Ric O Berry Case Study

Every year, marine parks attract millions of people around the world to witness killer whales swimming and socializing with other orcas and trainers, a site that is hard to achieve in the wild. The most common argument is that captivity allows the general public to observe orcas in a close proximity in a much more convenient way. PBS published an article, “Pro-Captivity Views,” arguing that orca captivity is the only option for such a large magnitude of people to observe orcas because it is nearly impossible for thousands of people observe whales in the wild, not to mention the harmful effects that the magnitude of whale watching boats would inflict on orca habitats (McBain). Whale watching is a costly excursion that many people cannot afford;

Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite in the documentary, Blackfish (2013), argues that captivity triggers aggression in killer whales. Cowperthwaite supports her argument by demonstrating shocking footage and emotional interviews to present a convincing case against keeping these animals in captivity and for human entertainment. The author’s purpose is to show the problems that are caused by captivity in order to aware the audience that keeping killer whales in captivity affects their behavior mentally and physically. The author writes in resentful tone to Sea World, the people who visited Sea World, and those who were present during the killer whale incident. Gabriela Cowperthwaite argues that keeping killer whales in captivity at SeaWorld affects their mentality due to how they are being treated. She makes this argument by applying pathos, ethos, and logos.

However it is critical to understand that when they are conserved in captivity, we prevent them from getting their main biological needs from the ocean as a natural habitat. With their wide food spectrums, orcas hunt for turtles, sea lions, crabs, seals and many other food varieties depending on their ecotypes. This makes them travel over large regions in the ocean in search of the same. Just as human beings are top of the food chain with regards terrestrial animals, so are orcas in the oceans. It is therefore important to raise our voices against this practice to avoid the risk of classifying them as endangered species. Even though the whales “gave me so much in my life and my career” (BioExpedition 1), he grew to believe that the whales’ physical and emotional well-being was incompatible with captivity. Confined to unnatural social groups for the convenience of their owners, bored and restless, forced to perform tricks for food that trainers withheld as punishment, they occasionally slipped, he writes, “into the dark side” (Adler 2).

Blackfish (2013), a mesmerizing, psychological documentary with 7 film awards and 38 nominations, presents an extensive look into the negative effects captivity has on Orca whales. The director and writer Gabriela Cowperthwaite calls her audience to action, similar to documentaries such as Food, Inc., The Cove, and Super Size Me. In all of these documentaries, the director and writers reach out to an audience that is not fully knowledgeable on a certain topic, in order to persuade them into taking a stance on a certain topic. In Gabriela’s film, she illustrates the story of Tilikum, a performing Orca who killed many people while at SeaWorld, Orlando. Though at times graphic, the film investigates the harmful effects captivity has had on these wonderful creatures and their trainers. Blackfish uses credible interviewees, powerful voice-overs, and influential outside evidence to persuade those who are un-informed of the negative effects of captivity on killer whales. The ultimate goal in doing this is to urge these individuals to take a stance against aquatic captivity.

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.

In the well-known documentary, Blackfish portrays what really happens behind the closed walls of SeaWorld and the enclosure of killer orcas. The purpose of this film was to give an inside look into the controversial life of whales and trainers. The audience was able to witness unfortunate events during SeaWorld shows and the capturing of the mammals. Many witnesses were interviewed to give factual and opinionated evidence. The usage of rhetorical devices in the documentary such as Ethos, Logos and Pathos contributes to its persuasive stance that although orcas can be kind and friendly mammals, being kept as performing animals can have deadly consequences.

