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About animal welfare
About animal welfare
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Situation Analysis: On February 24, 2010 Dawn Brancheau, a trainer at SeaWorld, was killed when a killer whale named Tilikum pulled her into the water (Mooney). The death of Brancheau is not the first that SeaWorld has experienced throughout the time the park has been open, and it was not the first murder for Tilikum (Mooney). After Brancheau was killed in 2010, and Blackfish was released in July of 2013, SeaWorld endured an immense amount of backlash due to the death of the trainer and the treatment of the whales. Finally, in March of 2016 SeaWorld announced that the current generation of killer whales will be the last of the Orcas to be enclosed in the water park (Berlinger). Objective: SeaWorld finally sat down and identified the issue that they had to address, which was having killer whales as an attraction. In result to the issue, SeaWorld’s objective was to “create a new vision,” along with encourage their guests to “be inspired to a take action to help protect wild animals and wild places,” according to their official website ("A Vision for SeaWorld | SeaWorld Cares"). From a public relations standpoint their most sizable objective …show more content…
When the park was created more than 50 years ago, SeaWorld was saving Orcas from being hunted ("A Vision for SeaWorld | SeaWorld Cares"). Now, with the love that society has created for Orcas, SeaWorld must change their policy and create a new atmosphere for the animals. The strategy from a PR angle was to use this new idea and vision as a stepping stone to a better relate to the generation of this time. SeaWorld also partnered with the Humane Society of the United States to help advocate for wildlife protection in their parks (Berlinger). These strategies are used to change the opinion of SeaWorld in the public eye from unethical to ethical, by creating and promoting safer environments for the
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.
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.
This resulted in him spending the majority of his time in isolation, something orca whales are not used to. They are known for being social, emotional creatures. They spend their whole life in their pods and form very close bonds with each other. SeaWorld’s arrangement of whales is extremely unnatural because they put random, unrelated whales in a small area together. By doing this, they add to these animals’ frustrations of being in captivity. Years passed, and Tilikum became a part of the main show at SeaWorld. One night in 1999, a man snuck into the park, assumably to see the whales up close. He was found the next morning, draped across Tilikum’s back without any clothes. Among many other injuries, his genitals were ripped off and eaten by the massive whale. SeaWorld public relations released the easy story of a mentally unstable man wanting to have a one on one experience with a killer
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
The mental and physical stress affects the whale’s bodies, which leads them to lash out in different ways. Expressed in the “Blackfish” documentary, Tilikum shows his stress in different ways, from breaking teeth to three deaths of trainers. Tilikum, in attempt to manage stress, chewed on the concrete and metal walls of his tank, shattering his teeth. Many of the Orca’s teeth end up being drilled, hollow, or fractured. Tilikum eventually turned to a different way of relieving stress. The first occurrence happened in February 21st, 1991 where Sealand trainer and marine biologist student Keltie Byrne fell into a pool with the holding of three orcas, one including Tikilium. Keltie’s autopsy read that she was drowned by being tossed among the three orcas like a playtoy (“Orca”). The second occurrence happened on July 6th, 1999, a man trespassing through the park named Daniel P. Dukes was found dead across the back of Tilikum one morning when the park was being opened. He was found with many wounds and punctures to his body, his autopsy showed he had a profound death of drowning. The last occurrence happened February 24th, 2010 when Dawn Brancheau, a SeaWorld trainer was pulled into the water by Tilikum, who had her ponytail in his mouth. The death of Dawn Brancheau concluded that she was killed by blunt force trauma and being drowned. “Tilikum (orca)”. By levels of stress being strained, different animals take out stress
Blackfish is a documentary based on the story of Tilikum, a performing killer whale that has taken the lives of several people whilst in captivity. This documentary underscores problems within the multi-billion sea-park industry, describes man's relationship to nature, and how little has been learned about these highly intelligent mammals.
It all began with good intentions. People thinking that they can control these animals and not expect any negative impacts. It was all due to wanting to explore and entertain with the animals. However, not all animals are meant to be taken from the wild to be show animals. After many years of unfair ways, SeaWorld is doing the right thing by closing down the whale exhibit even if it isn’t by choice because it is unhealthy for both the humans and animals involved.
Tilikum is sold to SeaWorld and all of the news reports regarding the death of his previous trainer are altered to reflect an error on the trainer’s part in order to ease the public’s conscience regarding the aggressive
The fact that the animals in Seaworld are depressed and angered means that kids are going to see animals not only in an unnatural state. Unfortunately, they will also have the potential to see aggressive Orcas. Children are going to absolutely terrified by these animals when they are actually very calm. Peaceful animals. Plus, the facts that Seaworld gives their guests about all the animals are downright false! If we were going to compare Seaworld to anything, then I would compare it to a judge sentencing an innocent man to life in prison. Places like this truly show us that mankind is downright evil! Now, let's look back, what are our kids truly learning
711 million people a year sponsor the act of kidnapping, torture, and starvation around the world. If you’ve ever been to a zoo, aquarium or a Seaworld park, you’re one of those 711 million people. Lately, controversy has struck the world over the treatment of animals in those types of facilities. There are many good rehabilitation centers in zoos worldwide that help injured, endangered or ill animals, which is why a lot of people do support them. However, there is a darker side to these parks and facilities. These animals cruel pasts and hidden lives will never be heard unless we help. Help them escape their tortured lives, and see their families they were ripped from when they were only babies. Be the voice of the voiceless and shut down
Family therapy is often needed when families go through transitions such as separations between parents and divorce. According to research, “the power of family therapy derives from bringing parents and children together to transform their interactions” (Nichols, & Davis, p.18), as problems need to be addressed at their source. The children who are the most vulnerable, when parents decide to separate, exhibit symptoms which are exaggerations of their parent’s problems (Nichols, & Davis, p.18). Frank and Walt Berkman are the examples of how children cope and adapt to the stressors of family separations such as marital separations and
Perhaps the most visible and obvious structural issue revolves around the aquarium's mission statement and goals. As noted in the case study, the original mission statement "make known the world of water through education, research, and exhibition" concentrates on its goal to bring sea life to the community. The new mission statement saw the aquarium as a "responsive community resource that attracts the broadest possible audience delivering highest quality experience" and as "a culturally diverse staff."
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.
On February 24, 2010, this incident was a reality. The death of Dawn Brancheau occurred during Shamu show. Imagine what is was like for the Orca. I wonder how the Orca felt. If I was the Orca, I wouldn't feel bad for the trainer at all. Why? Because swimming with your mom shouldn't result in having to be forced to do tricks which ends with a crowd of high-pitched shrills. This is why believe that Seaworld isn't treating their Orca's very fairly.
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. For example, SeaWorld asserts “that while research suggests that some wild killer whales can live as long as 60 to 70 years, their average lifespan is nowhere near that,” (source). In the wild, average lifespan is 30 for males, 50 for females, and can live up to be 80-90 years old. In captivity, in such environments as those at SeaWorld, most orcas die in their teens or 20s and only a handful survive past 25. The annual mortality or death rate for orcas is 2.5 times higher ...