Persuasive Essay On Endangered Animals

Any little child is able to connect the name Shamu to the massive black and white creatures that dwell in the ocean waters, termed orcas or killer whales. However, the recent release of the film “Blackfish” has aimed to revise the common opinion of killer whales who are known by the title Shamu. As the film strikes marine life parks such as SeaWorld with apparent reasons as to why these orcas should not be in captivity, the question of “Blackfish”’s validity arises. How truthful can a film be that was created to persuade its viewers to ceases visiting attractions such as the killer whale shows? Since the release of “Blackfish,” animal rights activist, writers, and amusement park aficionados have been expressing their speculations on the “Blackfish”

“The Misunderstood Shark” was written by Gregory Skomal, a biologist at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and shark fanatic. His article was published by The Wall Street Journal on August 7, 2015. The engaging title, itself grabs the reader’s attention, making the reader feel sympathetic towards the shark. Upon hearing the word, “shark”, an individual may cringe. The author makes a solid claim that our attitudes about sharks are changing, but not towards direction it needs to be. He supports his argument with strong appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos throughout the article.

Behavioral Biologist at Edinburgh University, Victoria Braithwaite in her article, Hooked on a Myth, Published in Los Angeles Times 2006, addresses the topic of “fish have feelings”, and argues that we should adopt new ways of fishing. She supports this claim by the behavioral studies and experiments, as well as the examples and similarities the fish have with humans. She adopts a determined and passionate tone for her audience, the readers of Los Angeles Times and others interested in the topic animal justice.

The panda of the sea is in danger. The local Southern Resident Killer Whale J,K, and L pods population is disintegrating quickly. This is due to habitat destruction, reproductive issues, and a limited food supply. All of these factors are causing the Southern Resident Killer Whale population in the Pacific Northwest to decrease drastically and now they are a species that is listed under the Endangered Species Act. According to whale researcher Ken Balcomb, “The SRKW population was declared Endangered under the US Endangered Species Act in 2005, and earlier this year it was listed as a “species in the spotlight” by NOAA for its lack of recovery since then”(Balcomb). With recent deaths of J28 and her calf J54, many whale activist have been pushing

The filmmakers of Blackfish carry out their argument throughout the movie with the warrant that the general public is unaware Of the happenings behind the scenes of SeaWorld shows, with regard to the treatment of the orcas. He utilizes interviews with X trainers, and a very powerful interview by John Crowe, a man who previously caught whales for SeaWorld, on the “torturing’’ Accounts of stealing orcas from the families in the ocean. The sale also assumes that the public would not agree or endure such treatment of these wild animals after learning the truth. Black fish highlight emphasizes it's emotional and reasoning appeal with the effort to make Seaworld suffer and financial downfall, hoping it will make them change in their practice. Their directors do not allow for much room and fallacies or exceptions to their claims, but during one of the interviews in the movie, it is mentioned that the specific attack by Tilikum to Dawn Brancheau could have been a result of a training error that could have upset the

In the 1960’s, there was an estimated number of 500,000 dolphins caught as bycatch per year by fishing industries alone(NOAA 8). There was an act, the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, that was passed in 1972. This act’s main goal was to reduce marine mammal bycatch. This act required that “scientific studies were initiated, observers were placed on fishing boats, fishing gear was inspected, and boat captains with high dolphin mortality rates were reviewed(NOAA 8).” The also modified fishing gear in order to reduce how many dolphins were caught. This act was an incredible success, and dolphin bycatch had “declined from about 500,000 to about twenty thousand dolphins per year(NOAA 8).” This shows how much the fishing industries had improved how they fished in order to protect the dolphins. They also made a requirement that all tuna that was caught through dolphin-safe means be labelled(NOAA 9). This allowed consumers to see what they were buying. Therefore, it became in the interest of fishing industries to catch tuna by means other than through dolphins. Today, there are only about three thousand dolphins killed every year through fishing industries(NOAA 10). There is also a clear distinction between tuna that was caught through dolphin-safe means and otherwise. Therefore, the only thing a consumer has to do is to buy

Sea World rebuttal was not considered in the documentary of “Blackfish” which clearly defines the bias views of the creator. So without choice, viewers are marked to take the side of the creator or leave the documentary feeling like a kid in a fine china shop, unable to touch or lose your balance for fear of shattering the look of the shop. Unfortunately, the problem with animal activist groups is that they force their religious views of animals on others with no other biases to consider. Hence, their real arguments are skewed and we are unable to clearly see the real poignant side without the opinions.