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

The Cove (Louie Psihoyos, 2009) is a documentary, which follows activist Ric O’Barry and The Ocean Preservation Society to expose the brutal dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan. The film constructs a sense of realism through naturalistic aesthetic codes and conventions. These conventions relate to the texts content, style, form and audience response and reception. The Cove employs these four levels of realism to construct a sense of authenticity and to position the audience into understanding a negative point of view portrayed about the dolphin slaughter in Taiji. The convention of content in the documentary concerns the implementation of true events, as well as the casting of real people. The style of The Cove focuses on the manipulation of

Who does not love to see dolphins and whales flipping and doing tricks? Although the animals look happy and unharmed, there is a dark truth behind the captive marine life in amusement parks and zoos. Yes, attending zoos and marine life amusement parks are a part of childhood; but recently researchers have discovered just how cruel the environment is for the marine life in captivity. After studies of comparing the quality of life of marine animals in the wild and in captivity, there are multiple examples shown in Blackfish, PETA, and the Animal Welfare Institute that show that animals prosper and live longer in their natural

For years the killer whale, also known as Orcinus orca, has been drawing the attention of the public through the entertainment industry. These marine mammals have been bringing in billions of dollars to amusement parks such as Sea World, but at what cost? An idea that these killer whales can live happily and content while in captivity may be going through the minds of the public, but this cannot be further away from the truth. To have such complex creatures in captivity is not morally correct and there are many points against it, such as their level of emotional competence, violence between the killer whales, violence of killer of whales towards trainers, shorter lifespans, physical harm, and their level of intelligence. After taking a look at how these creatures function and the conditions they are put in while in captivity, there is no question about whether or not these mammals should be kept in captivity; an experience such as this affects these marine mammals just about the same as it would affect a human because of their high highly developed emotions and complexity. Since these industries do not have a natural authority over these creatures no matter the cause, the best thing they could do for these killer whales is to stop capturing them and return those who are capable back to the wild.

Case #1, page 60: The Gray Whale versus the Makah Tribe, their decision to hunt the whale to instill pride in the traditions of its culture to younger generations, and the environmental impact of this action upon the sustainability of the gray whale population.

“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.

The article “Marine mammals face threats in captivity” by David Rogers states how even in captivity animals are found in danger. An example of Rogers claim is Sushi the dolphin that died at Busch Gardens for $1.46 in pocket change. A record declare the seven month dolphin died of zinc poisoning. When the dolphin was cut open and examined they found 31 pennies, seven nickels, three dimes and two quarters. The pennies were deteriorating. The pocket change had been tossed into Sushi's pool by visitors for the playful bottlenose dolphin to chase. In Florida, the lives of Sushi and other marine mammals are only as safe as their human captors allow. The most threatful thing against the animals is the aquariums they are held in. ``We think there are problems with these facilities that aren't being recognized by the federal and state governments,`` Ken Johnson, field investigator for the Humane Society of the United States, said last week. ``Many of the facilities in this state are having problems with the care of their animals.``Governments are not enforcing rules for keeping animals in captivity safe;therefore, animals are being abused and die ,for lack of regulations.The article “Death claims SeaWorld's oldest orca ; It's the sixth killer whale to die at the park since '88 opening” by Scott Huddleston states that marine biologists at SeaWorld San Antonio are baffled by the unexpected death of an adult killer whale that had been at

In the wild, these whales live between 50 to 80 years. With such a high mortality rate with the breeding and captivity of these killer whales, big companies like SeaWorld still continue their day to day operations, to ensure that their revenue never stops increasing. But the captivity of these whales poses a dangerous threat to the trainers that are hired to perform with the whales. There are only a few documented deaths and a long list of attacks on trainers that SeaWorld has disclosed from the public. With the numbers rising on the attacks of trainers by whales, SeaWorld has done everything possible to cover up the fact that these attacks are happening because of the whales’ captivity. SeaWorld’s prized killer whale Tilikum, was involved in a death of a trainer, and yet 13 months later was rejoined with SeaWorld’s cast, and has become the most popular killer whale in the show business.

The Vancouver Aquarium houses dolphins and belugas, animals that undoubtedly experience various elements of life. Belugas and dolphins are able to communicate, can experience pain, are conscious, can make connections and develop relationships. We can assume that the animals were forced to live in a small surrounding and in isolation, which in turn could affect their emotional, physical, and psychological state. They are removed from their natural habitat, separated from the rest of their species, exploited, and deprived of their freedom. Being in captivity, the belugas and dolphins are not allowed to breed naturally and thus have limited sexual activity (Vancouver Aquarium). We can also assume that the well being of an animal or a living thing should not be compromised for the sake of frivolous endeavours such as entertainment and generating financial gains.