President Obama's Supreme Court nominee helped end orca breeding at SeaWorld

SCOTUS nominee helped Seaworld end killer whale program. — (Image credit: Getty Images)

SeaWorld announced on Thursday that the marine parks would be putting an end to their orca breeding program, making the killer whales currently in captivity the last generation. The decision was applauded by many after SeaWorld faced heated criticism for its treatment of the whales, which was highlighted in the 2013 documentary Blackfish. It also just so happens that President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland played a small role in SeaWorld's decision to shutter the whale performances for good, The Chicago Tribune reports:

In 2014, the federal appeals court judge issued a ruling that effectively banned SeaWorld from allowing trainers to swim with orcas during performances. In a 2-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, of which Garland is the chief judge, upheld a regulatory safety finding against SeaWorld in the drowning of trainer Dawn Brancheau, who in 2010 was pulled underwater by an orca named Tilikum during a live performance in Orlando. [The Chicago Tribune]

SeaWorld's attorney in the case, by curious coincidence, happened to be Eugene Scalia — the son of Antonin Scalia, whose spot in the Supreme Court Garland has been tapped to fill. However, Garland and the other judge decided that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was correct in determining that SeaWorld should not expose trainers to the "recognized hazard" of a killer whale and that contact between them should be limited. The decision helped put a stop to the shows — and a halt to breeding the whales in captivity. Jeva Lange

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified Eugene Scalia as the dissenting judge in the case.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.