Animal rights group PETA claims an undercover SeaWorld employee infiltrated their organisation

HE HAS protested against the marine park for years, telling people to bring it down and empty killer whale tanks. But now there are allegations that he is actually working for the other side.

Whale trainer Dawn Brancheau is shown while performing at the SeaWorld Adventure Park in Florida 30/12/2005. Brancheau was ki...

IT’S the insidious espionage technique known as an “agent provocateur” and animals rights activists are accusing SeaWorld of engaging in the underhanded practice.

Prominent animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) say it was infiltrated by an undercover employee from US marine park SeaWorld who posed under the alias Thomas Jones.

PETA claims his real name is Paul McComb and he has been gathering information on the group covertly to undermine their efforts while inciting extreme and illegal actions.

The man PETA claims was pretending to be Thomas Jones would post inflammatory messages on social media, such as “burn (SeaWorld) to the ground” and “drain the new tanks at #SeaWorld”, in an attempt to damage its reputation, the group said.

PETA claims “Thomas Jones” was actually a spy for SeaWorld.

PETA has release pictures of both Jones and McComb — who they claim is a human resources worker for the park — which appear to show the same person.

Mr Jones attended a number of events with PETA activists in the past, including numerous protests and sit-ins, and he was even arrested by police during a 2014 protest in Pasadena, California. Before the event, he called on people to grab their “pitchforks and torches; it’s time to take down SeaWorld”.

But it was this event that caused suspicion to grow among some in the activist group.

PETA senior vice-president Lisa Lange told The Guardian about the dubious details of his involvement in the protest after the group was taken in by police.

“I was one of the protesters at the Rose Parade, and I was arrested with him, but when we were let out of jail he was gone,” she said.

He told her that the police let him go because he didn’t have any identification.

“That would never happen,” Ms Lange said.

A Pasadena policeman, Lieutenant Mark Goodman, told Bloomberg there was no record of either name being arrested that day, despite PETA having photos showing him being handcuffed.

There were other things that aroused suspicion, such as an address given by Mr Jones when he joined the group that turned out to be fake.

Eventually, some members of the group traced his licence plate number back to the name Paul McComb, PETA spokeswoman Kathy Guillermo said.

When they found an online resume of Mr McComb, which stated he worked as a human resource manager for SeaWorld, the group was convinced.

“It’s definitely him,” Ms Lange said.

Paul McComb or Thomas Jones?

A tweet by an agent provocateur?

SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs refused to comment on the scandal but told The Guardian that groups such as PETA often tied to have their members employed at companies like SeaWorld.

“We are focused on the safety of our team members, guests and animals, and beyond that we do not comment on our security operations,” he said in a statement.

“This is a responsibility that we take very seriously, especially as animal rights groups have become increasingly extreme in their rhetoric and tactics.”

As for Miss Lange, she wishes the company would spend its money on releasing the captive orcas. She called the idea of an undercover agent a “dirty trick”.

“SeaWorld knows that the public is rejecting its cruel orca prisons and is so desperate that it created a corporate espionage campaign,” she said.

Paul McComb has not responded to requests for comment by the media and reportedly hung up on Bloomberg when asked if he had used the name Thomas Jones.

“Jones” in police van on the way to jail after being “arrested” while “protesting" #SeaWorld at #RoseParade in 2014. pic.twitter.com/0PmaRm66U9

— PETA (@peta) July 14, 2015

SeaWorld has had a difficult time with public relations in the wake of a 2013 documentary film called Blackfish.

The film depicts the psychological damage done to the whales while kept in captivity and caused a public backlash against the company.

While the issue of orca captivity was at the centre of Thomas Jones' involvement with PETA, if it turns out he was actually sent by SeaWorld to be a double agent, the PR fallout could prove even worse than the Blackfish documentary.