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SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. dropped to a record low after reporting earnings that missed analysts’ estimates and saying controversy over the treatment of captive whales in its theme-park shows hurt attendance.

The shares tumbled 33% to US$18.90 at the close in New York, the lowest since they started trading in April 2013. Before today, SeaWorld had retreated 23% in a year following the release of “Blackfish,” a critical documentary about one of its performing killer whales.

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The company acknowledged for the first time that pressure from animal-rights groups is reducing attendance, said Barton Crockett, an analyst at FBR & Co., calling second-quarter results “surprisingly weak.” The theme-park operator had tried to head off a proposed ban on keeping orcas in captivity in California with a lobbying campaign that raised doubts about claims that the animals are harmed in its parks.