Argumentative Essay On Orcas In Prison

Kiara Janzen

English 100/14

Professor Shona Harrison

Okanagan College

Nov.29/2014

A Prison for Orcas

Every year, hundreds of killer whales are hunted, killed, or placed in captivity. Approximately forty-five killer whales, commonly known as orcas, are currently in confinement. Orcas have been captured and placed in cement walls since 1961, however capturing orcas for exhibition purposes began in 1965. Somewhere along the way, someone, somewhere thought it would be okay to take these harmless creatures out of their natural habitat and put them into a tank to amuse people. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people converge to establishments that house orcas. Several forms of media focus on campaigning the idea that paying money to see orcas preform is beneficial.

Society believes they are gaining knowledge by seeing the killer whales conduct these choreographed performances. Placing orcas in captivity, for only society’s selfish benefits, is utterly cruel. Capturing orcas and housing them in institutions where they are not accustomed to the food, size of the tank, and their social and health aspects decline is absolutely repugnant.
Humans keep these large, majestic creatures in captivity for their own personal entertainment. Rose also states that, There is not a single reason as to why we should be continuing to keep these amazing marine animals in a prison.
The Orca is the largest species in the dolphin family, and they are found all over the world’s oceans. They are most commonly found in the Arctic and Antarctic areas. They are extremely social marine animals. Orcas are remarkably family orientated and tend to stick with, or near their families for all of their lives. Their existence in the wild includes exceedingly intricate social groups and bonds within their pod. They are tremendously intelligent, making it even more of a reason as to why orcas are not suitable for captivity.
Although orcas have developed the name “Killer Whale”, they are not harmful towards humans in their natural habitat. Nevertheless orcas, regarding sea creatures in the wild, are considered to be the wolves of the sea. Orcas are very successful social predators, they will often predate in packs and use their social behaviour and conveyance to pursue prey greater than themselves, such as larger whales. There has never been a reported human death due to a killer whale in their natural environment. Orcas lifespan in the wild is much greater then it would be in captivity. They are healthy, social, and mentally stimulated in the wild, unlike in captivity. In the article,“8 Reasons Orcas Don’t Belong at SeaWorld” they state that, “Orcas in the wild have an average life expectancy of 30 to 50 years—their estimated maximum lifespan is 60 to 70 years for males and 80 to over 100 for females. The median age of orcas in captivity is only 9, and orcas at SeaWorld rarely make it even to the average life expectancy of their wild cousins.” Taking orcas away from their families and social pods is detrimental to their mental health. Orcas are known to be very social and family involved. In some cases, orcas will stay with their mothers for their whole life. When orcas are taken away from their mother at a young age, this is exceptionally hard for the calf and the mother, making it depressing for the entire pod. There are several aspects displaying evidence as to why placing these majestic mammals in captivity is terrorizing. Orcas are intelligent, social predators, and thrive in their natural habitat making it difficult for them to adapt to life in captivity.
Although orcas are extremely social marine animals, incompatibility between orcas tend to transpire routinely. Bullying between certain orcas does occur, which can result in abrasions or contusions leading to segregation between the orcas. In the wild, orcas have a choice whether they want to associate themselves with certain orcas. However in captivity they are placed in tanks, with artificial settings and orcas they don't necessarily get along with. Rose states in her article,Rake marks are often seen on orcas, this is a sign of aggression, this action involves scraping each others skin with their teeth. Rake marks do still occur in the wild but are less severe and are usually a result from a disagreement between orcas. In captivity rake marks are much more severe and violent. Placing orcas in captivity with other orcas is dangerous for social, mental, and physical reasons due to the incompatibility that often occurs when placing orcas from diverse origins in the same artificial setting.
Orcas in the wild are accustomed to many different types of food. In nature, orcas eat, on average, 45kg of food a day. They feed on many different species in the wild such as sea otters, seals, squid, fish, birds etc. Meanwhile, in captivity, they are given foods that are not nature for them such as gelatine, and dead fish such as Herring. Orcas that are captured from the wild find their new eating schedule hard to adapt to. Trainers will reward orcas with food if they preform their disciplines correctly, or deprive them of food if done incorrectly. This procedure often results in the orcas getting extremely frustrated, some orcas even tend to lash out.
There are multiple issues associated with living environments aquariums provide for captive orcas. Orcas in captivity are living in tanks that are too compact for them. They are accustomed to swimming upto a 200 kilometres in a day, which makes it hard for them to accomplish that with such a minuscule tank. Also, their tanks are much too shallow. This causes orcas to be more exposed to the blistering sun and other elements. This triggers orcas to develop sunburns. Trainers are required to cover up these sunburns with black zinc oxide. Orcas are used to being able to be fully submerged in the depths of the ocean to avoid painful sunburns. Orcas are confined to a space so small; it would be equivalent to ourselves being in a bathtub. In the article “The Whale Called Killer”, MacAskie states,Not to mention very few aquariums utilize natural sea water. Williams states in her paper “Dying to Entertain you”,

