When someone says the word Shamu many of us think of a happy, active, go lucky orca whale. What if I told you that the orca whales at sea world are really lost, heartbroken, and most of them are unhealthy? Would you then stop supporting them? What would you think if I told you that Orca Whales are self aware, cultural, emotional mammals that routinely make decisions about their daily life? Because of the lack of conservation efforts on behalf of Sea World, the high mortality rates, and health risks; Sea World and all marine parks for that matter should release their orcas from captivity. Lets begin with profits versus conservation. Fred Jacobs the vice president of communications at sea world when asked why captivity says “ It serves as an invaluable educational purpose and provides experiences that not only raise awareness and appreciation for the animals, but also instills a passion to conserve them”. However, how can the company advocate conservation when they make minimal strides towards it themselves. Every 1 million dollars earned at sea world is equal to $600 in conservation efforts…about five cents a ticket. Sea world’s lack of concern for conservation is seen through the orca’s mortality rate. According to the humane society since their breeding program has begun the mortality rate is only 50%, which amounts to at least one death per year at sea world. 92% of the whales held in the parks do not live past the age of 25. If you ask any marine biologist that studies the animal they will inform you that their life span is 60 to 90 in the wild, 100 in the best conditions. With millions of visitors and profits being generated per year it is hard to believe that there is no way to change this. The most imp... ... middle of paper ... ... the ocean where he continued to be tracked by marine biologists. You can visit petitions.whitehous.gov or change.org and sign one of the many petitions to release orcas from captivity. Let your local legislatures know that this is not right and is animal cruelty at it’s finest. By doing this you can make a difference. To conclude my speech today I would like to leave you with a quote from Rick Obare former flipper trainer and producer of the award winning movie The Cove, “putting an orca in a concrete pool is like keeping a human being in a bath tub”. Whether you are a strict animal rights activist or simply a fan of Shamu I hope my speech today has altered your perspective on Sea World. If we take the correct steps to help stop the captivation of orcas at Sea World I believe we can help orcas all over the world. Thank you and please sign the petitions.
Thesis Statement: Closing SeaWorld’s doors would be unjust, however; SeaWorld can repair its image by providing excellent care for its current residents and by shifting the business model from entertainment to rescue, rehabilitate and release at all locations.
The trainers along with Cowperthwaite believe to have them in a captivity like SeaWorld is inhumane. I agree with this documentary, Blackfish. This documentary gave a perfect visual representation on why I do not like having animals in a cage or in a small area. Having animals captive, working hard, and hardly fed is wrong, especially only allowing them in a small area to roam. Watching this documentary made me feel sympathy toward these poor animals that must go through with this harsh life style. Just like Cowperthwaite, I strongly believe the orcas shall not be held in these small areas and be allowed to live in their natural
SeaWorld tour guides have also falsely told the public that collapsed dorsal fins are very common among orca whales, but specialist have identified that less than one percent of dorsal fins actually collapse in the wild. SeaWorld has also stated that the average lifespan of an orca is twenty five to thirty years but an orca can live approximately the same amount amount as humans which could be up to one hundred
Second reason why they shouldn’t be kept in a captivity. You can’t recreate on orcas natural environment. The pods sea world cannot hold 40 or more whales which are usually in a pod. If it holds 40 orcas they will make more babies and after their gonna be so much whales and the water won’t hold that much whales. Because whales are the size of bus school and is just like 40 bus
I am sure almost all of you have either been to or heard of SeaWorld. Today I am going to tell you about what they do to their orcas that they are trying to hide. I chose this topic after watching a documentary called “Blackfish” that goes into the behind the scenes of how SeaWorld treats its animals. I have since done further research online to prepare for this presentation. This is an important topic because you should know what kind of company you are funding and behaviors you are endorsing when you go on your vacations to this destination. Today I am going to persuade you that SeaWorld is corrupt and maltreats its animals, specifically the orcas. First, I will talk about the specific way the orcas are treated and how it affects them
A reason why SeaWorld shouldn’t keep the orca exhibit is due to the amount of space that the animal is given while in captivity is not nearly the amount it should have. In SeaWorld the whales don’t have very much room to move around, so the tanks aren’t deep enough for them to dive down. SeaWorld’s tanks are 40 feet deep, 180 feet long, and 90 feet wide (“Hammond 203”). The whales need deeper tanks because they can’t get deep enough to shield themselves from the harsh rays of the sun. In order for them to hide this from the public they apply black zinc oxide: this acts as a sunscreen for the animal but
I believe that killer whales held hostage, should be retired and allowed to live freely because of the unnatural punishment and torture that Seaworld is putting them through. There has been 151 cases of aggression between Orcas and their trainers. Also 100% of male Orcas in captivity have a collapsed fin compared to the 0.01% in the wild. In fact, every single mother within captivity has had its calf taken away around age 2. This isn't going to stop without your help. So, here are some more facts to convince you to SAS ( strike against Seaworld. )
