How would you like to live in a bathtub your entire life? Never get to leave that tub, and the only purpose of your life is for the pure enjoyment and entertainment of others. You wouldn’t would you? So what makes humans think a twelve ton Orca, that in nature swims about an average of one hundred miles daily, would want to be kept in a pool its whole life? Keeping Orcas in captivity, strictly for show, when the pool is too small, and they are not kept in good physical or mental health. Some argue SeaWorld is not a problem that it is good enough for research, because SeaWorld gives them protection from the outside world where they wouldn’t survive as long, or that being kept in a pool simply doesn’t affect them physically or mentally. SeaWorld is inhumane to Orcas they do not take care of their physical or mental health, it causes the animals stress and anxiety, and causes them to be aggressive, leading to deathly situations. SeaWorld’s biggest pool is forty feet deep, may seem large to us, but not when you’re a twenty foot whale that is used to swimming hundreds of miles a day. Keeping Orcas in captivity is not in any way healthy for their
Whales in captivity have shown signs of anxiety, stress, and depression causing them to be more aggressive towards humans and the other whales. If you were trapped in a bathtub your entire life, don’t you think you’d become a little irritable and possibly a bit insane? At SeaWorld when the public is not around, usually at night, you can hear the whale’s cries of sadness and distress. Being trapped in a pool their whole life tears at their emotions and causes them to become psychotic. Over a period of thirty years a total of four people have been killed by Orcas in captivity. Three of the killings were done by one famous whale at SeaWorld named Tilikum. Compared to in the wild where there has only been one attack and killing of a
The director includes footage of Tilikum and Dawn having a good time and performing together to show that Tilikum didn’t have any animosity towards her. Thomas Tobin explains the attack and mentions that Dawn was scalped and that her arm was missing. The director incorporates actual footage from the attack with eye witness testimonies to give the audience a sense of what actually happened. Although Tilikum was responsible for the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau, another whale at the Canadian park, Sealand of the Pacific was responsible for the tragic death of trainer and competitive swimmer, Keltie Byrne. Keltie Byrne was performing with the whales as she normally did when she suddenly slipped into the pool, as she was trying to pull herself out of the pool, the whale zoomed towards her and grabbed her by her boot. She proceeded to plead for help every chance she was brought back to the surface, but no one could help in time. These two incidents serve as examples that whales shouldn’t be taken out of their natural habitat because it’s unsafe for their mental health and it’s unsafe for the physical health of the
The captivity of large, wild animals is accepted for theme parks all around the world. Tickets are sold for people to come and watch these animals live and even preform in an exhibit that almost resembles their natural environment. It is impossible for parks and zoos that use animals as attractions to provide the same resources and space they would have in the habitat they are usually found in. They can, however, help injured or ill animals that cannot survive in the wild. This is where I believe they should draw the line for keeping animals in captivity. SeaWorld has gotten a lot of attention in the last few years, especially since the Netflix documentary, Blackfish, was released. This film targets the company for the mistreatment of their orca whales. In particular, it told the story of one named Tilikum and shows the problems he and the other orca whales face while living under the care of SeaWorld. Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the director
Out of the 156 whales they have taken into captivity from the wild, 129 are dead. Including orcas bred within SeaWorld, at least 165 have died in their facilities (Schelling). Another falsehood SeaWorld claims is that collapsed dorsal fins are completely normal and common of all male orcas. It is actually quite rare to find in the wild, while every single one of their male whales has a collapsed dorsal fin (“8 Shocking Facts…”). SeaWorld also guarantees that they never separate a calf from its mother and even have posted a picture of a baby and its mother as proof. What they didn’t tell the public was that soon after that picture was posted they shipped the calf off to Spain alone to a different park. A past trainer even said that there had been at least 19 separations of mother and calf that he knew of at his location. All of these factors previously stated added up have a large influence on the whales mentally. Many whales are afflicted by psychosis and anxiety and in turn are given drugs such as Valium to keep them performing in shows. There have been various occasions, often swept under the rug by SeaWorld and away from the public eye, where the drugs didn’t work enough (Schelling). There
Suppose you were kidnapped from your family as a child by an alien species while your family watched in despair, crying out helplessly for your kidnappers to not rip you away from them. Now imagine then being strapped down and transported to a place unknown and once you arrive, you see that some of the other children that were also kidnapped have died. You then witness something that will forever remain engraved into your mind; you witness those monsters that took you hostage cut the children open, fill their bodies up with rocks, tie an anchor onto their feet and throw them into the ocean. The monsters then throw you into a tiny cage; you learn that you will not only never see your family again and die in that confinement but you will also work for these monsters and perform as a source of entertainment for them. You spend every night locked away into an even smaller steel cage that gives no freedom of movement at all and aren’t fed if you displease your new masters. Although this sounds like an outline for a horror movie, it is not. It is happening in real life and in our world. It is horrific, not only unethical but inhumane. This depicts the capturing process and life in captivity for public display of Orcinus Orcas, popularly known as Killer Whales since 1961. Although some laws regarding the capturing of whales have changed, whales are still being treated unethically. Just as inhumane as it is for this to be done to humans, it is equally inhumane for it to be done to animals. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, inhumanity is “the quality or stage of being cruel to other people or to animals” (dictionary.com) and that is what their captivity is...
