VIDEO: First SeaWorld Park Without Orcas Opening In Abu Dhabi In 2022

By  //  December 14, 2016

SeaWorld ended orca-breeding program in March

ABOVE VIDEO: We’re partnering with Miral to create the first new SeaWorld without orcas that will integrate up-close animal experiences, mega attractions and a world-class aquarium, bringing the latest technology in visitor engagement.

(FOX) – Months after SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment ended its orca-breeding program amid pressure from animal rights activists, company officials announced Tuesday that they will help develop in Abu Dhabi the first new SeaWorld park without orcas — and the first outside the United States.

SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby told The Associated Press that the Abu Dhabi park is an important step for the theme park company’s move away from orcas, which long were company icons.

The captive orcas have been the focus of blistering campaigns against SeaWorld by animal rights activists.

Officials with SeaWorld and Abu Dhabi-government-backed Miral Asset Management said the SeaWorld park will open in 2022 in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island, a man-made island that is fast becoming a tourism and entertainment hub near the southeast tip of the Arabian peninsula.

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