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Why animals shouldn't be in captivity
Why animals shouldn't be in captivity
Views on animal captivity
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Everyday all around the world, animals are held captive under no free will. They’re tortured and deprived of the life they could have in the wild. So many people protest against this awful thing but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s still happening day to day. Zoo’s, circuses, and aquariums put on shows to show off the good looks of animals but deep down inside those animals are suffering. Using hooks, whips, electric rods, and other blunt instruments to get those innocent animals to do what they say to make the crowd happy is completely cruel. Proving to the world that this is wrong can be provided by so many facts and statistics and even people opposing this topic will make you agree that animal captivity is not right in any way.
Our opinion
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But little did we know that flipper was putting on a show for the whole world to watch. “The smiles you see on these animals are not true reflections of happiness. In actuality, they hate to be enclosed in their holding tanks and are often not fed until it is time to perform their daily routines.” Says Ric O’Barry in his book “Behind the Dolphin’s Smiles”, talking about the Flipper. These animals constantly have a smile on their face weather there happy or not and that’s what makes them a money maker. Flipper the Dolphin committed suicide by taking a deep breath and not coming back up for another one. For an animal to be so unhappy to kill its self is so sad and should never happen. Most people just think of an animal and for it not to have feelings, but this just shows you that they really do have …show more content…
Some also think that the places are rescuing animals from the wild to save their lives. As much as all those people want to look past those bars and see an animal happy that’s not always the case. In a year more than 100 million Americans visit zoos daily and even though more than half of them are against animal captivity, it doesn’t stop them. “I think that animal captivity is okay because they could save some lives of animals but I still think for the most part it is a horrible thing.” (Chelsey Pinegar) I feel as though many people with agree with this statement because we want what’s best for the animal but also for them not to be tortured in any way. Any person should agree with if they have any love for animals or a
There are many activists around the world, all of different races and ethnicities, who fight for the rights of animals. Some popular animal activists include P!nk, Ellen DeGeneres, Ke$ha, Alicia Keys, Angelina Jolie, and so many more.
Since whales are normally peaceful in the wild and they only seem to attack while in captivity, the argument is that captivity is wrong and dangerous for killer whales. This argument is supported by detailed facts about how the whales are tortured and agitated by other whales with no outlet. Both female and male whales are confined to a swimming pool where they are in a way being forced to try and mate. The female whales tend to abuse the male whales, which leads the whales to become mentally and physically unhealthy resulting in attacks on trainer. In the interviews with Corinne Cowell and Nadine Kallen, they mentioned that when they visited Sealand of the Pacific that three whales were confined to a “dingy pool”. Another appeal to pathos is when a neurologist that has studied killer whales mentions how the animals are very intelligent and are well-aware of what is going on around them. (SeaWorld) Killer whales have similar brains to humans, but have a bigger part of their brain where emotions are processed. With this, whales are more aware of their emotions and the bonds they make with humans and other animals. (SeaWorld) With the huge amount of raw footage, first-hand accounts, and true information, the film is able to grasp the attention of the viewers with the amount of emotion that is shown from the former trainers and the whales themselves. With these tactics, the film effectively appeals to the
Out of the 156 whales they have taken into captivity from the wild, 129 are dead. Including orcas bred within SeaWorld, at least 165 have died in their facilities (Schelling). Another falsehood SeaWorld claims is that collapsed dorsal fins are completely normal and common of all male orcas. It is actually quite rare to find in the wild, while every single one of their male whales has a collapsed dorsal fin (“8 Shocking Facts…”). SeaWorld also guarantees that they never separate a calf from its mother and even have posted a picture of a baby and its mother as proof. What they didn’t tell the public was that soon after that picture was posted they shipped the calf off to Spain alone to a different park. A past trainer even said that there had been at least 19 separations of mother and calf that he knew of at his location. All of these factors previously stated added up have a large influence on the whales mentally. Many whales are afflicted by psychosis and anxiety and in turn are given drugs such as Valium to keep them performing in shows. There have been various occasions, often swept under the rug by SeaWorld and away from the public eye, where the drugs didn’t work enough (Schelling). There
Millions of people come from across the world to visit Seaworld every day without thinking about the lives of the animals behind the scenes. Why would they have concerns? From Seaworld’s commercials to the website, they convince the general public that Seaworld is the place to go to see the happy sea animals perform. If Seaworld is such an ecstatic place, what excuse does Tilikum, their greatest well known orca whale, have for the three attacks on trainers? The documentary “Blackfish” was created by the director Gabriela Cowperthwaite because she questioned herself after realizing Tilikum's odd behavior over time in captivity, and if there was any indisputable parts to animal captivity?
