Ethical Objectivity Of Sea Animals At Seaworld

Orcas lives are decreased significantly in captivity. Today over one hundred fifty-eight orcas have lived in captivity. “Two thirds of the orcas did not live past ten years” (Pg1). The average life span for an orca’s have only increased a small bit since the nineteen sixties but still the average life span is still very low. The current average life span for an orca is nine years. The average lifespan in the wild for female

Most people today have visited or at least heard of the popular tourist attraction, Seaworld. These tourists may think of it as a place to see marine animals do trick, like killer whales interacting with humans in a fun and entertaining way- but do we ever stop to think about the treatment or feelings of these creatures? After visiting Seaworld and seeing the famous Shamu, the thought of how living in captivity affects the animal had not crossed my mind. After researching I am now extremely concerned with the way these whales are impacted by spending their lives in bathtubs and forced to do tricks for food, all while humans are blindly funding this billion dollar business.

The latest data show that orcas are more than three times as likely to die at any age in captivity as they are in the wild. This translates into a shorter life span and is probably the result of several factors. First, orcas in captivity are out of shape; they are the equivalent of couch potatoes, as the largest orca tank in the world is less than one ten-thousandth

If you have ever been to Seaworld you would have had to go see the Killer whales in fact its one of the top attractions there. Through the eyes of a child, these gentle giants seem to be happy, healthy, and enjoying a playful game with their trainers. The question is are they really happy, do they get treated the right way, and why have there been deaths and injuries. Many people wonder about these things and after the movie Blackfish came out more and more people began to question how well Seaworld treats their animals. “The truth is that Sea World keeps its animals for entertainment and money and helps no one but themselves.”- Animal Legal Defense Fund

Orcas have an average life expectancy of thirty to fifty years, however males can reach the maximum age of sixty to seventy years,

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.

“If you love something, set it free.” This is a quote that has circulated for years, and nowhere else is it more applicable than in SeaWorld’s parks. Trainers and corporate alike claim a deep love for the animals they keep captive, but in recent years, the topic of holding orca whales in captivity has become more controversial than ever before. The CNN documentary “Blackfish” brought the conditions Seaworld provides for its orcas to the public eye in a way that had not been done before, which led to much public outrage. The containment of orca whales for educational and entertainment purposes has, in almost every way, been brought into question. Ranging from the physical and psychological damages they experience, the issues in their family structures, and the dangers that their human trainers experience, orca whales are not fit to be kept in captivity.

Since its establishment in 1964 the world famous franchise SeaWorld has been subjected to various tabloid headlines and legal investigations following the horrendous attacks by orcas, also known by their more apt name ‘Killer Whales’. These incident range from minor to major, but, there has been rare cases of fatalities from the family orientated marine parks based in America.

Some orcas have even broken their teeth trying to get out of SeaWorld. In SeaWorld Orcas are forced to breed unnaturally and on a regular basis. Employees at SeaWorld train male orcas to float on their backs so their trainer can masturbate them and collect their sperm. Females are artificially inseminated and are forced to breed at a much younger age than they naturally do. In the wild female orcas are ready to reproduce at the age of 14. In SeaWorld, there have been instances where they breed them at the age of 10, and even sometimes at the age of 8. Katina is a killer whale that’s in the SeaWorld located in Orlando Florida. She is used as a breeding machine. Caretakers sometimes even breed her with her own children. Although SeaWorld claims that Orcas live longer if they live in captivity it has been proven that Orcas have a shorter lifespan while they are held in captivity. SeaWorld has claimed females live to 26 years and that males live up to 15 years. While according to national geographic female killer whales can live 50 to 100 years while males can live 30 to 60 years. Killer whales live longer in the wild than they are claimed to live in

On average a killer whale in the ocean lives 60 - 70 years a maximum would be 80 - over 100 years. In captivity a female killer whale live to be about 29 years while a male killer whale lives to be about 17. The year gap between wild and captive orcas is so big because the orcas are too large to live in a 50 ft. deep tank. The most appalling fact to know is that the killer whales are the most prone to diseases in captivity, so they will die sooner than the life expectancy if a disease is caught such as broken teeth. Broken teeth occurs often in captivity. Killer whales are consistently getting treated for dental issues but the effects are unsuccessful. Fractured teeth are caused by biting on the steel gates, the killer whales only bite on the gates for one reason in particular that is wanting to be freed back to the ocean home they belong

It was a normal day on February 24, 2010 at around 1:30pm, Dawn Brancheau was working a “Dine with Shamu” show at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida when things suddenly took a turn for the worse. While guest of the park watched in horror the 40 year old senior trainer at the park was attacked by a 22 foot long, 12,000 pound killer whale. The trainer was scalped, dismembered, her bones where crushed, and she was ultimately drowned by the massive whale known as Tilikum. This was a day that would forever change the way that the general public would view SeaWorld. After this horrific incident Tilikum was kept in a tank for a year that was so small that it limited the massive whale’s ability to swim to the point where he would float lifeless in the water for hours at a time. A lot of people still believe that it is perfectly fine to keep these top predators in captivity, while others believe they are best kept in the wild where they belong. While reading this I want you to think should SeaWorld be allowed to keep killer whales in

SeaWorld is one of the most successful entertainment theme parks in the world due to the impacts they have on communities, jobs, people, and animals. The behind scene actions, court involvements, false information, and unreasonable animal care reveal the dark side of the corporation which is in conflict SeaWorld’s mission.

Captivity kills orcas. Very few captive orcas make it to midlife (approximately 30 years for males and 45 for females) and not one out of more than 200 held in captivity has ever come close to old age (60 for males, 80 for females). Most captive orcas die while they are still very young by wild

For example, killer whales are supposed live up to an average of 80 years (for both males and females) only live to about 10-20 years old, says SeaWorldofHurt. Also, the sea animals are all stuck in way too small cages which makes them annoyed. This makes the animals dangerous to the workers there, for example, a documentary, Blackfish says that an orca named Tilikum killed 3 workers. SeaWorldofHurt says,”The film exposes Seaworld’s horrific capture of young orcas from the families in the ocean, the misery of their life confinement to tiny tanks, and how this cruelty has led the frustrated orca Tilikum,to kill 3 human beings, although orcas in the wild would have never hurt a human.” This shows that the only reason the orca was attacking was because he wasn’t released into the wild.

“Can you imagine being in a small concrete enclosure for your life when you’re used to swimming 100 miles a day?” This is how captive dolphins live everyday, their natural habitat is swimming miles and miles in the ocean. When they get captured their lives change for the worse. In the past decade Seaworld and captive animals has been a controversial subject. Many people believe the keeping orca whales captive is damaging to the animal and affects them in a negative way. Others believe Seaworld is used to rescue animals and save them. The treatment of animals in captivity is cruel and should be stopped. Keeping animals captive is an appalling punishment.