SeaWorld Entertainment has announced its intention to challenge the decision of the California Coastal Commission (CCC) to allow the company’s San Diego park to expand its orca habitats only on the basis that it no longer breeds the captive cetaceans.

The company said that it intended to pursue legal action against the CCC for its “overreaching condition that would ban killer whale breeding at SeaWorld San Diego”.

Explaining its reason for filing the suit, SeaWorld argued that animal welfare is governed by federal and state laws that do not fall within the jurisdiction of the CCC's appointed board and that the decision to make the ruling in relation to ultimate approval of its Blue World Project at SeaWorld San Diego was unjustified.

"As a regulatory board charged with managing coastal development and related land-use decisions, the CCC went way beyond its jurisdiction and authority when it banned breeding by killer whales at SeaWorld. By imposing broad new jurisdiction over all future SeaWorld marine animal projects, as well as aquarium projects elsewhere in the state, the Commission has overstepped both federal and California law," said Joel Manby, president and CEO of SeaWorld.

"It simply defies common sense that a straightforward land-use permit approval would turn into a ban on animal husbandry practices – an area in which the commissioners have no education, training or expertise. To say that this is a dubious decision with no legal basis is an understatement, which is why we must and will challenge the Commission's decision."

SeaWorld’s statement added that the company is strictly regulated by the the federal government, with “frequent random inspections by federal veterinarians and other officials”. SeaWorld also added that the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) rates the company as “meeting or exceeding the highest standard of animal care and welfare of any zoological organisation in the world."