Inhumane For Animals: The Captivity Of Sea World

In November of 1983 Tilikum was taken away from his family at approximately two years of age. Once he was in America he didn't go straight to Seaworld, he actually started at a small marine park in Florida called Sealand. While he was there the trainer used the female orcas to teach Tilikum all the tricks, but if he did not perform it the correct way there would be a punishment. This meant that neither of the orcas would get a reward which was food.the females became mad at tilikum and would rake him, meaning they would scrape their teeth across the length of his body. The conditions at the very small marine park were awful for such large animals, the tank that all three of them were put into was only 100-foot-by-50-foot pool that was just 35 feet deep. Now you would think after being trapped in such a small space would make you go a little crazy, and in Tilikum’s case it did. While he was at Sealand he was the cause of a trainer's death, he had drowned her, this was the first humane killed. Eventually Sealand shutdown, and “on January 3, 1992 SeaWorld applied for an emergency permit authorizing immediate importation of Tilikum for medical reasons.”- PBS, Frontline. Once he was at Seaworld he was put straight to work learning all the routines, but his living conditions didn’t get much better the other whales at Seaworld raked him too. The trainers soon put Tilikum into his own

The documentary, Blackfish, proves that there was and still is quite a bit of controversy over whether it is ethical to keep Orcas in captivity. Some people believe that it is acceptable since the Orcas are being treated and fed well. Other people, however, believe that this is not ethical because being kept in a tank for twenty years leads to aggression and therefore is too dangerous for humans. The documentary proves that there are many incidents, in the past, where a whale has harmed their trainer. One example of this, that made people more aware of the danger, was the death of Dawn Brancheau in 2010 (Cowperthwaite & Oteyza, 2013). The incidence has led to many different debates over the years and Sea World has had to try to refute the claims that were made about them. The claims were regarding their treatment of the whales and other issues. However, Sea World was not

Again when Tilikum was transferred he was targeted by the female Orcas in the tank and left rake marks. Due to physical damage he was put in a different section away from the female Orcas. He would stay still in a tank in the corner for hours. Considered not normal behavior of an Orca which has been ignored many times.

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.

The orcas on film have suffered greatly as a result of their captivity. The area in which SeaWorld

“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.

The book has three parts, the last part focuses on how SeaWorld management could not hide their dark side anymore. After Tilikum killed trainer Dawn Brancheau, everything changed. The captivity debate increased exponentially and questions aroused as to why an intelligent orca would commit this act. Although originally SeaWorld said that Brancheau slipped and fell into the pool, there were witnesses that told the media the truth. Tilikum grabbed Brancheau while she was laying on the surface about ten inches away and began to ram her head against the pool and dragged her to the bottom. After thirty minutes, Tilikum was captured with parts of Brancheau’s body in his mouth. Researches began to look up previous cases where Tilikum has attacked, and they did not make sense to Brancheau’s case because of how long she has worked with Tilikum. This book supports my thesis because it begins the journey to orcas being completely free. Although it may contain similar information to my former source Blackfish, this book goes into more depth as to why the animal captivity investigation

SeaWorld opened in 1964 along the Mission Bay in San Diego, stretching a total of 21 acres. When they first started, their park only had 45 employees, a few dolphins, sea lions, and two saltwater aquariums. Today, several parks are spread out throughout the southern United States in California, Florida, and Texas. SeaWorld provides various shows every day with special perks for high paying guests, such as swimming with dolphins and other sea dwellers. A majority of their shows include orcas, otherwise known as killer whales. Recently, these majestic beasts have been living up to those names, attacking, mauling, and fatally injuring the parks own trainers. Blackfish, a documentary released in 2013, gets up close and personal with these stories of attack, to bring us countless reasons why orcas, and other marine life, should be left to live in their natural habitats, instead of in the concrete cells they rot in now. Orca pods are part of a matriarchal society, the females are more dominant and this can cause disputes between the alphas. When orcas are confined to a small space, these fights can get out of hand, disallowing the least dominant one to run, resulting in injury and death to the whales. Over the past 35 years there have been four deaths and countless injuries, and each time SeaWorld has placed the blame upon the trainers, explaining they hadn 't completed basic safety procedures. Orcas should not be kept in captivity for many reasons. Firstly, they are

