SeaWorld Spying Scandal: CEO Acknowledges Spying On Animal Rights Group PETA


During a Thursday conference call, SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby admitted the aquatic theme-park used an employee to spy on animal rights group PETA. While there was no offer of apology, he did promise to end the contentious practice.

According to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), SeaWorld infiltrated the organization sometime in 2014. Known as Thomas Jones among animal rights activists, a SeaWorld human resources employee whose real name is reportedly Paul McComb, used social media to contact other activists to obtain information as well as encourage illegal acts against SeaWorld.

As reported by Fox News, PETA first accused SeaWorld of spying last year, but the company mostly ignored the allegations, simply saying their first priority is the safety of employees, guests, and animals. They also said they do not comment on security operations.

Manby said McComb was suspended while the company investigated PETA’s allegations, but has since returned to work. It is unclear if any other employees were fired or otherwise disciplined for the undercover operation.

Even though SeaWorld finally admits the spying, which confirms PETA’s suspicions, the animal rights group still isn’t satisfied.

“SeaWorld’s latest report confirms not only that the company has employed more than one spy to infiltrate and agitate at PETA, but also that it values its spies more highly than the executives who have had their heads chopped off in droves, as at least one of the spies is still working at the company.”

PETA continued by saying SeaWorld’s treatment of orcas and “spying tactics” will eventually bring down the company.

Also on Thursday, SeaWorld issued a dismal fourth-quarter earnings report. Although the report did indicate an uptick in park attendance and revenue, bad weather and a slowdown in South American visitors will keep visitor count and profits below expectations.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, SeaWorld recently announced a shakeup of management teams at several parks and the departure of executive Dan Decker.

SeaWorld has suffered ever since the release of the controversial 2013 documentary Blackfish. The film insinuated that killer whales held in captivity tend to become more aggressive which led to the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010.

In November, SeaWorld San Diego started phasing out it featured Shamu shows and started work on expanding the park’s killer whale habitat. The show change announcement came just one month after the California Coastal Commission barred the breeding of orcas in captivity.

Kirk O. Hanson of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University doesn’t expect the spying scandal to hurt SeaWorld any more than any other past troubles.

“Past scandals have resulted in short-term hits to the reputation and economic success of companies. I would expect the reaction to this incident to be similar. Unfortunately the incident contributes long-term to a cynicism about the ethics of business in general.”

After the Thursday conference call, SeaWorld stock plummeted 9.2 percent, closing at $18.01 per share. However, analysts say the drop was due to issues with the company’s performance and not specifically related to the spying admission.

Despite criticism of SeaWorld’s tactics, PETA and other animal rights groups are notorious for sending double agents to spy on others as well. Several PETA undercover schemes have exposed the mistreatment of animals in several industries and demanded the government take action.

During a spy operation at a Butterball factory farm, PETA activists claimed workers “punched and stomped” on many of the turkeys. In another operation, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was accused of severely mistreating elephants.

PETA started suspecting SeaWorld of spying after a group of protesters at the 2014 Rose Parade in Pasadena were arrested. One activist, Thomas Jones, was released without charges, while the others remained in jail.

[Photo by Matt Stroshane/Getty Images]

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