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SeaWorld to pay $5 million to settle fraud claim after exposé documentary 'Blackfish'

SeaWorld (Credit: Getty/AFP)
SeaWorld (Credit: Getty/AFP)

SeaWorld is to pay more than $5 million in a settlement, following claims that the company and its former CEO played down to investors the damage caused by the documentary Blackfish.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said that SeaWorld and ex-CEO James Atchison made ‘untrue and misleading statements or omissions’ to investors in earnings releases and regulatory filings.

The bad publicity from the film, which highlighted the cruelty of keeping orcas in captivity, resulted in a substantial drop in visitors to SeaWorld attractions.

Its share price also dropped by almost a third in a single day, and in 2017, it reported a loss of more than $20 million.

While they have neither admitted or denied the claims against them, SeaWorld and Atchison agreed to pay $4 million (around £3 million) and $1 million respectively in settlement.

“The company is pleased to have resolved this matter and to continue to focus on delivering superior guest experiences, world-class animal care and rescuing animals in need,” SeaWorld said in a statement.

“The company cooperated with the Commission throughout the process.”

(Credit: Magnolia Pictures)
(Credit: Magnolia Pictures)

Blackfish was released in 2013 by director Gabriela Cowperthwaite, and centred on the story of Tilikum, a famous orca kept at SeaWorld in Orlando that was involved in the deaths of three people, among them trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010.

The film was fiercely critical of SeaWorld and its orca breeding program, which it ceased in 2016.

It also announced that it would begin phasing out the use of orcas in its shows.

In July this year, Thomas Cook announced that it would stop selling package trips to SeaWorld, over concerns about animal welfare from customers.

Following its release, SeaWorld said that the film was ‘inaccurate and misleading and, regrettably, exploits a tragedy’.

In a statement, it said: “The film paints a distorted picture that withholds… key facts about SeaWorld – among them that SeaWorld rescues, rehabilitates and returns to the wild hundreds of wild animals every year, and that SeaWorld commits millions of dollars annually to conservation and scientific research.”

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