Whaling In Captivity

“ The story of the whale is so remarkable, that were there not so many witnesses, I would not venture to tell it, lest I be accused of exaggeration.”

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

and they are dangerous in captivity. It is clear that whales should not be held in captivity. Whales

“… building a tank the size of Rhode Island wouldn’t be large enough for a six-ton male killer whale such as Tilikum, an animal capable of swimming 100 miles a day,” states an anonymous whale expert. Whales have been in captivity since 1861 when P.T. Barnum displayed the first live whale that was captured in Canada. However, Barnum had no idea how to care for the mammal and it died after only a week in captivity. (Animal Legal and Historical Center, 2014) Being up close with killer whales could give us some clues about how they interact with each other, including physical behavior, their dialect, and how their pods work together as a family unit. However, what we are finding is that whales who belong in the wild are suffering in

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

Since 1961, Killer whales have been held captive in a tank for entertainment. Helpless whales get captured from their families and get forced to live in artificial social groupings. At least 56 orcas have been captured and are currently held in captive. 23 of them were captured from the wild, and 33 were captive born. At least 163 orcas have died in captivity, not including the 30 miscarriages held in captivity. As you can tell, killer whales have a great negative impact when their in captive.

As a young child there has been so many commercials about how SeaWorld is such an amazing place for marine life animals, yet what we do not know is that most of these animals have been held in captivity against their will. Just think about it, these animals’ are made to perform day in and day out for a huge crowd, yet we do not stop and think about what it would be like if we ourselves were held in captivity. Although awareness needs to be brought to this issue, it can make this situation a touchy subject. However, awareness does need to be brought to attention of people who support these amusement parks. The life of orca whales held in captivity are dangerous and have suffered a great amount of distress.

Killer Whales are Large and intelligent animals that are kept in captivity. SeaWorld in San Diego has 23 killer whales in captivity. Marine biologist including SeaWorld critics agree that the whales probably will never be released to the open seas. How would you feel if you were separated from your family and never see them again? This is how the whales that are kept in captivity feel. Although some people think whales should be kept in captivity I disagree because this makes the whales unhealthy since they are living in a pool instead of the ocean.

The second captive killer whale was in 1964. This eventually ended up as the first whale to be kept in captivity for a period of time. Today there are 52 killer whales in captivity that have great health and are with Sea World. Killer whales should stay in captivity because zoologists are finding better ways to help killer whale survival such as research and watching the things the orcas do. They are better taken care of and give zoologist and themselves the scientific benefits they need because scientists earn more information and the whales are provided with better health

At least 164 Orcas, Killer whales, have died in captivity all of them being premature deaths. Orcas should not have to suffer in captivity and should be left alone and stay in the wild. All Orcas in captivity will die at half there age. They must live in tiny tanks equaling to us living in a bathtub. They are captured from the wild when they are young and are taken from their family and then forced to interact with other whales from different whale pods which also speak a different language then them.

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

How would you feel if you were trapped in a tank with limited space, not in control of your own life, very poor conditions? SeaWorld should release their killer whales from captivity because the whales are declining in health, the facilities are lacking in safety, and the living conditions are decreasing in quality.

Holding killer whales in captivity is a harmful problem to the mammal that requires action from both the government and the public.

They are removed from their natural habitats and deprived of the ability to take advantage of their intelligence as well as freely engage in behaviors that come natural to them such as choosing when and what to hunt, their social groupings, when to mate etc. which consequentially leads to both physical and psychological damage. These showcases of whales desensitize both children and adults to animal mistreatment and inhumanity (Born Free USA). The exploitation of Orcinus Whales is an act motivated solely by greed and carelessness. These animals are being held captive and taken advantage of so that humans can be entertained for a short time and so that organizations can continue to feed off of their publicity and make millions of dollars a year off of their pain and suffering.

Whaling has become a global environmental issue as vast numbers of whales are killed commercially and scientifically every year. Intense debate on the necessity of whaling has been stirred but failed to be resolved due to the lacking of pragmatic measures employed by the responsible parties. Whaling nations continue to defend their whaling right for cultural and research purposes. Yet, ethical and humanity issues are among the controversial disputes raised by concerned public. In February 2010, International Whaling Commission (IWC) proposed a plan of lifting whaling ban by limiting scientific whaling activities with the intention of reducing overall number of whales killed besides solving the current impasse between pro