Seaworld: Killer Whales

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

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.

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.

Theme Parks such as SeaWorld confine dolphins and orcas, who are capable of swimming up to more than one hundred miles a day, in tank that are 50 feet deep and 350 feet in length. To put it in perspective, that’s equivalent to the size of a standard bathtub. SeaWorld portrays itself as a loving, fun, and family based establishment; however, certain activities can harm the killer whales emotionally and physically.

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

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,

I believe that orcas should not be held in captivity because orcas are very intelligent animals that should not be held in small tanks, also captivity can cause health concerns, lastly seaworld taking orcas from families. For the last couple of years many people might have heard many stories of captive orcas suffering health problems, being taken away from their families and you might of even hear of killer whales eating their trainers. One of the most famous whales is a whale in captivity named tilikum. Tilikum has been involved in three deaths during his time in captivity. To learn more about tilikum keep reading.

In 2013 a documentary called “Blackfish” (a documentary explaining the illnesses of orcas and the weaknesses of seaworld) was released to inform the world why seaworld was not all fun and games. In fact after the release seaworld lost $31.6 million the second-quarter income. Just one of the many things “Blackfish” told us is that capturing the orcas doesn't always go as smoothly

Many people have began to boycott SeaWorld after hearing about their cruel and unethical treatment towards their Orca whales.

As a child I remember going to SeaWorld at least once a year. My favorite thing to do there was watching the Shamu show. It touched my heart to see these trainers bonding with such a big whale. I always told myself when I grew up; I wanted to be a trainer for the killer whales. I figured I would have to go study marine biology and the schooling would take years. While researching I found that anyone off the streets can be a trainer for the orcas, all you need to know is how to swim. Even now, having children of my own, I took them to Sea World to see Shamu and watched them enjoy it like I did. Earlier this year I noticed a documentary on Netflix about the killer whales at Sea World, it opened my eyes to a whole new perspective.

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.

For over many years orcas have been held in captivity. This has been a major dilemma because animal abuse is present while capturing killer whales. Many people wonder why they capture orcas, here is why, they are used for entertainment at SeaWorld. Some of the dangers that come with whale captivity are orcas taxing their physical health, drives the killer whale’s crazy which can lead to injuries and even death for a SeaWorld trainer.