Killer Whales Kept in Captivity Essay

Anderson’s “Orca Behavior and Subsequent Aggression Associated with Oceanarium Confinement” states that, “a fundamental refocusing of our relationship with orcas is warranted, in favor of a new era characterized by mutual friendship, understanding, and much greater appreciation of these remarkable creatures than has been the case to date” (Anderson). In 1961, the practice of capturing wild orca whales to use for entertainment and educational purposes in amusement parks began; however, the captors knew little about the social complexity and strength of orcas. During this time, investors saw this magnificent animal as the proper investment to allocate revenue during the boom of amusement parks. After nearly forty years of orca captivity, researchers begin to unravel the nature of orca whales, and scientists now raise the question of if these powerful and intelligent mammals belong in captivity. Captors argue that captivity provides insight on a species is nearly impossible to study in the wild and promotes respect for the species. Activists and scientists plead that due to scientific data it is senseless to hold captive such a highly intelligent animal. Although activists and scientists create a convincing argument against orca captivity, millions of people flock to see orcas in captivity proving that

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

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

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.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s documentary Blackfish explores the harm captivity causes to whales and their trainers. Throughout the film the orca whales undergo a transformation from defenseless creatures into molded killers. The orcas in the film are portrayed as intelligent and caring creatures who are capable of grief. Through this character the development the documentary has affected how these animals are treated, as well as the public’s opinion on the issue.

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.

It’s a average, nice summer day and you and your family decide to see killer whales at SeaWorld. Once you arrive to the place and see the large animals in the tank you’re fascinated by their large size. Killer whales, or orca whales, are large marine mammals that can be found in every ocean around the world. They can swim for hundred of miles and “routinely dive up to 300 ft” (“Should Orca Whales Be Kept in Captivity”). They also live in large family groups known as pods that they will rarely ever leave. Seeing these large animals in the tanks that they make seem small due to their large size and with other whales along with marks, mainly bite marks and flopped over dorsal fin for the males, make it questionable if they even should be here and if these other whales are family in the seemingly makeshift pod. Orcas should not be in captivity because of health problems, lack of space in the tanks, and most of them are taken from their homes in the wild where their true family is.

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

The second captive killer whale was in 1964. This eventually ended up as the first whale to be kept in captivity for a period of time. Today there are 52 killer whales in captivity that have great health and are with Sea World. Killer whales should stay in captivity because zoologists are finding better ways to help killer whale survival such as research and watching the things the orcas do. They are better taken care of and give zoologist and themselves the scientific benefits they need because scientists earn more information and the whales are provided with better health

Killer whales are called “killers” for a reason. They are natural predators of the oceans who feed on sea lions and other small sea mammals. However, in nature there have been zero instances of orca aggression towards humans, even when they began capturing them (CNN Films: Blackfish.) Blackfish is a CNN documentary that was produced in 2013 and directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite so that the patrons of Sea World and their affiliates are aware of how they use their $99.99 per ticket (“Single-Park Tickets”.) Blackfish is a natural and scientific documentary about the behind-the-scenes animal abuse, poor job opportunities, and lack of integrity of these large “amusement” parks.

All in all, orcas should not be used for entertainment and live a regular life, not an artificial life in entertainment places (BBC) even though, people who work in places like Dutch Wonder Land and SeaWorld will lose their jobs. Killer whales could die in numerous ways while being held captive in tanks. The author of Former Trainers John Hargrove, wanted killer whales to go back into their normal habitat and they should live a normal life in their regular

For years, Americans have overlooked the damage that SeaWorld is causing on these wild animals. It a place that everyone dreams of experiencing a visitation of the wildlife sea creatures and the giant sea mammals. So what has people so fed up about SeaWorld; one of their main reason is orcas captivity. SeaWorld is known for their amazing orcas show, these show have the audience wowing, but no one has taken a step back and thought about how the orcas are affected during their captivity. All orcas in captivity have bad lives, they are all emotionally destroyed and psychologically traumatized, SeaWorld should be banned from keeping these animals in captivity. By focusing on losing viewers to the orca’s show, SeaWorld bypasses the

Orcas are actually the largest member of the dolphin family and the top predator in the marine environment. “Spanish whalers called Orcas ‘whale killers’ after observing them hunt in packs, killing or overcoming marine mammals, including whales” (STW - Killer Whale). Somehow, their name got turned around to what we name them today; killer whales. However, no accurate report exists of Orcas in the wild killing humans. Orcas are well known for their black shiny bodies with white patches around the eyes and stomach. This coloration has made these majestic large animals the large money makers at corporations such as SeaWorld. This enterprise, however, creates an unsafe environment for the Orcas in order to create a profit. Orcas should not be kept in captivity because it jeopardizes the animals mental and physical health to create a profit and is, therefore, inhumane.

The multibillion-dollar company that is SeaWorld, regularly has Orca shows in an Olympic size pool, 9 times that. Orcas in the wild need space to move around, and shouldn’t be kept in small spaces for health problems. Many health issues this causes are collapse fins, and dying at a premature age. In the wild, we hardly see Orcas with collapsed fins, only 1% of Orca population have collapse fins. Because of the lack of space man fins get in the way of play. There aren’t bones in their fins, so it can easily bend. Bending in the fin can be passed down in offspring. Even though whale shows bring in a lot of tourism, which helps the economy grow, it doesn’t justify the conditions these whales have to endure in captivity. Orcas in the wild have

Orcas have been held in captivity since 1961 to be exploited by major theme parks across the globe, in horrible conditions simply for viewing pleasure and money making schemes. Since 1961, at least 144 orcas have been taken from the ocean and have been sold off to parks like SeaWorld which is the largest holder of the orcas. However, it has been reported that many of the orcas that were ‘rescued’ didn’t even need to be saved and were in a healthy condition. As of December 2015, 56 orcas remain trapped and confined in pools which spread across 12 marine parks