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Heart Jump Ship on SeaWorld Gig Over ‘Blackfish’ Documentary

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Heart has pulled out of its upcoming gig at SeaWorld Orlando, citing the CNN documentary Blackfish as the cause. In a tweet published December 7, the band announced, “Heart has chosen to decline their forthcoming performance at SeaWorld on 2/9/14 due to the controversial documentary film ‘Black Fish’.”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees are just the latest act to cancel an appearance at SeaWorld in the wake of Blackfish, which raises serious questions about the practice of keeping killer whales in captivity while also examining the 2010 death of an experienced SeaWorld trainer who was killed by a 12,000-pound orca.

Over the last few weeks, Willie Nelson and Barenaked Ladies have also bailed on SeaWorld engagements. “I don’t agree with the way they treat their animals,” Nelson told CNN recently, explaining his decision to balk, despite the fact that a spokesman for SeaWorld said “scheduling conflicts” were to blame.

And in a November 27 Facebook post, Barenaked Ladies wrote, “This is a complicated issue, and we don’t claim to understand all of it, but we don’t feel comfortable proceeding with the gig at this time.”

“While we’re disappointed a small group of misinformed individuals was able to deny fans what would have been great concerts at SeaWorld by Heart, Barenaked Ladies and Willie Nelson, we respect the bands’ decisions,” a SeaWorld spokesman said on December 8. “The bands and artists have a standing invitation to visit any of our parks to see firsthand or to speak to any of our animal experts to learn for themselves how we care for animals and how little truth there is to the allegations made by animal extremist groups opposed to the zoological display of marine mammals.”

Scroll down to watch the trailer for Blackfish, and stay tuned for any other updates.

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