The Research On Marine Mammal Captivity

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.

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

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.

Furthermore, the marine mammal science community, which has long maintained a neutral stance on the question of whether orcas are a suitable species for captive display, has finally recognized the need to engage. An informal panel discussion on captive orcas is scheduled at the 20th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in December, the first time this topic will be openly addressed by the world's largest marine mammal science

The issue on whether or not to keep animals in captivity has been debated heavily for a long time. With species such as the panda on the verge of extinction to mistreatment of marine mammals in theme parks such as Sea World, keeping wild animals under the care of humans has been a struggle and a highly controversial topic. Even though many people believe that animals should not be kept in captivity because humans are incapable of fully understanding and providing specific needs for wild animals, certain animals can be kept happy and healthy in captivity, and these animals are an important educational tool for teaching people of all ages about biology, biodiversity, and the ecosystems of the world.

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 the Article, “The Encyclopedia of Tourism and Recreation in Marine Environments” it explains the welfare of marine wildlife held in captivity. Frohoff explains that over the past decade the welfare of all captive marine wildlife has burgeoned with growing bodies of research documenting the pain, fear, sentience, suffering, and emotion of the appropriate treatment of marine animals. We need to take into consideration on what is humane, justifiable, responsible, legal, and ethical marine tourism for captive animals. The tricks and trainer behaviors that we as the public enjoy seeing can have a fatal consequence not only for the animals themselves but also for the trainers conducting the behaviors and the public. We have made these animals public figures, so we should solve the question of how to correctly take care of these animals. The rise in death counts between the animals, trainers, and public is an exceeding number that needs to be taken into consideration. The article claims and important perspective on the welfare of the Orcinus Orcas and all marine wildlife in captivity. We as the trainers and captors need to solve what is humane, justifiable, responsible, legal, and emotionally ethical for these intelligent animals because then it would lead us to take better care of the animal and there be less worry and

The topic at hand is the captivity of orcas in institutions like SeaWorld. This issue

According to hsus.org, the stress on the whales in captivity can cause stomach ulcers, and pacing.

Subtopic 2: Do we learn more about orcas by them being held in captivity vs gathering information from wild orcas?

Do you think that animals should be kept in captivity there whole life's. When people put animals in zoos or captivity that keeps the animal safe. Although keeping animals in captivity is bad because they don’t get to be themselves, they should keep animals in zoos or captivity because it helps them not go extinct, it brings happiness to families that go the zoo, and zoos bring in enough money to build better animal enclosures.

In the article “Wild vs Captivity” the author tries to emphasize all the damage in every aspect of the Cetaceans’ life which are constantly in danger while on captivity contrasting it to their natural wildlife. The article informs about the differences that those whales in captivity present when comparing to other whales that live in the ocean, including aspects like feeding, behavior, life cycle, calf’s characteristics, appearance between others. The article is fully complete with information and reliable facts which can be trusted because of the naming the organization have. Using the information given by Animal Welfare Institution I would prove that captivity have side effects in these mammals and the keeping of them in SeaWorld in not only

The Vancouver Aquarium houses dolphins and belugas, animals that undoubtedly experience various elements of life. Belugas and dolphins are able to communicate, can experience pain, are conscious, can make connections and develop relationships. We can assume that the animals were forced to live in a small surrounding and in isolation, which in turn could affect their emotional, physical, and psychological state. They are removed from their natural habitat, separated from the rest of their species, exploited, and deprived of their freedom. Being in captivity, the belugas and dolphins are not allowed to breed naturally and thus have limited sexual activity (Vancouver Aquarium). We can also assume that the well being of an animal or a living thing should not be compromised for the sake of frivolous endeavours such as entertainment and generating financial gains.

viewing Dolphins that are held in tanks do not replicate their natural habitats. the dolphins are trained to behave in ways that they would not in the wild. This does not give people an insight into the dolphins natural behavior. Scientific research involving captive dolphins only advanced scientists understanding of dolphins to a small extent. Most of the published scientific research from dolphins in captivity addresses captive breeding practices. This research does not benefit conservation as it is only used in

There is something about dolphins that fascinates me. They are some of the most intelligent and beautiful animals that I have ever seen. Their faces are so cute that every time I look at a dolphin it looks like it is smiling at me and wants to tell me something. The noises they make represent some kind of language and it makes me wonder if they can really communicate. I also want to know what kind of feeling they have and whether they have emotions. This is why I chose to do this I-search project on dolphins; the different kinds of dolphins there are, the places that they can be found and their mental abilities.