Animal rights activists stepped up their attack on SeaWorld Thursday, alleging that the theme park company has used multiple people to infiltrate People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Their latest accusation comes a day after SeaWorld announced that it had put one of its employees on paid leave following news that a SeaWorld San Diego human resources worker had allegedly been participating in PETA protest activities and attempting to incite illegal actions. SeaWorld also said it was launching a probe into the allegations.

PETA is claiming that a SeaWorld employee it identified as Paul McComb had used the alias, Thomas Jones, to pose as an animal-rights activist since 2012. McComb, it also alleges, had been arrested along with other activists during a 2014 PETA protest over SeaWorld’s float in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, but evidence of that arrest has since disappeared, the group alleges. McComb so far has not responded to numerous requests seeking comment.

“Suspending your own agents is an old trick, which usually comes with a backroom deal of compensation and a promise to bring them back when things die down, which is unlikely to be the case with this beleaguered business,” PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk said in a statement. “Furthermore, we do not believe that SeaWorld limited its espionage efforts to McComb’s activities. It has hired protesters to attend SeaWorld rallies, and PETA is currently looking at two more men we believe were SeaWorld agents hired to infiltrate PETA as ‘volunteers,’ and the list may grow.”


SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs said the company would be providing no additional comments beyond what it released on Wednesday. In its earlier statement, SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby said the company had hired an independent outside counsel, Ron Olson of Munger, Tolles & Olson, to conduct its own probe. Based on the outcome of that investigation, Manby said SeaWorld would take action “to ensure that the integrity and values of the SeaWorld organization are upheld.”

PETA said it hopes to release soon the names and photographs of other individuals it would like to question concerning their involvement in the group’s demonstrations and volunteer activities. The organization doesn’t expect to release any new details on individuals suspected of undercover activities until after Thursday, Perle said. While the organization acknowledges it engages in undercover work to advance its mission, it says it has never done so in connection with SeaWorld, and insists it never employs false identities.

Meanwhile, PETA filed a lawsuit Thursday morning against the city of Pasadena and Pasadena Police Chief Phillip L. Sanchez, challenging the city’s failure to comply with PETA’s Public Records Act requests for records relating to “Thomas Jones.” PETA spokesman David Perle said the organization made two requests, one for all records related to “Thomas Jones.” The department responded, saying he was never arrested and that they would provide no further information, Perle said. The emailed response from the department’s police administrator said Jones was released in the field but could offer no explanation as to why. The second PETA request sought detailed information on all those arrested in connection with the SeaWorld Rose Parade protest. That response came from the chief of police, saying he was providing a redacted police report, which contained no mention of Jones or McComb, Perle said. No additional information was provided.

In its lawsuit, PETA notes that all of the protesters were handcuffed, taken to the police station and instructed to remove their belts and shoelaces. However, while they were being booked, charged, and listed in the daily arrest log, the individual calling himself Thomas Jones was separated from the others and released, the suit claims. Later, when asked what happened, Jones said he had cried until the police department agreed to release him, according to the lawsuit.