海角大神

When the Stierle family made plans for a trip to San Diego recently, it made a conscious decision not to go to SeaWorld. Watching the 2013 documentary, 鈥淏lackfish鈥� 鈥� which alleged that the park mistreats its orca whales 鈥� turned the family against park鈥檚 signature shows.

鈥淓ven the boys said, 鈥楾his isn鈥檛 right to keep huge creatures in very small spaces just to entertain the public,鈥� 鈥� Mr. Stierle says.

But for Sanjay Agarwal, SeaWorld is the reason his 11-year-old daughter wants to become a marine biologist. Despite being anti-circus, she was captivated by what she saw on a backstage tour.

鈥淲e paid $300 to go backstage and see how the [whales] were kept and fed,鈥� Mr. Agarwal says. 鈥淪eeing it all up close is what was the secret for our daughter.鈥�

The two viewpoints frame a growing debate over whether the large-animal shows at the heart of SeaWorld鈥檚 image are still seen as suitable fare by American families.

This week, SeaWorld has launched an ad campaign in major newspapers across the country and in California and Florida 鈥� where its parks are located 鈥� to combat what it says are gross distortions of how it treats sea animals.

But criticism continues to build, with John Hargrove, an orca trainer for 14 years, claiming in a new book, 鈥淏eneath the Surface,鈥� that the conditions in which Sea World keeps orcas are inhumane and drives them to become aggressive.

Facing similar criticism over its treatment of elephants, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey has announced a plan to retire its elephants by 2018.

In many respects, parents hold the final vote on the issue. SeaWorld's revenue dropped 3 percent this year compared with last, and its chief executive has resigned. The company has announced plans to build larger environments for its orcas.

For Sheri Muntean of Anacortes, Wash., SeaWorld brings back 鈥渨onderful memories鈥� of visits to see her grandparents in San Diego. But she says she would most likely not take her grandchildren there now.

鈥淚 believe it would be sponsoring human behavior that harms animals,鈥� she writes in an e-mail.

The park鈥檚 new ad campaign, together with its plans to build larger environments for its orcas and its change in leadership, are attempts to restore public trust and maintain legitimacy in an environment where Americans have become increasingly sensitive to treatment of animals.

The 鈥淏lackfish鈥� documentary alleges that keeping the enormous and intensely social sea mammals in such confined spaces amounts to cruelty. It includes the story of veteran orca trainer Dawn Brancheau, who in 2010 was dragged into the water and killed by a whale at the SeaWorld Park in Orlando, Fla.

In an effort to address 鈥渃laims that have been leveled against us head on,鈥� the park encourages the public to pose questions about the company鈥檚 practices on the new website AskSeaWorld.com, according to an official company statement. 鈥淭he point is to reach people who will hear out SeaWorld鈥檚 stance.鈥�

But the website has at times been overwhelmed by negative comments. The debate is an opportunity for families to have a discussion about issues of captivity for all creatures, says Catherine Doyle, director of science, research, and advocacy for the Performing Animal Welfare Society.

鈥淓ven if you think it is wrong to hold whales captive like this 鈥� as we do 鈥� it can still be a learning experience for a child to ask the question and to be shown what the choices are,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f parents are doing their job and telling them all the facts, kids are pretty smart in knowing when something is wrong.鈥�

When Stierle and his wife, Suzanne, heard about the sterling reviews for 鈥淏lackfish,鈥� they decided to watch it with their two boys, 13-year-old Tristan and 8-year-old Aidan.

聽鈥淲e made a conscious decision to not go to SeaWorld, even though we were in San Diego for vacation,鈥� says Stierle, father of three.

Stierle says he doesn鈥檛 buy any of the arguments of SeaWorld鈥檚 new ad campaign. 鈥淭hey are just putting out a narrative to suit their own needs at the expense of these whales, and when I hear it, I turn into a bit of a ranter. They are trying to turn a buck in entertainment and calling it education and even my kids see through that as trying to justify bad behavior.鈥�

Others agree. 鈥淚 do not believe that any animal that thrives in family groups in the wild should be removed from the wild,鈥� writes Jolee Walker of Mason, Wis., in an e-mail.

But for the Argawal family, the opportunity to see orca whales up close potentially sparked a career dedicated to the service and care of animals 鈥� a point that SeaWorld often makes in its own defense.

鈥淲hen she saw this huge whale make a splash and jump and swim she was totally taken with the whole thing,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to see a fish in an aquarium and quite another to see [whales] jumping in a football-field-sized pool.鈥