The Pros And Cons Of Animal Prisons

The controversial documentary Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite rose to popularity four years ago in 2013, when it was released. Blackfish tells the stories of killer whales, or orcas, that were caught and kept in captivity, and the effects that arose due to their capture. The documentary focuses on Tilikum, an orca caught in 1983, who was kept in captivity in SeaWorld Orlando since his capture for 34 years. Blackfish does an excellent job in using all three rhetorical appeals, providing many real life examples and statistics, to defend their argument that orcas should never be captured or held in captivity.

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.

Black Fish uses the death of a recognized Killer Whale trainer at SeaWorld, Dawn Brancheau who was one of Tilikums trainers thorough his twenty years in captivity, almost as a framing device to explore the theory that possessing Orcas in captivity is corrupt and unnatural for the whales. In Black fish, there are many different tragedies that went on while the Orcas were in captivity. Fisher men separated the young from the mothers and took them into SeaWorld. Many of the workers were unaware of all of the immoral actions they were taking part in. Tilikum was the Killer Whale that ended up killing Dawn Brancheau and causing a stir in SeaWorld. Having Orcas in captivity damages them but, the trainers were scared to leave because they want to continue to care for the whales. There is a relationship shared with the trainers and the whales yet it is obvious that very little was taught in the SeaWorld industry about these intelligent mammals.

In November of 1983 Tilikum was taken away from his family at approximately two years of age. Once he was in America he didn't go straight to Seaworld, he actually started at a small marine park in Florida called Sealand. While he was there the trainer used the female orcas to teach Tilikum all the tricks, but if he did not perform it the correct way there would be a punishment. This meant that neither of the orcas would get a reward which was food.the females became mad at tilikum and would rake him, meaning they would scrape their teeth across the length of his body. The conditions at the very small marine park were awful for such large animals, the tank that all three of them were put into was only 100-foot-by-50-foot pool that was just 35 feet deep. Now you would think after being trapped in such a small space would make you go a little crazy, and in Tilikum’s case it did. While he was at Sealand he was the cause of a trainer's death, he had drowned her, this was the first humane killed. Eventually Sealand shutdown, and “on January 3, 1992 SeaWorld applied for an emergency permit authorizing immediate importation of Tilikum for medical reasons.”- PBS, Frontline. Once he was at Seaworld he was put straight to work learning all the routines, but his living conditions didn’t get much better the other whales at Seaworld raked him too. The trainers soon put Tilikum into his own

The documentary, Blackfish, proves that there was and still is quite a bit of controversy over whether it is ethical to keep Orcas in captivity. Some people believe that it is acceptable since the Orcas are being treated and fed well. Other people, however, believe that this is not ethical because being kept in a tank for twenty years leads to aggression and therefore is too dangerous for humans. The documentary proves that there are many incidents, in the past, where a whale has harmed their trainer. One example of this, that made people more aware of the danger, was the death of Dawn Brancheau in 2010 (Cowperthwaite & Oteyza, 2013). The incidence has led to many different debates over the years and Sea World has had to try to refute the claims that were made about them. The claims were regarding their treatment of the whales and other issues. However, Sea World was not

Ideas that are powerful effectively influence and evoke cognition of the audience, hence composers aim to present powerful ideas in their documentary. Blackfish is a documentary which concerns the captivity of Tilikum, an orca held by SeaWorld involved in the deaths of three individuals, and the consequences of keeping orcas in captivity. In the documentary "Blackfish" composed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the idea of animal cruelty is explored. Through various documentary and cinematic techniques and emotional appeals, Blackfish exemplifies their argument and engages its audience in the discussion of the Marine Park industry and the effect of animal conservation.

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.

In 2010, Tillikum killed Dawn Brancheau, as described in a recent news article: “The SeaWorld trainer, he crushed, dismembered, and partially swallowed" (Brower). Tillikum grabbed the trainer and dragged her into the water. After seeing these incidents occur, people have urged SeaWorld to ban these activities. Permitting such activities will create more problems that can cause the injury and death of more people like Dawn, who love and cared for the animals.

Blackfish, a documentary by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, analyzes the horrific treatment, containment, and use of Orca whales within entertainment facilities. The discussion of treatment began in 2010, when Dawn Brancheau was killed and drowned by the whale, Tilikum. Since this incident, there have been multiple investigations into SeaWorld and similar facilities. It is argued that the whales should be released from these facilities due to the posed dangers they have to humans, and themselves.

There are currently sixty orcas held in captivity in at least fourteen marine parks in eight different countries. The captivity of the Orcinus Orcas or better known as Shamu the Killer whale for decades have been in the hands of man. For decades the question of what is humane, justifiable thing to do for these intelligent creatures? Should the Orcas be kept in captivity? Since the 1960s orcas have been used as a use of public entertainment for the world to see. The other side of this says that these orcas can benefit from being in captivity to show how intelligent these animals can be. They can be a use of profit for these parks and major entertainment companies. So, trainers say that captivity gives us the opportunity to research and study

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

Since being captured in 1983, Tilikum has been involved in three deaths of highly experienced trainers. The most recent and most controversial death would be that of Senior Trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010. SeaWorld’s official report faulted Dawn, saying that Tilikum seized Dawn’s ponytail and pulled her down under the water and drowned her. When video was uncovered, SeaWorld said that this was an accident.

The death of Dawn Brancheau made national news back in 2010. Dawn was working as an orca trainer at the SeaWorld of Orlando when the tragic accident occurred. While doing a relationship session with Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity, Dawn was pulled into the water and drowned. It was a story that not only shocked the nation but left people wondering how something so horrible could happen. Gabriela Cowperthwaite‘s use of the accounts of retired SeaWorld trainers exposed the harsh reality of captured animals in her documentary Blackfish. In creating a piece focused on the life of one orca, Cowperthwaite has allowed viewers to look into the lives of captured animals and has shown the greater social issue of animal rights, the treatment

There came a time when Tilikum was not focused on his job and became just nonchalant about everything including not being fed or rewarded for good work. He basically gave up after seeing his life as such a torturing routine. As one of the newscast members says in the film, “If you were in a bathtub for twenty-five years, don’t you think you’d get a little irritated, aggravated, maybe a little psychotic?” This rhetorical question makes a viewer really respond to oneself on what they think about the maltreatment that these whales are subjected to for years.

The Vancouver Aquarium uses dolphins and belugas to provide entertainment and utilizes the profit gained, to aid them in research. In The Case for Animal Rights, Tom Regan’s moral principles state that there should be total abolition of the use of animals in science as well as for entertainment purposes (337). Moreover, he claims that humans and animals have equal values and rights. Based on this principle, I argue that the practices of the Vancouver Aquarium of using belugas and dolphins for scientific and entertainment purposes is immoral and thus unjustified.