--- description: The man was accused of being a rabble-rouser among real PETA members title: SeaWorld Suspends Employee Accused of Infiltrating PETA image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31a75b0d9bf9835a/69885b735f570f7f13b1c810/seaworld.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Companies](/tag/companies/) ## Companies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # SeaWorld Suspends Employee Accused of Infiltrating PETA by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 10:43 PM CUTPublished: Jul 17, 2015 5:17 PM CUT  In this handout photo provided by SeaWorld San Diego, mom and baby killer whale swim together at SeaWorld San Diego's Shamu Stadium December 4, 2014 in San Diego, California. In this handout photo provided by SeaWorld San Diego, mom and baby killer whale swim together at SeaWorld San Diego's Shamu Stadium December 4, 2014 in San Diego, California.Mike Aguilera—SeaWorldGetty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 14, 2023 10:43 PM CUTPublished: Jul 17, 2015 5:17 PM CUT SeaWorld has [suspended](http://www.wflx.com/story/29571338/seaworld-suspends-worker-accused-of-posing-as-peta-activist "undefined") a San Diego employee who was accused of infiltrating the ranks of PETA and posing as an animal-rights activist, with the intention of inciting violence at protests. The man, identified by PETA as Paul McComb, appears to have used the name “Thomas Jones” while engaging with PETA, an act that went on for years. Details about his alleged misdeeds [emerged earlier this week](http://time.com/3957195/peta-seaworld-spying/ "undefined"). SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby, who did not identify McComb by name, said in a statement, “These allegations, if true, are not consistent with the values of the SeaWorld organization and will not be tolerated,” the Associated Press reports. SeaWorld said the employee had been put on paid administrative leave while the company investigates the accusations. PETA said in a statement to TIME, “SeaWorld is scrambling to distance itself from something that it cannot talk its way out of.” The AP was not immediately able to reach McComb for comment. \[[_AP_](http://www.wflx.com/story/29571338/seaworld-suspends-worker-accused-of-posing-as-peta-activist "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3962911/seaworld-peta-suspension/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3962911/seaworld-peta-suspension/"},"headline":"SeaWorld Suspends Employee Accused of Infiltrating PETA","datePublished":"2015-07-17T17:17:48.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-14T22:43:40.000Z","description":"The man was accused of being a rabble-rouser among real PETA members","url":"https://time.com/3962911/seaworld-peta-suspension/","keywords":["Companies","SeaWorld","PETA"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31a75b0d9bf9835a/69885b735f570f7f13b1c810/seaworld.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31a75b0d9bf9835a/69885b735f570f7f13b1c810/seaworld.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Killler Whale Calf At SeaWorld San Diego","caption":"Killler Whale Calf At SeaWorld San Diego","creditText":"Mike Aguilera—SeaWorldGetty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3962911/seaworld-peta-suspension/","name":"SeaWorld Suspends Employee Accused of Infiltrating PETA"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"SeaWorld Launches Ad Campaign To Repair Damaged Image","description":"SeaWorld's new ad campaign comes after its negative portrayal in the documentary \"Blackfish\" and allegations levied by animal rights groups.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/JHzhb2bu/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-03-24T16:15:19.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/JHzhb2bu.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3962911/seaworld-peta-suspension/","duration":"PT1M26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3962911/seaworld-peta-suspension/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```