Much like Gabriela Copwerthwaite, PETA, or People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, have exerted many efforts towards captivity cruelty and ending the brutality though articles and movements. After Blackfish was released in 2013, many people across American and the world took a stand against the animal cruelty. PETA just recently came out with an article regarding the marine life in captivity. The article centered around the cruelty and wrongness of removing wild animals from their natural habitat and communities, keeping dolphins in captivity to live their lives as fascinations at theme parks and resort hotels, where they are forced to perform in front of crowds of people. Oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau compared the maintenance of orcas in tanks to “a person being blindfolded in a jail cell.” 
Trainers force marine mammals to learn

[Scientist Amanda Nickson from The Pew Charitable Trusts] has recommended, echoed by many other environmental groups and scientists, that the bluefin tuna fishery should be suspended, at least until there’s more effective management that might prevent the overfishing of the bluefin tuna (Walsh).

What is clear is that the fishing industry nearly wiped the black sea bass out. While fishermen take on the victim role because they can't make ends meet, the black sea bass is just trying to survive. They're listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List since 1996. And the fish owe their alarming status to

Furthering the effectiveness of Blackfish’s argument, the information used in the documentary is not only emotional, but also sensible and contains reason. One example of this occurs when the video retold how Tilikum was used to breed over 50% of the orcas at SeaWorld. To present this, a graph was used to visually show the pedigree of Tilikum. Following the visual, a report was made that because Tilikum had been found to have an angry disposition

Ever since the entertainment industry began to capture animals for the enjoyment of others, activists who believe animals can only subsist in the wild have been protesting against this monstrous act, using powerful propaganda to entice others to join their cause. The critically acclaimed film Blackfish, which highlights SeaWorld’s treatment of killer whales, apparently reveals shocking and appalling insight on accidental deaths caused by captive killer whales. One of the highest grossing documentaries of all time, as stated on director Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s website, Blackfish has captivated millions of viewers, causing them to reevaluate their values and advocating against SeaWorld. Although Cowperthwaite has stated in an interview that the “film is not at all advocating for anything,” and that she attempted to take a “journalistic approach” to documenting these phenomena, it is clear that the events depicted in the film reflect opposition to SeaWorld and its captivity of whales. Although Blackfish extensively applies human emotion and concepts to the animal kingdom to solicit sympathy from the viewers and provides misleading information to add to the sense of credibility, further research contradicts the points made in the film, rendering the conveyance of the film’s admonition against the captivity of killer whales ineffective.

The Irrawaddy River dolphin is listed as Vulnerable and has a rapidly decreasing population. The Vaquita Porpoise is listed as Critically Endangered and has fewer than one hundred individuals in the wild. We must protect these animals in order to keep balance and have these animals for future generations to appreciate.

The World Wildlife Foundation is an organization that is well known for animal rights activism. A typical advertisement by the World Wildlife Foundation focuses on endangered animal species, and lobbies for aid for such animals. The World Wildlife Foundation has recently released a series of advertisements promoting the protection of well-known predators. The animals portrayed in the advertisements are animals that are often disliked and feared. Advertisements of this theme have featured sharks, vultures, snakes, and scorpions. The purpose of this advertisement is to portray the need for all animals, even predatory animals, to be protected. This advertisement is effective because it employs the use of striking arrangement, shocking connotations,

With nearly millions of animals dying each year from being captive, or endangered species being hunted down and killed, we need to discover a new way of displaying that our world is full of beautiful animals and wildlife. Wild animals are suffering both physically and mentally from the lack of freedom that confinement imposes. These harmful environments are preventing animals from having the opportunity to live in, and be exposed to their natural habitats. Keeping animals imprisoned in cages and small enclosures just for the sake of human observation causes stress and frustration, which is risking animals overall health and well being. These morally unacceptable and cruel actions of retaining wild animals in captivity is certainly wrong.