The Orcinus orca or the killer whale is one of the
largest animals held in captivity. The first whales were caught in the 1960’s
and by the late 1990’s killer whales cost 20 million dollars. In 2013, Sea
World made a profit of 1.46 billion dollars and their business continues to
grow. Currently, there are 45 killer whales in captivity and more than half of
the whales are owned by Sea World. These intelligent animals are put under
pressure to perform for human entertainment and are being exposed to physical
and mental abuse. Sea world claims to protect the animals, and give them the
best care they can provide. After the documentary, Blackfish was released,
it gave us a new perspective on how the whales are actually treated and the
environment they are in. Many people began to advocate the releasing of the
whales, while others argue that captivity keeps the whales alive longer.
Well in a recent article, CNN had the opportunity to
sit down and interview Sea World’s vice president of communications, Fred
Jacobs, who claimed that the documentary, Blackfish was showing Sea
World in a negative light. Sea World has
responded to the comments made after, Blackfish, saying that the reason
why we know so much about killer whales is because researchers were able to
study the whales in the environment Sea World provides. In the wild these
animals don’t receive the veterinary care Sea World offers and it’s harder for
researchers to look after them. Sea World also claims they are involved in
whale rescue programs, where they nurse whales that have been found along the
beaches back to health and release them into the wild. Jacobs also declares
that the whales held in captivity have always been around humans and are
accustomed to the life they are given. Most of these whales Sea World owns were
bred at Sea World and their main goal is to teach and share their knowledge of
the whales with their visitors. In 2013, a new attendance record was made, and
the number was recorded after the release of Blackfish.
Liz
Morris, a trainer at Sea World also spoke out in an article where she explains
the role of an animal trainer. In order for Sea World to hire an animal trainer,
they need to have a college education where the person has studied animal
behavior, marine biology, psychology, and other courses that relate to animal
training. You also have to be physically fit because you’re working in the animal’s
environment and therefore Sea World encourages their staff to work out by
providing a weight room. Morris says that Sea World also requires their staff
to have a CPR certificate and to be SCUBA certified. During the interview
Morris also explained that the animals are trained using positive reinforcement
and no physical abuse is used to harm the animal. She also stresses the
importance of being an animal trainer, which is being able to build a
relationship with the animal.
In
every article where Sea World is interviewed they say that their biggest
priority is to make sure that the killer whales are provided with the best
care, and are put in an environment similar to the ones they have in the wild.
If the whales are in an environment similar to the ones they have in the wild,
why are these whales dealing with physical and mental abuse? First of all, the
whales in the wild grow up to 32 feet long and weigh up to 22,000 pounds. The
males can live up to 70 years old while the females weigh 16,500 pounds and
they can live up to 90 years old. Sea World, keeps the whales in a tank that is
only 50 feet wide where the whales don’t have enough space to swim and most of
the time, more than one whale is in the tank. In the wild, the whales live
within their pod and if they are having issues with one another they have room
to swim away. If one of the whales is having issues with another whale, the
whales don’t have room to move away causing them to injure each other by
slamming themselves against the other whales, or biting them. Secondly, Sea World doesn’t keep the whales together;
they separate the whales sending them to any of the parks around the world
where the whales are needed. According, to the New York Times, killer
whales share strong family bonds where the whales create great hunting skills
and are able to communicate with each other “creating their own dialect.” If
the whales are separated and forced to create their new pods, they won’t
understand each other because each whale has its own culture.
The
killer whales also feel trapped, most of them have been captured and
transferred to Sea World and are forced to adapt to their new environments, the
tanks. In the tanks the whales feel trapped, which they are, and begin to bite
off the rails which causes them to break their teeth. The whales are kept in
the tanks all night and are opened only when the whales perform. The whales are
put under pressure to learn their routine and if they don’t complete the
routine the way it was asked some of them don’t get fed until the whales
perform it correctly. Not only are the animals tired but, Junior Scholastic,
states that the pressure and closed environment they are in causes the whales
to act aggressively. The whales are mistreated and put under so much physical
and emotional stress, its shortening the life span of the whale. Most of the
killer whales in captivity only live until they are 30 years old.
After
researching more about killer whales in captivity, I still believe these
intelligent animals should be free in the wild where they belong. I’ve also
realized that change doesn’t just happen in a day, if we really want to make a
change we have to start doing things for these animals. An article on Uwire
made a comment that I completely agree and it states, if people continue
attending Sea World to watch the killer whales perform, the audience is going
to leave impressed with how the whales are trained and how they perform. But as
soon as the audience leaves the show, they don’t think about how the whale was
treated in order for them to perform. The audience doesn’t go behind the scenes
of the film; they just sit down and enjoy the show. These animals deserve to be
in their natural environment with their real families not the artificial bonds
Sea World tries to create. As long as people continue enjoying the shows, Sea World
isn’t going to run out of business. If we want to see change happen we need to
stop Sea World from exploiting the whales, and make them realize that keeping
the whales in captivity is killing them. The whales in
captivity are physically and emotionally stressed causing them to harm
themselves and other whales, and even act aggressively towards their trainer,
also killing them. One of the whales
owned by Sea World named, Tilikum has been involved in 3 deaths and continues
to perform at the Sea World in Florida If we can stop
Sea World from using the whales in their show we can put a stop to using
animals for human entertainment, and preventing deaths involving trainers.
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