LOS ANGELES (AP) – The SeaWorld marine park in San Diego will challenge a state commission ruling that banned the company from breeding its captive killer whales.
The announcement on Thursday comes a week after the California Coastal Commission endorsed a $100 million expansion of the tanks SeaWorld uses to hold orcas in San Diego.
But the ruling also outlined a series of restrictions on SeaWorld, including a ban on breeding the whales at the California park. It also prohibited the sale, trade or transfer of the whales.
Animal rights activists say the vote was a death blow to the use of killer whales at the California park.
SeaWorld says the commission overstepped its authority and the decision has “no legal basis.”
The company says the federal government regulates the whales’ care, not the commission.