Effects Of Orcas In Captivity

One major reason why orcas should not be held in captivity is because orcas are a family oriented type species. Orcas are extremely social animals. Orcas are very close to their family. For example, when SeaWorld orca catchers came to capture orcas in the year 1977, John Crowe, one of the orca catcher’s, said, “When we took the baby orcas and left the adults, the adults huddled in a circle and made noises to the baby orcas that were being taken away.” He also stated, “We dropped the net to let the other adult orcas go, but they stayed and huddled around the boat.” When killer whales are in captivity, they are not with their family. They are involuntary forced to live with other orcas from a different family and are

The argument that captivity is detrimental to the health and well-being of orcas is growing in popularity because of the indisputable scientific evidence that presents jarring differences in captive and free orcas. Naomi Rose, author of Killer Controversy, is a mammal scientist who explains the artificial habitat captive orcas survive in: “They are cooperative predators, whose home ranges are hundreds, if not thousands of square kilometers in size and who can and often do swim almost 200 kilometers in a day. When in captivity, they exist inside a comparatively small concrete enclosure, less than one ten-thousandth of normal habitat size” (Rose). Without adequate space to travel and live, captivity deprives orcas of the exercise wild orcas have, arguably leaving them with frustration and boredom. Supporters of orca captivity argue that amusement parks allow visitors to see orcas when otherwise unable to, in contrast, the environment in which orcas are held captive does not merely resemble their natural habitat and ultimately convince them into a life of solitude. David Kirby’s novel Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity, discusses the complexity of killer whales’ brains: “Orcas not only have the largest brain of any dolphin, at twelve pounds, it is four times larger than the human brain (a

Furthermore, the marine mammal science community, which has long maintained a neutral stance on the question of whether orcas are a suitable species for captive display, has finally recognized the need to engage. An informal panel discussion on captive orcas is scheduled at the 20th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in December, the first time this topic will be openly addressed by the world's largest marine mammal science

“All whales in captivity have a bad life. They’re all emotionally destroyed. They’re all psychologically traumatized. So they’re ticking time bombs.” This is a statement by Lori Marino from the documentary, Blackfish. Many statements like this one are common and believed to be true due to the proof that the documentary provides. There are many incidents that prove Orcas, also known as Killer Whales, are harmed in captivity and that their trainers are often harmed because of this, too. Orcas should not be kept in captivity since it is harmful to both Orcas and humans.

Since 1961, 157 orcas, or killer whales, have been ripped from their homes and shoved into captivity. 127 of these orcas are now dead. With the number of captured orcas plus the number of those born into captivity, The W.D.C. (Whale and Dolphin Conservation) reports that, “At least 162 orcas have died in captivity, not including 30 miscarried or stillborn calves” ( “The Fate”1). Out of the 127 taken into captivity, 44 have died in SeaWorld. There are currently 58 orcas residing in 14 marine parks in eight different countries. 24 of those orcas are held in SeaWorld’s three parks in the United States. Since 2002, 14 have been taken out of the wild and put into these marine parks. (“The Fate”1) It is not fair for these innocent creatures to be physically and mentally manipulated and damaged. Such brutality would not be condoned if it were targeted towards a human, and it should not be condoned when targeted toward an animal. Orca whales should not be held in captivity because they are forced to live in subpar conditions, they are mistreated while in captivity, and they are led to aggressive behavior.

For several years, Americans have been visiting amusement parks, like SeaWorld and Six Flags, to observe large animals like orcas, also known as killer whales. These whales are quite difficult to view in the wild, but can now be seen for a simple fee. Orcas are known to be one of the smartest mammals. They are friendly, and this has caused people to take advantage of them. For the past sixty years, people have brought these massive creatures into their aquariums to make a profit from their exhibitions. Often, without considering the orcas' quality of life. While kept in captivity, killer whales are forced to do many tricks they normally wouldn’t do in the wild. Over the years, there have been numerous controversies regarding killer whales

I believe that orcas should not be held in captivity because orcas are very intelligent animals that should not be held in small tanks, also captivity can cause health concerns, lastly seaworld taking orcas from families. For the last couple of years many people might have heard many stories of captive orcas suffering health problems, being taken away from their families and you might of even hear of killer whales eating their trainers. One of the most famous whales is a whale in captivity named tilikum. Tilikum has been involved in three deaths during his time in captivity. To learn more about tilikum keep reading.

