Barenaked Ladies scrap February concert at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla.

TORONTO – Barenaked Ladies have scrapped an upcoming concert at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla., after an Ontario animal welfare activist started a petition against the show.

The Toronto band announced the cancellation on its Facebook page, saying it “talked things over and decided not to play at SeaWorld at this time.”

Mike Garrett of St. Catharines, Ont., launched the online petition asking Barenaked Ladies to reconsider the concert scheduled for Feb. 15 at the marine park.

The petition got nearly 12,000 signatures and suggested the band watch the documentary “Blackfish,” which looks at conditions surrounding killer whales in captivity at marine parks.

Barenaked Ladies write it’s “a complicated issue” and the group doesn’t “claim to understand all of it.”

But the band adds they “don’t feel comfortable proceeding with the gig at this time.”

“The SeaWorld folks have been gracious, and extended us invitations to the park to learn more about what they do, and how they do it,” said the group’s Facebook posting.

“We encourage anybody and everybody to get involved with a charity organization they feel passionate about. We here at Barenaked Ladies have made a decision based on what we feel. It’s not about money, or petitions, or press… But it is about our fans. We listen to them, and they’re important to us. Their sensibilities resonate with ours, and have for decades now. We’ve grown up together.

“Ultimately though, we made the decision that WE feel good about.”