fight in a tank, and SeaWorld Orlando was forced to announce the end of a program that allowed visitors to feed dolphins by hand unsupervised.
According to Alessandro, the company is planning a “truth about SeaWorld” marketing campaign to improve its tarnished reputation.
