Sea World Research Paper

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.

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

Since SeaWorld opened in 1964, the park has encountered harsh criticism from the public. Whether criticized for their ethics or their oblivious harm to animals, the underwater amusement park raises many ethical questions regarding the captivity of sea animals, especially orcas. Most people are uninformed about orcas to begin with, so they do not understand why SeaWorld is such a terrible place. SeaWorld exploits animals in their shows to bring revenue to their company, while disregarding the physical and mental health of the animals. Today, people have begun to see the reasons why SeaWorld should close. SeaWorld should close their doors due to their record of unhealthy orcas, their aggressive killer whale, Tilikum, and their dishonesty to the public.

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.

For several years, Americans have been visiting amusement parks, like SeaWorld and Six Flags, to observe large animals like orcas, also known as killer whales. These whales are quite difficult to view in the wild, but can now be seen for a simple fee. Orcas are known to be one of the smartest mammals. They are friendly, and this has caused people to take advantage of them. For the past sixty years, people have brought these massive creatures into their aquariums to make a profit from their exhibitions. Often, without considering the orcas' quality of life. While kept in captivity, killer whales are forced to do many tricks they normally wouldn’t do in the wild. Over the years, there have been numerous controversies regarding killer whales

“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.

Imagine a place where you can see your favorite sea animals. Whales, dolphins, sharks, even penguins. Doesn’t that sound like somewhere you would enjoy going? SeaWorld is what comes to most people’s minds when they think of this, but is SeaWorld really that wonderful? Is SeaWorld truly what it’s hyped up to be? SeaWorld claims to be a sanctuary for animals where they keep animals like killer whales safe from the dangers of the world. Well, SeaWorld should really get a dictionary because a “sanctuary” is truly not what they give these animals. Orcas are the main attraction of SeaWorld but they are also one of the animals that suffer the most. Orcas in SeaWorld lifelessly float in their pool with little to no shade from the sun. In the wild,

In an article by Paul Koene he talks about there being three categories that inspector’s base animal welfare off of these categories include health, body, and functioning of the animal including their feelings, natural history, and their ability to use their natural instinct (Koene). Based off of these categories the welfare of the killer whales at SeaWorld is terrible. A lot of the time SeaWorld gets reports that the whales are floating lifeless in the water, they are not really provided the opportunity to use their natural instincts, and are extremely restricted on what they can and cannot do. Based off of this information the only humane way to keep a killer whale is let it live in the wild like they are built

The Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the five oceans in the world. It is home to many fish and other creatures. It is one of the five oceans that actually intrigue me. My questions were, How big is the ocean itself, what life lives here, and the trade routes of this ocean.

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.

Allowing the killer whales of SeaWorld to stay with their family would help more than anything. Orcas are incredibly emotional creatures and are very protective of their young, so when they are separated from their family it causes them great distress, but this does not stop the big companies from separating families. Most animals in captivity have been living there their entire lives. This means that they do not know how to hunt or behave as a wild animal should, which leads to the second way to fix the problems of captivity. Samantha Berg, a former SeaWorld trainer suggests, “They should release the animals that are young enough and healthy enough to be released.

There are numerous harmful effects of keeping whales in captivity. For instance, there is often a decrease in survival rates, the orcas begin to convey rough behavior, and there have been an increasing amount of human injuries and deaths within the past few years. However, some individuals believe that companies such as SeaWorld are doing the public a favor by educating families about wild whales. Also, some believe that the quality of life is better in captivity than in the ocean. However, while keeping killer whales in captivity might appear as a harmless entertainment act to the public, there are numerous cases of evidence that further support

I agree that SeaWorld is not a friendly place for killer whales. I think that if SeaWorld is going to continue to keep the animals captive then they need a better environment to live in. To give them a better environment the need a bigger tank and to be with their family. You can’t expect a huge orca to live in a cement pool their whole lives. They should be out in the wild with their families where they belong.

The sea bed was lied by more than three billion shipwrecks those are trusted; storms and accidents caused them during thousands of years of sea-borne trading. Not only marine archaeologists valuable information about the culture, but also technology and trade patterns of ancient civilizations are offered by these wrecks. But the vast majority have been so deep that it is difficult to research. Scuba divers can only act about no more than 50 meters and it has limited the operations to wrecks near the coast, that storms and plant growth have destroyed it. Manned submarines have explored a few deep sea sites such as the Titanic. In opposite, it is too expensive for such a kind of equipment for unknown subjects. However, some new mini submarine

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