Now, Seaworld talks about the animals they rescued because of probable causes, such as illness or injury, any chance they can get, like on their website “With a legacy of animal rescue spanning more than 50 years and benefiting more than 25,000 animals, responding to wildlife in crisis is a commitment we take to heart”. Seaworld will always bring up the animals they save and the animals they give “better” lifestyles to, but what about the animals that they ripped from their family and habitat in order to make a few bucks from the american people, who, for some reason, have a weird obsession over seeing wild animals in tiny cages performing inhumane acts of torture? Well what about those animals? Those animals are forced to live in tanks no bigger than 150 ft x 80 ft and 36 ft deep. An example of one of these animals would be Tilikum. A 34 year old male Orca, who weighs 12,500 lbs and is 22 feet in length was stripped from his family in 1983 from the waters in Iceland waters with no injuries or illness. Seaworld had taken a 2 year old baby orca from his family and have kept him captive for 32 years of his life. But he isn’t the only one. According to The Whale and Dolphin Conservation organization’s website “At least 148 orcas have been taken into captivity from the wild since 1961”. 148 families have been broken, and 148 orcas have died, physically or mentally, while living in tanks equivalent to a bathtub to us . While the debate over zoos, aquariums and animal entertainment are still being talked about, These facilities should be exposed and shut
Not to mention but here’s something that really caught my attention. Did you know that in captivity, Orcas live shorter lives? Orcas in the wild are expected to live for about 30-50 years. 60-70 years for males and 80-100 years for females. At Seaworld, most Orcas only live for about 13
Orca whales do not like to be taken from their family, held captive for many decades and put with other whales that they do not know. No other living organism on this planet would like to be put through the same thing. Orca whales are highly social animals, they are very intelligent, and are very emotional. If they are kept away from other whales, fed intermittently and received little attention from staff makes them get very emotional and can lead to death of people and the whales. Orca whales should not be held captive; they are beautiful creatures that are not great for people’s amusement and if they are treated poorly, they will act poorly.
And even a six year old wasn’t blind to that fact. The issue of keeping Orcas in captivity and under the care of man has been a controversial practice ever since the first dolphins and whales were taken into aquariums for the amusement of humans. In more recent times, the documentary Blackfish (which has been recently broadcast on popular TV stations such as CNN) that focuses on Tilikum, an orca held by SeaWorld, has brought to light the controversy over captive killer whales. Orcas are majestic, beautiful, and intelligent creatures that should not be kept in captivity for our entertainment because of the harm they cause. SeaWorld, a leader in the captivity and use of killer whales for entertainment, has counterattacked the points made by the documentary Blackfish, which brought many points to light.
If you have ever been to Sea World, you may have noticed the orcas’ collapsed dorsal fins. The trainers will tell you that this is normal. While it’s true that all captive adult male orcas have collapsed dorsal fins, in the wild, less than five percent of adult males have this condition. It is caused by their unnatural environment and is the sign of poor health (Rose). In the wild, orcas dive to depths of nearly 200 feet; however, their deepest tank at Sea World is only 40 feet deep. Spending so much time near the water’s surface causes the orcas to have constant sunburn (8 Reasons). Incompatibility among captive orcas leads to bullying and aggressive behavior. Aggressive orcas are known to “rake” their teeth down the side of other orcas causing open wounds. Captive females have been known to act aggressively or even reject their newborns. This behavior is not common in the wild. It may be caused by poor psychological development due to unnatural social grouping
Kirby, David. Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2012. Print.
It’s a very common practice in todays society for people to go to Sea World and see the famous shamu show while on vacation or out for a day of fun. Many people don’t fully understand how these animals feel while in captivity. Light has been shed on having these killer whales in captivity when a trainer was killed at Sea World recently. At one of the early parks called Sea Land one of the male killer whales Tilicum killed one of his trainers. After this incident Sea Land closed its doors. This meant that Tilicum was up for sale, Sea World jumped at the chance to buy him at a good price. Sea World was not fully aware that Tilicum was the actual cause of his trainers death. This was a death sentence for one of Sea Worlds female trainers. Sea World and companies like it are only in it to make money, these large animals should not be kept in captivity by any means.
Just take into consideration what happens when you are stuck in the same room with someone for a long period of time, especially at the end of a bad day. Who’s to say that they don’t feel the same way, but as long as Sea World is making money, then who cares, right? Sea World has ten captive Orcas, seven of which were born in captivity and it is said that they wouldn’t survive in the open ocean. This wouldn’t be a problem if you wouldn’t have taken their parents out of the ocean and left them to do things on their own in the first place. Sea World claims that they “couldn’t love their animals any more”.