LONDON: SeaWorld San Diego has been cited by state health and safety regulators for not properly protecting its employees who work with killer whales.
In all, the theme park on Wednesday received four citations, three of them categorized as serious, for failing to put in place an effective “injury and illness prevention program” designed to identify workplace hazards that could potentially result in serious injury or death.
The state Division of Occupational Safety and Health, in two of the citations, specifically called out SeaWorld for not having procedures to protect employees and supervisors who “rode on the killer whales and swam with killer whales in the medical pool” and “who were present on the slide outs with killer whales in various pools.”
The four citations carry a fine of $25,770. SeaWorld said Thursday that it will appeal.
“There is no higher priority for SeaWorld than the safety of guests and team members and the welfare of our animals,” the park said in a written statement. “The citations issued by Cal/OSHA today were not precipitated by any workplace incident, accident or injury, and they reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the requirements of safely caring for killer whales in a zoological setting.”
SeaWorld noted that it has put in place a number of safety precautions, including fast-rising pool floors and custom-fitted personal emergency air systems.
Cal/OSHA spokeswoman Erika Monterroza said the agency’s investigation and subsequent citations were prompted by a complaint, which could have originated from an employee or someone outside the park. SeaWorld spokesman Dave Koontz would not say how the complaint originated.
