Local officials have now given their recommendation of an approval for the plan by SeaWorld San Diego to construct bigger tanks for their killer whales amidst an outcry from more than ten thousand people who would rather want to see the marine creatures released instead.
The California Coastal Commission has now issued a report that is in favor of the Blue World Project of SeaWorld to commence however, this will be subject to several conditions, according to officials.
The conditions entail limiting the theme park to expand its killer whale population to more than 11, which is the current number of orcas in the park and requiring to provide protection of the sea mammals from construction noise.
The plan consists of SeaWorld to build two orca pools where one can contain 5.2 million gallons of water and the other 450,000 gallons of water. In total, officials say that this will place an additional volume of 3.8 million gallons of water for the killer whales, officials say. The commission will arrive at a decision on October 8 according to Noaki Schwartz who is a spokeswoman for the agency.
Schwartz also reveals that this proposal has garnered so much public interest that the meeting will be held at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in order to accommodate people who want to attend.
She also adds that there were tens of thousands of letters and 120,000 emails from around the world that they received which has been highly unprecedented. Most of the emails consist of strong opinions against the plan where there has been an exchange of passion from both sides, Schwartz noted.
One email petition stated that, please deny SeaWorld the opportunity to build a bigger prison for the killer whales. Please help the orcas provide a step closer for a world where the animals can really live and thrive, not inside tanks but in sanctuaries.
Apart from this outpouring of opposition, SeaWorld already faced serious criticism where the declining business was featured in a documentary called "Black Fish" in 2013 of how the private company treats orcas. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) which is an animal rights group apparently led this movement against this project.