For thousands of years orcas, or killer whales, roamed the oceans in peace. Untouched by human hands until the freedom of some had to come to an end. The SeaWorld corporation captured multiple wild orcas until they were banned from almost every body of water. Since then, they have bred and shipped orcas between each of their parks around the world. However, this act did not go unnoticed. Animal rights activists have expressed their feelings on the inhumane living conditions of these majestic creatures and they have not and will not back down. Without hesitation, the SeaWorld corporation made many claims as to how their animals in captivity live more fulfilling lives

Documentation proves that Orcas are social creatures. In the wild they form lifelong communities, have their own unique dialect, and the calves stay with their pods forever (Blackfish). The Orca pod is committed to one another; they will stand by each other until their death. Not to mention, they will always help each other out if the need arises. The documentary, Blackfish, proves whales from different communities, subsets, and cultures are captured and forced to live with each other in tiny twenty by thirty feet deep concrete pens. Naturally, they do not get along and become annoyed, because they do not speak the same language or have the same genes, they are without a doubt different (Blackfish).Inside the pens, there is no room for them to move around let alone escape from each other. The result is always injury to the whales and in some cases death (Blackfish). Next, in the wild Orcas are free to eat whenever and whatever they want. However, in captivity, they have a regimented feeding schedule. In fact, food rewards good behavior. Knowing they are intelligent creatures, they are aware of food running low, or lack of food (Blackfish). Naturally, this causes them to refuse to listen to commands or want to continue to perfume. Instead of humans trying to understand them, their only reward, at this point, is punishment. Because of the whale not wanting to comply, they are isolated in small rectangular pools away from the others. Irrefutably, this further causes unneeded stress for the whale. There is no doubt; Orcas need to be in a stress free environment, the

As a young child there has been so many commercials about how SeaWorld is such an amazing place for marine life animals, yet what we do not know is that most of these animals have been held in captivity against their will. Just think about it, these animals’ are made to perform day in and day out for a huge crowd, yet we do not stop and think about what it would be like if we ourselves were held in captivity. Although awareness needs to be brought to this issue, it can make this situation a touchy subject. However, awareness does need to be brought to attention of people who support these amusement parks. The life of orca whales held in captivity are dangerous and have suffered a great amount of distress.

For many years, we’ve been going to such places like, SeaWorld, and Six Flags, to see vast animals, like Orcas, also known as the killer whale, which we wouldn’t normally see out in the wild. Orcas have been around for millions of years; it’s known to be one of the smartest mammals, closest to humans. Since of their friendliness, people have taken advantage of them. For the past sixty years people have brought these massive creatures into their aquariums to make profit out of it, but never thought about their lives. What if you were kept in a cage for years, and was pushed to do such activities, you wouldn’t do in your normal life. While being in captivities, killer whales are forced to do plentiful tricks, which they normally wouldn’t do

Killer Whales, otherwise known as Orcas, are not designed to be held in captivity. Over the past few years, we have seen an increase in Orca captivity, which also allows us to see a decrease in the quality of life in these animals. Within captivity, Orcas will experience a decline in mental health, limitations to it’s natural instincts as a wild animal, and in extreme cases, their behaviour will lead them to inflict harm or even kill their human companions.

Orcas are genuinely kind, brilliant, and extremely family oriented. In captivity these natural instincts are demolished. Orcas in captivity are known to suffer from depression, aggressiveness, health issues, rape, stress, shorter life

Killer whales, also known as orcas, should be released from captivity at SeaWorld. There are many problems with keeping orcas in captivity. Orcas become more aggressive, have a shortened life span, and are kept in tanks that are much too small for them, and for these reasons should be set free. Killer whales in captivity would have a much happier life if they were free.

Killer whales, which are also known as orcas, are one of the world’s most powerful predators and are the largest members of the dolphin family. They are highly intelligent and social creatures, especially because of their ability to communicate and work together with members of their pod to catch prey (National Geographic). Orcas are beautiful and fascinating animals that have attracted the attention of humans for many years, however, the lives they are forced to live while being kept in concrete tanks and being reduced to objects used only for the entertainment of humans is sickening. Captivity not only causes orcas to suffer from poor mental and physical health problems, but this can also create dangers for trainers. Despite that, they are forced to endure harsh conditions and sadly the show goes on.