Seaworld Animal Rights

One major reason why orcas should not be held in captivity is because orcas are a family oriented type species. Orcas are extremely social animals. Orcas are very close to their family. For example, when SeaWorld orca catchers came to capture orcas in the year 1977, John Crowe, one of the orca catcher’s, said, “When we took the baby orcas and left the adults, the adults huddled in a circle and made noises to the baby orcas that were being taken away.” He also stated, “We dropped the net to let the other adult orcas go, but they stayed and huddled around the boat.” When killer whales are in captivity, they are not with their family. They are involuntary forced to live with other orcas from a different family and are

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

Why would a business do this? The answer is money. Seaworld is dependent of Orcas because it was not until Seaworld had capture Shamu the fourth Orcas capture ever in 1965 until Seaworld gain popularity. This let expand to other locations like Ohio, Orlando and many more. Shamu capture led to Seaworld being as big as it today. Money led to people forgetting ethically business practices. Therefore, no one thought about the whale they were only thinking the money come in.

On its website, SeaWorld asserts that several key points made in Blackfish are untrue. One of the film’s primary claims is that orcas in the wild live significantly longer than those in captivity, which bolsters the film’s thesis that captivity harms orcas. Great controversy surrounds this

Furthermore, the marine mammal science community, which has long maintained a neutral stance on the question of whether orcas are a suitable species for captive display, has finally recognized the need to engage. An informal panel discussion on captive orcas is scheduled at the 20th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in December, the first time this topic will be openly addressed by the world's largest marine mammal science

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.

The documentary does a great job of painting the picture of what the orcas would be like in the wild, describing these creatures as “intelligent, emotional, and caring”(Blackfish). The film further emphasizes that in the wild, mother, and offspring hardly ever separate. The relationships built by these animals are equivalent to that of mother and child, if not more loving.

Since the 1960s, SeaWorld has captured wild orcas’ for their main events. However, what SeaWorld does not disclose in the events, is how they come into possession of these beautiful animals. In 1964 a fella by the name of George Millay decided that he wanted to open up a theme park the featured marine animals. Therefore, in 1965, SeaWorld came into possession of a

“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.

Some orcas have even broken their teeth trying to get out of SeaWorld. In SeaWorld Orcas are forced to breed unnaturally and on a regular basis. Employees at SeaWorld train male orcas to float on their backs so their trainer can masturbate them and collect their sperm. Females are artificially inseminated and are forced to breed at a much younger age than they naturally do. In the wild female orcas are ready to reproduce at the age of 14. In SeaWorld, there have been instances where they breed them at the age of 10, and even sometimes at the age of 8. Katina is a killer whale that’s in the SeaWorld located in Orlando Florida. She is used as a breeding machine. Caretakers sometimes even breed her with her own children. Although SeaWorld claims that Orcas live longer if they live in captivity it has been proven that Orcas have a shorter lifespan while they are held in captivity. SeaWorld has claimed females live to 26 years and that males live up to 15 years. While according to national geographic female killer whales can live 50 to 100 years while males can live 30 to 60 years. Killer whales live longer in the wild than they are claimed to live in

One example all orcas have their own pods ( family ) in the wild. Imagine if you were an orcas and you were captured and taken away from your family to live with complete strangers. Orcas are genius animals they are one of the smartest marine life animal. This clearly shows that sea world and other marine parks that keep orcas in captivity only want the orcas so that they can make money. If marine parks wanted to have orcas for a good reason don't just for money they would be taking good care of them and instead of taking them out of their happy families in the wild and bringing them into a bad home. From the article, “should orca shows be banned” the article clearly stated that when orcas live in the wild they all have their own pod with about 5-10 whales. Each pod of orcas all have their own way of squeal and languages to communicate. It could be that when an orca is taken out of the wild and into a new tiny artificial pool they are basically being put with a bunch of strangers. Picture this if you were an orca, suddenly you fall and trip and everything has been blacked out. You wake up the next day without your family and you are put in a tiny pool with 5 different strangers and you are forced to live with them. You are then forced to be doing tricks

SeaWorld is “home” to 22 orcas between its three parks and six at Loro Parque in Spain (WDC). Tilikum, the male orca responsible for most of the newborns in SeaWorld’s captivity, The Fate of Captivewas the most talked about orca. Not only was he one of the largest, but he was responsible for the death of three people (Cowperthwaite). Most of the young orcas inhabiting the three parks are direct offspring from Tilikum due to artificial insemination. The SeaWorld breeding program, which has recently come to an end, was another factor protestors were taking into account when declaring the corporation “inhumane.” Another is Kasatka, one of the oldest female orcas and is considered the matriarch of the “San Diego pod” (WDC). Trainers classify Kasatka as a great-grandmother

Orcas should not be kept in captivity I have no doubt that orcas should not be sold or brought into theme parks, marine parks or aquariums. I have many valid and persuasive arguments and points to backup this statement. Orcas otherwise known as killer whales are the largest member of the dolphin family and the top predator in the marine eco-system. Most humans undermine orcas for dumb and silly circus animals when they should be thinking of them as what they are which is intelligent due to their amazing and unusual senses of sight and hearing.