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
The film focuses on one orca, commonly referred to as a killer whale, in particular by the name of Tilikum. The documentary begins as a group of contract fishermen hunt a family of killer whales off the coast of Iceland. The hunters are attempting to capture the whales so that they can be put on display for entertainment purposes at various aquatic parks around the world. They succeed in catching Tilikum, a large male orca, along with two other females, and almost immediately, an important question is raised in the viewer’s mind: What gives humanity the right to incarcerate and separate these animals from their natural environment and their families? As the documentary progresses, Tilikum begins to exhibit frustration and aggressive behavior at the amusement park due to the fact that he is being kept in a small underwater storage container when not on display. Eventually, this treatment leads Tilikum to kill his trainer by dragging her to the bottom of the performance tank and forcing her to drown. At this point, another question is presented: Is Tilikum’s aggressive behavior a product of nature, and the nature of orcas as a species, or is it due to his coerced captivity? Over the course of the documentary, a...
For 50 years SeaWorld has entertained park guests with numerous stunts involving the majestic sea creature, the orca, also referred to as the killer whale, and their human trainers. What the on-lookers don’t see at these shows is what goes on behind the scenes: how the whales got there in the first place, and the conditions in which they are housed.
Despite the orcas being trained in captivity, they are still wild animals and have the potential to be unpredictable in their personal behavior and actions. For example, during February, 2010, one of Sea World Orlando, Florida's most experienced and valued trainers, Dawn Brancheau, was attacked and killed by the park's largest orca that she had a close relationship with. The whale "grabbed her hair pulled her into the pool and brutally killed her." (Court). In addition, there have been records deaths of Sea World trainers in 1999 and 2006, both resulting from the whales' playful and social attitudes and lack of sense the fragile nature of a person and size difference between themselves and the humans.
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
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.
Orca whales are the largest members of the dolphin family. Orcas are very curious creatures, they like to sky hop, which is when they poke their heads out of the water and look around, and they can also dive to as much as a hundred feet. These social animals live in pods and stay with them for their whole lives. They are so family oriented that they can may sleep together in a tight circle and have synchronized breathing. Orcas can grow up to thirty-two feet and can weigh nine tons. They typically eat five percent of their body weight and are amazing hunters. The lifespan of an orca in their natural habitat is about fifty years. This lifestyle for them is wonderful because they can swim as far as they want to and are free. Orcas should not be held captive because the capture process is dangerous, it is not good for their health, and their trainers are at risk. Free Willy. Dir Simon Wincer. 1993.Video. Warner Bros Home Video
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
Seaworld is a giant marine life theme park. The greatest attraction to these many theme park would be those killer whales. In fact, these killer whales are the face of the park. As gigant as these mammals are, seaworld is keeping them in some pretty tight quarters. Mr. Jett and Mr.Ventre says “Wild killer whales can swim a hundred miles daily as they socialize, forage, communicate, and breed. In stark contrast, with little horizontal or vertical space in their enclosures, captive orcas swim only limited distances, with most spending many hours surface resting.” The animals don't have the freedom they need. Also when taking the whales out of their natural habit the whales tend to be depressed and not as heath in that situation. They need their freedom in the big ocean blue. Bring them into the small living units, breeding whales in captivity all for the entertainment of humans. At young ages the calves are taken away from their mothers on to a new seaworld park. Mothers of the calves have even been seen denying their offspring.
Kirby, David. Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2012. Print.
Now let’s take a look at Orcas and the torture they go through at places like Sea World and Sea Land. What exactly do you think goes on in there after hours? Do you think they are just trained so well that they are released overnight and just come back the next day by themselves? I sure hope not, though. They are kept in tiny wells, it wouldn’t be tiny to us, but they spend their off time in a little tank with seven to nine other orcas that could be up to twenty three feet long and weigh up to six tons and they aren’t happy so you could imagine what they do to each other while in there.