Needless to say chlorine is unhealthy for orcas to have in the pool, and the living environments created for captive orcas are repulsive.

In the wild, a collapsed dorsal fin is indicatory that the orca is unhealthy or injured. However almost all males, in captivity have the collapsed dorsal fin. It is uncommon for females to develop the collapsed dorsal fin in captivity, but it still occurs. There are many suspicions as to why this happens. It could be that in the wild orcas are constantly in motion swimming up to 200 kilometres a day, causing the dorsal fin to stay in the up-right position. Meanwhile captive orcas are just floating in a tiny tank with no where to swim. Another suspicion as to why the dorsal fun collapses could be caused from dehydration, this would result in the fibrous collagen of the fin to weaken, hence the collapsed fin. However since captive orcas are more susceptible to disease and infection, a collapsed dorsal fin is a demonstration of this. In an interview with Dr.Astrid Van Ginneken she states, In the wild, orcas have a long survival rate, however in captivity, orcas experience premature death. Many reasons are associated with this phenomenon; the leading causes of premature death are pneumonia, septicaemia, and differing forms of infections. Lethal infection due to poor dental health correlated with orcas in confinement is a major concern. Orcas in the wild tend to rarely have fragmented teeth. Causes for orcas having poor dental health in captivity would be due to orcas biting on steel gates or concrete walls, resulting in wearing down of the tooth or breaking it. They could be doing this as a result of boredom. Due to this exposure of a cavity, orcas in captivity are susceptible to developing heart disease and pneumonia caused by infection. Therefore many premature deaths are associated with poor dental health. The immune system of wild orcas is significantly better then of orcas in confinement. This could be a result of captive orcas stress level, restlessness, or even depression.
In the wild, there has only been one reported harming towards a human generated by an orca.

In captivity, there has been four reported deaths and over a 130 recorded violent incidents. Aggression associated with orcas held in captivity has been rising over the years. Orcas are frustrated by their daily activities and get bored, resulting in lashing out at the trainers. Placing these large mammals in confinement is harmful for both humans and the orcas. Marine mammal veterinarian Jay Sweeney writes from his paper . It is evident that orcas act aggressively when placed in confinement and it is extremely dangerous, therefor it is apparent that hostility associated with orcas in captivity is a major issue.

It is apparent that orcas do not thrive in captivity. These marine animals do not belong in confinement. They thrive in the wild. Orcas are successful predators in the their nature habitat. They are social marine animals that enjoy roaming free in the wild with their social pods. It is utterly cruel to place orcas in captivity for the pure intention of providing entertainment to people visiting aquariums. By placing orcas in confinement we are allowing for their health and social aspects to

deplete.
Life in captivity for an orca is horrifying. Some are captured, but many are born and raised in these institutions. Orcas are very intelligent, trainable, and likeable, making it desirable for aquariums to have an attraction such as an orca. There are several aspects displaying evidence as to why placing these majestic mammals in captivity is terrorizing.