Imagine living life in a space as confined as your bathtub; now imagine being a subject to public entertainment and being forced to perform to earn your food. This is what SeaWorld is doing to its orca whales. The captivity of orca whales at SeaWorld is something that the world will never agree on. Some people think that orca whales being held captive will not result in an unhealthy life, while others can certainly say differently. SeaWorld is more concerned about ticket sales and the money lining their pocket than they are about the treating these amazing creatures humanely. They find ways to justify their ill hearted decisions, choosing to look the other way as the orcas are clearly damaged from living in captivity.

For over many years orcas have been held in captivity. This has been a major dilemma because animal abuse is present while capturing killer whales. Many people wonder why they capture orcas, here is why, they are used for entertainment at SeaWorld. Some of the dangers that come with whale captivity are orcas taxing their physical health, drives the killer whale’s crazy which can lead to injuries and even death for a SeaWorld trainer.

The stress of captivity drives Tilikum to exhibit abnormal repetitive behavior, including chewing on metal gates and the concrete sides of his tank—so much so that the most of his teeth are completely worn down. The stress of captivity also causes Tilikum to exhibit aggression toward humans, which has cost two more lives—those of Daniel P. Dukes in 1999 and Dawn Brancheau in 2010. Tilikum scalped and dismembered Dawn as well as breaking bones throughout her body before drowning her. Following Dawn’s tragic death, Tilikum was kept in a tiny enclosure that limited his ability to swim, communicate with other orcas, and interact with humans even further. He was reported to have been floating listlessly in the water for hours at a time, a behavior never seen in wild orcas.

Tilikum is a prime example of why Orcas should not be held in captivity and then made to perform. Being that Tilikum, at the time had 27 years at Seaworld when he had killed Dawn, he had become accustomed to the limitations of captivity and it had a terrible effect, not only on him, but the people who were trusted to protect him and the people who interacted with

Through the years Tilikum and other orcas have been the main attraction at SeaWorld Orlando, Tilikum is the largest orca in captivity. SeaWorld is a well-known animal theme park owned by SeaWorld Entertainment, which features killer whales, sea lions, and dolphins. The orcas have either been brought in or born into SeaWorld as main attractions as well as performers. In the past trainers were allowed to perform shows with the orcas, however after some situations, the board found it unsafe for the trainers. Throughout the years, SeaWorld has been faced with many issues on the diversity, happiness and health of the whales along with forcing orcas to perform. As all of the issues still stand, SeaWorld is unable to see eye to eye with animal lovers and withholds truthful information. SeaWorld should modify their practices in order to have healthier and happier orcas.

The world’s largest dolphin is known as the Orca, or a killer whale. The whales can grow up to twenty-eight feet and four to six tons. Since 1961, one hundred-fifty orcas have been in captivity and forced to live abnormal lives in small containers, that can hardly compare to the ocean. Seaworld currently has twenty-four orcas living in their three parks. Whales in Seaworld should no longer be bred and held in captivity for many reasons, such as a high risk of premature deaths, unnatural health issues, and violent behaviors to other whales and humans.

A long time ago, a single, worldwide species and the ultimate omnivore, capable of preying upon any large vertebrate that swam into its vision, including fish, birds, mammals or reptiles, was discovered. It’s social behavior revolved around dominant adult males, which used their much larger size and aggressive behavior to take command of harems of females and young - rather like a lion with his pride. This mammal was the orca whale, also known as the “killer whale”. Since that time, many of these whales have been captured for entertainment purposes and have been stripped away from their true home, the ocean. Many people believe that orca whales should not be held captive because it is not humane in many different ways and has a lot of negative effects on them.