Blackfish: The Documentary Entertainment is a word that invokes feelings of fun and pleasure. It is an exciting time with family and friends filled with joy and laughter, especially at amusement parks. However, what about the whales entrapped at water parks? How do they feel about this? Are they content with their environment?
They succeed in catching Tilikum, a large male orca, along with two other females, and almost immediately, an important question is raised in the viewer’s mind: What gives humanity the right to incarcerate and separate these animals from their natural environment and their families? As the documentary progresses, Tilikum begins to exhibit frustration and aggressive behavior at the amusement park due to the fact that he is being kept in a small underwater storage container when not on display. Eventually, this treatment leads Tilikum to kill his trainer by dragging her to the bottom of the performance tank and forcing her to drown. At this point, another question is presented: Is Tilikum’s aggressive behavior a product of nature, and the nature of orcas as a species, or is it due to his coerced captivity? Over the course of the documentary, a number of killer whales are caught and brought to different aquatic parks where the viewer gets a behind-the-scenes look at what happens to these animals and their families upon imprisonment.
Tilikium has been in captivity since 1983, when he was captured outside of Iceland. Since then, Tilikium has experienced harsh conditions during transportation to and from parks and during his time at Sealand Canada. After Tilikium’s first attack, Sealand shut down and put Tilikium up for sale. SeaWorld found Tilikium’s large size, 12,000 lb, appealing and purchased him with the intent to use him in their breeding program. Tilikium’s weight also allowed him to be used for the “big splash” portion of ...
SeaWorld’s trainers are trained to perform with and feed the killer whales. Whales are rewarded for each “behavior” they do correctly (Kirby 9). When the amount of fish they are receiving starts to dwindle, they hear the trainers’ hands hitting the bottom of the bucket, and the quality of the orcas’ performance plummets.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The killer whales living at the SeaWorld park also undergo large amount of stress while living in the pools. Everyday, the whales practice tricks with different trainers. If the whale doesn’t do a trick, they are starved for the day or until the trick is completed the way the trainers want. The lack of food for an eight ton animal is critical and can lead to serious problems. Many times the whales will take out their anger on whales around them but have also been known to go after a trainer when not being fed.
The film relies heavily on the testimonies of former SeaWorld employees, most of whom have little experience with killer whales, and others who have not worked at SeaWorld in nearly 20 years. These individuals make it out to be that they are the apparent authority on all things killer whale and Tilikum that goes on SeaWorld. However, most of them have little or no firsthand experience working with any of the whales, let alone with Tilikum. The “cast” have no idea of the company’s current techniques and conditions for the
First off why holding animals captive should be abolished is that the whales get squirmy like a worm when you pick it up. One whale was was wagging his tail because he was squirmy and then hit a trainers leg and it broke. This shows that when the whale was aggressive
Lets start with zoos, where animals are kept in cages or large enclosures for public viewing. Millions of people visit zoos thinking the animals are happy, when in all reality they are miserable. You can try to replicate the animals enclosure to their natural habitat, but they can never replace their homes. An animals rights organization states, “Animals are often prevented from doing most of the things that are natural and important to them, like running, roaming, flying, climbing, foraging, choosing a partner, and being with others of their own kind,” (PETA). Although, zoos are said to ‘help’ these animals, they really are not, it is more a collection of different animals in order to show off to the audience and gain money off of them. People begin to believe it is okay to keep these wild animals captive and have their lives be controlled by someone else.
Guests leave parks believing that killer whales enjoy being in captivity. How can humans be so selfish to enjoy the presence of these animals, if the animals aren’t enjoying themselves? After the gates are close and the lights turned off, the whales spend hours alone, floating lifelessly. It’s hard to postulate that they receive world-class care. “Orcas are too large, too intelligent, and too behaviorally and socially complex to adequately provide for in concrete enclosures” (Rose).
middle of paper ... ... Freedom is precious and animals are constantly suffering mentally and physically from the lack of freedom that captivity brings to them. Although many zoos are visited by millions of people annually, they still operate at a loss and have to make budget cuts. Funds that should be used to provide humane conditions for animals are often wasted on cosmetic improvements such as landscaping, refreshment stands, and gift shops in order to draw visitors, leaving the animals behind steel bars and glass trapped in a concrete jungle for no reason without hope of ever being free.
... danger too. A good reason for captivity is rehabilitation for an animal that is hurt or wounded and could be treated. Then having a second chance back out into the wild. Also by keeping endangered species from going completely instinct by figuring out genetics of an animal. So having zoos and farms do help animals but does put them at risk.