America is a growing country with growing opportunity. Americans take pride in progress. We thrive on innovative technology and new experiences. We want to be entertained. In order to satisfy our need for adventure, we visit amusement parks, aquariums and zoos. Although we enjoy vacationing to Six Flags or SeaWorld, we rarely stop to think about the organizations we are supporting. What do they stand for? How do they care for their employees and animals? One of the most popular parks today, Sea World, has been exposed for its harmful conditions, both for the employees and animals. Keeping aggressive whales in captivity is inhumane and cruel. It threatens their health and hardens their souls. We may only pay $60 for a ticket to Sea World, but the animals and trainers pay a much greater price. SeaWorld is a leading amusement park, with revenue totaling 1.46 …show more content…
The cases range from pushes and bumps, to tragic deaths. But there is something quite common in all cases. They were all committed in captivity. To this day, wild killer whales have not attacked or harmed a single human (the orca project). There is something about captivity that pushes the gentle beasts to violence. I might bite someone’s arm off too if I was surrounded by four concrete walls. The effects on killer whales in captivity are quite disturbing. In the wild, male killer whales live an average of 40 years, while females live an average age of 60! In captivity orcas barely make it out of their teens. The stress induced on these whales results primarily because of their small living space. In the ocean, they will travel an average of 100 miles a day. They are confined to a pool containing 0.0001 percent of water that they would normally traverse in a single day in nature. They often act aggressively towards one another because their tanks are so
Since its establishment in 1964 the world famous franchise SeaWorld has been subjected to various tabloid headlines and legal investigations following the horrendous attacks by orcas, also known by their more apt name ‘Killer Whales’. These incident range from minor to major, but, there has been rare cases of fatalities from the family orientated marine parks based in America.
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.
“All whales in captivity have a bad life. They’re all emotionally destroyed. They’re all psychologically traumatized. So they’re ticking time bombs.” This is a statement by Lori Marino from the documentary, Blackfish. Many statements like this one are common and believed to be true due to the proof that the documentary provides. There are many incidents that prove Orcas, also known as Killer Whales, are harmed in captivity and that their trainers are often harmed because of this, too. Orcas should not be kept in captivity since it is harmful to both Orcas and humans.
For many years, we’ve been going to such places like, SeaWorld, and Six Flags, to see vast animals, like Orcas, also known as the killer whale, which we wouldn’t normally see out in the wild. Orcas have been around for millions of years; it’s known to be one of the smartest mammals, closest to humans. Since of their friendliness, people have taken advantage of them. For the past sixty years people have brought these massive creatures into their aquariums to make profit out of it, but never thought about their lives. What if you were kept in a cage for years, and was pushed to do such activities, you wouldn’t do in your normal life. While being in captivities, killer whales are forced to do plentiful tricks, which they normally wouldn’t do
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
This causes aggression and mental, emotional, and physical stress that leads to a poor immune system, making them prone to disease. Even though captive whales are kept in an environment without pollution and predators, they die young. For infant whales in captivity, the death rate is much higher, which isn’t fair. Aggression is also a matter of grave concern. Some examples of actions whales in captivity have expressed towards their trainer are, butting, biting, grabbing, ducking, and even holding trainers at the bottom of the pool and preventing their escape
My number one reason is that killer whales and other animals can become hyper-aggressive when confined in captivity. And i say that because the killer whale named tilikum had been kept in captivity for so long he had so much stress and frustration that eventually he
Orcas in captivity suffer from more than just physical imperfections. Dosed with drugs to help the killer whales deal with stress, they suffer terribly in marine parks. Animals and humans share the same immune system. Just as stress reduces our immune system, it does the same to the killer whale. Therefore, stress has been an indirect cause of death in captive killer whales. Killer whales in captivity experiencing stress tend to beat their head against the walls of their tanks until it bleeds. At least three captive whales have killed themselves with this repetitive motion brought on by stress. Have you ever heard of this happening in the wild? Not only does it not happen, an Orca in the wild would never bring bodily harm upon itself. Denial of their right to live in their true habitat where they belong causes the killer whales much stress, frustration, anxiety, and sadly aggression. In the wild Orcas, do not attack humans as they have in marine parks. As Barry (2010, Para, 12) explained, "Isolation among marine animals is highly stressful, which leads to abnormal behavior." Marine parks such as Sea World have what they call petting pods, where the children can pet and feed the Orcas. Orcas are given tranquilizers to help them deal with the stress and anxiety of human contact. People might not be so eager to pet these wild mammals if they knew everything the Orca had to go through just so they
Everyone loves going to marine parks such as SeaWorld and Marineland. They offer many spectacular shows with dolphins, sea lions and birds. However, the main attractions they offer are orcas, or as they are better known as killer whales. Highly intelligent and with acute senses of sight and hearing, they are apex predators. Recently, the possession of orcas has been a big topic of controversy. Many people believe that the animals are being mistreated in captivity. Their captivity limits their freedom and enjoyment. Many orcas suffer from poor physical and mental effects in captivity. Killer whales will usually travel between 50 and 100 miles per day in the wild, but in captivity all they can do is swim in circles or float for no reason. In the wild, killer whales live in pods of
It’s a average, nice summer day and you and your family decide to see killer whales at SeaWorld. Once you arrive to the place and see the large animals in the tank you’re fascinated by their large size. Killer whales, or orca whales, are large marine mammals that can be found in every ocean around the world. They can swim for hundred of miles and “routinely dive up to 300 ft” (“Should Orca Whales Be Kept in Captivity”). They also live in large family groups known as pods that they will rarely ever leave. Seeing these large animals in the tanks that they make seem small due to their large size and with other whales along with marks, mainly bite marks and flopped over dorsal fin for the males, make it questionable if they even should be here and if these other whales are family in the seemingly makeshift pod. Orcas should not be in captivity because of health problems, lack of space in the tanks, and most of them are taken from their homes in the wild where their true family is.
In the documentary “Blackfish”, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, she discussed the harmful events that have occurred when keeping killer whales contained for show and entertainment purposes. Cowperthwaite argued the fact that the killer whales become aggressive when held captive in an area too small for them and separated from their families. Throughout the documentary there were many horrifying stories about the attacks told by people who had saw the tragedies first-hand.
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
For example, this happens because killer whales hurt themselves by getting scratched to the metals such as bars in the cages, having broken teeth or jaws by chewing on those metal bars, and much more. Also, according to the article called Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way, “Marineland’s lone orca, Kiska, was trailing blood from cuts in her tail as she swam.” In most killer whale cages, adult male killer whales have collapsed dorsal fins that most trainers say that is a condition that happens often to them. But, adult male having collapsed dorsal fins are a condition that rarely occurs in wild killer whales. They also die faster by getting too much stress from captivity and many other things.
Not being able to communicate with one another can trigger aggression. In the wild, orcas have any amount of space, in any direction, to escape from harm, but that's not the case for these whales. When whales attack each other they use their teeth to rake. This leaves cuts, and sometimes whales will be covered with them from head to tail. In the wild, male orcas are kept at the perimeter of a pod, sense that isn't possible in captivity, males can be attacked viciously by the females. Also when a whale doesn't get fed because the other whale isn't doing what it is supposed to, both whales are punished and the whale that did nothing wrong catches onto this and becomes aggressive towards other whales. There has been times when whales have tried