Seaworld: The Importance Of Whales In The Sea World

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.

Many of the orcas being held in captivity have many problems varying from dental problems, depression, and general health. First, almost every whale being held in captivity has a collapsed dorsal fin. The collapsed dorsal fin is very rare in the wild, only 2-5% of whales have it. Its mostly caused by depression and what food the whales are consuming. The whales at SeaWorld are given antidepressants before each show because of how depressed they are. They have no freedom to roam the ocean and swim freely with their families.The orcas seem to know that there are bigger waters than the pool they swim in because they try to get out. The sides of the whale’ bodies are scratched up and their teeth are all worn down, “resulting in painful dental drilling without anesthesia”(“8 Reasons Orcas Don 't Belong at SeaWorld”). They want and try to get out. Because they chew on the pool’s wall, their teeth begins to gradually chip away, and since they bite and chew the wall, they do swallow the plaster. For humans, its like eating plastic and it would be hard to consume. The only way to clear up the whales’

SeaWorld opened in 1964 along the Mission Bay in San Diego, stretching a total of 21 acres. When they first started, their park only had 45 employees, a few dolphins, sea lions, and two saltwater aquariums. Today, several parks are spread out throughout the southern United States in California, Florida, and Texas. SeaWorld provides various shows every day with special perks for high paying guests, such as swimming with dolphins and other sea dwellers. A majority of their shows include orcas, otherwise known as killer whales. Recently, these majestic beasts have been living up to those names, attacking, mauling, and fatally injuring the parks own trainers. Blackfish, a documentary released in 2013, gets up close and personal with these stories of attack, to bring us countless reasons why orcas, and other marine life, should be left to live in their natural habitats, instead of in the concrete cells they rot in now. Orca pods are part of a matriarchal society, the females are more dominant and this can cause disputes between the alphas. When orcas are confined to a small space, these fights can get out of hand, disallowing the least dominant one to run, resulting in injury and death to the whales. Over the past 35 years there have been four deaths and countless injuries, and each time SeaWorld has placed the blame upon the trainers, explaining they hadn 't completed basic safety procedures. Orcas should not be kept in captivity for many reasons. Firstly, they are

Have you ever gone and seen orcas( killer whales) at a park like sea world. Do you really know how they feel. Sure you might be happy, but are they? At sea world they have not been taken orcas from wild, but instead they have been over breeding the ones they have already have. That is a lot of over breeding and in which can hurt the orcas. Orcas should not be kept in captivity because they have shorter life spans, it gives them health problems, and when forced to live in captivity they become killing machines.

Another reason why orcas shouldn’t be in places like SeaWorld is because the habitat is bad and small for them. One example is that often the orcas get bored when they are in captivity and start to chip of the paint on the side of their enclosure’s walls. This then ruins their teeth, which then means regular dental check-ups. (B) In a way, orcas are similar to humans because they get bored. When whales are in the wild they can swim freely and for as long as they want. This shows that they aren’t as active as in the wild. For example, often there are dominant females and sometimes those dominant females can get violent. They get so violent that they start to hurt other whales. According to article Killer Whales Should Not Be Kept in Captivity,”

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

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.

People say that keeping orca’s in captivities is not a problem, yet they do not realize that, orcas are also human beings. There are several reasons, why keeping these thirty-feet long creatures, in captivities is a problem. One of them, which are the tank, which is too small, compared to ocean where they can swim freely. One the other side, in captivities, the space is limited. Comparatively, to how they swim out in the wild “orcas can swim up to 100 miles per day- a phenomenal amount, in comparison to the exercise they receive in captivity”(Cronin). While being in captivity, orca has to keep swimming in circles or floats. Out “In the wild, killer whales typically travel in pods of between five and 30”(Melissa). In captivities there are only few whales, so it makes them more aggressive toward one another. This sometimes can be lead to danger by killing each other for fighting to gain power of the tank.

The SeaWorld trainers follow a very precise script whilst delivering shows to the public and have to be very careful with what they say. Of course, because we are so naïve to what actually goes on behind the scenes, we are brainwashed into thinking it is morally acceptable for these whales to be in captivity. For example, the trainers say that a good age for a whale to live to is around 30 years old; when in fact, a killer whale in the wild can live up to the age of 70 to 80. Does this not show we are damaging population numbers and cutting lifespans of these wonderful whales? Another fact trainers mention is that it is ‘normal’ for male orcas to have a collapsed dorsal fin - this is a common condition, they say. You will be shocked to know

Birth defects and offspring deaths are common for a captive-born or wild orca captured from the wild because, of the terrible conditions they are raised in. An orca can swim up to 100 miles a day, but are kept in a tank that’s 12 feet deep and 48 in diameter, they would need to swim 1400+ times back and forth in the pool. Dorsal Fin is very common as for 100% of males and a majority of females, it’s caused when the pool is so shallow the fin in above the surface causing gravity to apply force upon the orcas fin, this only happen to 1% of the wild population of orcas.

Some people argue that keeping orcas in captivity is not a problem, yet they do not realize some of the limitations and dangers orcas suffer when kept in captivity. One reason is that these unpredictable, thirty-foot long creatures are usually kept in a tank that is too small for them, compared to the ocean where they can swim freely. In captivity, space is limited. According to one expert, “orcas can swim up to 100 miles per day- a phenomenal amount, in comparison to the exercise they receive in captivity” (Cronin). While in captivity, an orca has to keep swimming in circles or float, unable to exercise adequately in a confined space. The small tanks also prevent orcas from living in their natural group sizes, or pods. “In the wild, killer whales typically travel in pods of between five and 30” (Melissa). In captivity, fewer than five whales are kept together, an imbalance that makes the whales more aggressive towards one another. This can lead to dangerous, territorial situations in which captive

Orcas are complex social creatures deserving freedom and respect, not captivity in theme parks under the guise of public education and entertainment. Aquarium staffs say captive whales are priceless educational tools. However, people can educate their children by bringing them to the wild instead of bringing the wild to them at the expense of the Orcas health and well-being. "The price of a family admission ticket is what continues to drive this cruel spectacle," according to Michael O' Sullivan, the Executive Director of The Humane Society of Canada (Whales in Captivity, 2010, Para. 3). Orcas suffer in many ways in

Orca whales should not be in captivity because of health issues they face in captivity. Some people believe orcas should be in captivity because they are safe from hunters. Also data on breeding and reproduction can be collected which is impossible to get in the wild. However, orcas live unhealthy, shorter lives in captivity. According to the article (“Should Orca Whales Be Kept in Captivity”) it states, “Orca whales in the wild have a lifespan equal to that of a human. In

“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.