July 19, 2013 was the day that SeaWorld Orlando, San Diego, and San Antonio began to experience some issues. A documentary called Blackfish first premiered in New York, focusing on what happens behind the scenes of SeaWorld and their supposed cruelty to animals. Soon picked up by CNN and Magnolia films, Blackfish spread, and SeaWorld’s Parks were the center of attack for animal activists.

Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, mainly focuses on the dangers of keeping orcas in captivity, and on a whale named Tilikum, who is involved in the deaths of three people. Since its release, it has brought in 2.1 million from the box office, has been rated a 8.1 out of 10 from IMDb.com, and critics from RottenTomatoescom, who rated the film an almost perfect 98%, describe the documentary as “An aggressive, impassioned, documentary that will change the way you look at the performance of killer whales.” Aggressive it is, because since Blackfish, people have been boycotting SeaWorld left and right, and it’s starting to affect its business.

Since the movie was released on Netflix in December, stocks have gone down 33 percent, and attendance in the park has gone down 9 percent. SeaWorld also lost a deal with Southwest Airlines and Virgin American Airlines, who used to advertise their services. This drop has made them promise to expand the pools where orcas are held to give them more space and to make other improvements to suit their needs.

People have also taken their newfound hate towards SeaWorld on social media. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is attacking SeaWorld, and has gained a pack of followers. “Hey @SeaWorld, Stealing animals doesn’t make them YOURS”, “PROMOTING #SeaWorld is just as bad as GOING TO SeaWorld.” Tweets PETA (@PETA). PETA has succeeded in its boycotts towards SeaWorld, telling twitter followers to “Retweet and tell @Virgin to Stop”, and Virgin just dropped its deal with SeaWorld last Tuesday.

SeaWorld has realized they cannot remain silent anymore. They have added a “Truth about Blackfish” tab to their official website, and have also taken steps to gain supporters on Twitter and Facebook. “Hey awesome SeaWorld Fans! Is the statement, I support SeaWorld and will stand with them true? Then sign up here and join our Truth Team!” Tweets SeaWorld (@SeaWorld). They also included a link to their website, where you write your name and other basic information to join their “Truth Team”. SJV student Kaitlin Grell has joined the Truth Team, and shared her opinion on the documentary Blackfish; “I still support SeaWorld after seeing Blackfish because I have seen the real work they do that the general people don’t get to see, as I went to a SeaWorld career camp twice. SeaWorld employees are real animal activists.”

Blackfish is available to watch on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and ITunes.

SeaWorld’s Comments on Blackfish: http://seaworld.com/truth/truth-about-blackfish/

PETA’s comments on Blackfish: http://www.peta.org/?s=blackfish