The Out Of The Enclosures, Into The Wild : Compromising Animal Rights Essay

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.

    Neuroscientist, Lori Marino, claims that orcas are very intelligent animals. Through intensive research Lori was lead to believe “Orcas may be more emotionally developed than humans. MRI scans have shown that the brain lobes that deal with emotions are enlarged in the orcas’ brains.” Many orca researchers learned that in the wild pods communicate with each other using their own dialect, different than that used by other pods. Lori found that this is a reason why SeaWorld’s practice of mixing different orcas is cruel because the orcas don't communicate with the same “language”. As a result

The documentary, Blackfish, illustrates the dilemmas of a captive orca whale within SeaWorld. A youthful whale known as Tilikum was detached from his pod at two years old; which expressed semblances of confinement, isolation, emotional disparity, and intellectual discrepancy. These predicaments surmise into to the development of mental irregularities, which could have incited the murdering of three trainers. The foul, relentless treatment of Tilikum within SeaWorld is utterly baffling to solely for the entertainment of the populous. A quote Howard Garrett, an Orca Researcher, stated “There is no record of an orca doing any hard to a human in the wild”.

The orca or “killer whale” is a highly intelligent and self aware creature. In the wild, they are regarded as gentle and friendly, only in captivity do they live up to their nickname “killer whale”. No reported deaths have been documented in the wild, but 4 deaths have occurred while in captivity. Tilikum the orca is arguably the most infamous of captive orcas. He was captured in 1983 when he was 2 years old. Because of the stress of being deprived of everything natural and important to him, Tilikum has been involved in 3 deaths during his time in captivity. Conditions for orcas in captivity such as, small tanks, horrible health conditions and inadequate social interaction, breeds aggression. Seaworld likes to make believe they care about their orcas when, in reality, they view these intelligent creatures as nothing more than underwater cash cows. Orcas do not belong in captivity, they are going to continue to be a danger to both themselves and humans as long as they are being held prisoner.

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.

Half a century ago in 1964, the first orcinus orca or killer whale was captured and put on display (Rose 1). Today, there are forty-five orcas in captivity with about half being born in confinement (“Killer Whales in Captivity”). Orcas are tremendously intelligent, socially complex, and family oriented animals. Studying them in captivity, and at the same time in the wild, we have learned enough about them to realize that orcinus orcas do

In the early 1960’s, the highly intelligent and emotionally evolved Orcas (Killer Whales) were captured and taken from their pods (families) and their natural habitat. They were forced to live in captivity where they were trained to entertain the public while generating large profits for businesses such as SeaWorld Entertainment. However, that practice was eliminated altogether due to the unpopularity of Killer Wales in captivity and the inhumane way in which the young Orcas were captured in the wild. Today Killer Whale entertainers are no longer captured and taken from the wild as in the past but instead are bred in captivity where they are raised and trained from birth to be tomorrow’s performers. Many scientists and advocate groups for the ethical treatment of animals such as PETA have been raising this ethical issue for many years and have even proposed methods that would allow the animals to continue entertaining the public while

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

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

Throughout history, humans have utilized nonhuman animals for the benefit of mankind. This tendency increased as civilization developed, and presently, necessitated by staggering population growth and technological progress, human use of animals has skyrocketed. We eat them, we breed them, we use them as test subjects. Some people have begun to question the ethics of it all, sparking a debate on animal treatment and whether or not they have rights. In a paper on the subject, Carl Cohen lays out his definition of rights, explains their relationship with obligations, and uses these ideas to present the argument that manifests clearly in his piece’s title, “Why Animals Have No Rights”. THESIS

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

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

Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite in the documentary, Blackfish (2013), argues that captivity triggers aggression in killer whales. Cowperthwaite supports her argument by demonstrating shocking footage and emotional interviews to present a convincing case against keeping these animals in captivity and for human entertainment. The author’s purpose is to show the problems that are caused by captivity in order to aware the audience that keeping killer whales in captivity affects their behavior mentally and physically. The author writes in resentful tone to Sea World, the people who visited Sea World, and those who were present during the killer whale incident. Gabriela Cowperthwaite argues that keeping killer whales in captivity at SeaWorld affects their mentality due to how they are being treated. She makes this argument by applying pathos, ethos, and logos.

There is no debate that one of the most attractive, human friendly and intelligent beauties in nature is the killer whale, more commonly known as the orca. The orca is in the dolphin family, but capable of learning human traits and freely interacting with them without causing any harm. Their curious behavior and acrobatic moves make us enjoy their company through watching and spending time in the waters with them. However, the gradual decline in the population of the orca is a worrying trend that sparks another kind of debate. Our interactions with killer whales is endangering their survival in the ecosystem, which should not be the case (BioExpedition 1). Our interaction with the