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Captive Killer Whales at Seaworld
Outline Workplace Safety: OSHA and OSH Act
Outline Workplace Safety: OSHA and OSH Act
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Recommended: Captive Killer Whales at Seaworld
Seaworld, one of the greatest aquatic animal parks in the world, has faced a major problem in safety regulations . OSHA has investigated the trainer and animal safety of killer whales. Over the past 30 years, there have been three trainers killed by killer whales drowning them in their shows. The most recent death occurred in 2010 and OSHA quickly jumped on the case to make this a safer place. The whales are trained to perform tricks during these shows but if they start to not like something, they attack with great force. These whales make the trainer look like a toy and dive, pull and bite the trainers until they are worn out. Ultimately, most the trainers get pulled under the surface and drown. Furthermore, many people were affected by these tragedies. Seaworld itself had a decrease in ticket sales, attendance and revenue for almost all shows. The tragedies affected many others outside of seaworld as well. After the deaths, many people were angry about Seaworld’s poor treatment of the killer whales.The …show more content…
They saw a dangerous situation and they dealt with it. By not allowing anymore trainers perform with the killer whales, it left Seaworld devastated without it’s primary source of income. Even though this was a major event taken away, it was the most ethical decision in dealing with the situation. Seaworld needs to find a new event that is exciting, funny and safe that will bring in the people whom can no longer attend the orca shows. The decision reached by the court was a good decision and is keeping animals and trainers out of danger. The deaths were not the trainers faults and the whole company of Seaworld was involved in the deaths by not providing a safe environment. Killer whales are and always will be wild animals and you cannot predict their behavior. The proper measures have been taken for these giant marine animals and Seaworld will reopen with new, exciting events that will make families happy for years to
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
The captivity of large, wild animals is accepted for theme parks all around the world. Tickets are sold for people to come and watch these animals live and even preform in an exhibit that almost resembles their natural environment. It is impossible for parks and zoos that use animals as attractions to provide the same resources and space they would have in the habitat they are usually found in. They can, however, help injured or ill animals that cannot survive in the wild. This is where I believe they should draw the line for keeping animals in captivity. SeaWorld has gotten a lot of attention in the last few years, especially since the Netflix documentary, Blackfish, was released. This film targets the company for the mistreatment of their orca whales. In particular, it told the story of one named Tilikum and shows the problems he and the other orca whales face while living under the care of SeaWorld. Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the director
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 is a 2013 documentary attempting to elevate public awareness regarding the orca that are being kept in maritime amusement parks, specifically SeaWorld, and the inherent danger of their captivity. The film is effective because it raises a set of important ethical questions for the viewer while presenting with a necessary fact-based style of documentation that does not evoke gratuitous scenes of abuse in order to inspire sympathy, unlike some of the other films that are intended to raise awareness about animal abuse.
I believe that killer whales held hostage, should be retired and allowed to live freely because of the unnatural punishment and torture that Seaworld is putting them through. There has been 151 cases of aggression between Orcas and their trainers. Also 100% of male Orcas in captivity have a collapsed fin compared to the 0.01% in the wild. In fact, every single mother within captivity has had its calf taken away around age 2. This isn't going to stop without your help. So, here are some more facts to convince you to SAS ( strike against Seaworld. )
An orca, more commonly known as a killer whale, is currently one of the largest marine animals held in captivity. Countless arguments are being made, supporting and opposing captivity of orcas to be exploited as circus animals in theme parks around the world. Throughout recent history, Sea World trainers have been injured and killed by the orcas and the whales, and the whales themselves have been observed as severely depressed. If Sea World releases the whales, they would undergo an immense economic downfall and the whales would be too weak to survive in the wild if they were freed. Since the first Sea World park opened in San Diego, California in 1964, common questions have arose concerning the well-being of orcas in captivity, the dangers of humans training them, the physical capability of whales theoretically being released, and the psychological differences between whales living in the wild versus whales living in Sea World's confinement.
On February 24, 2010, this incident was a reality. The death of Dawn Brancheau occurred during Shamu show. Imagine what is was like for the Orca. I wonder how the Orca felt. If I was the Orca, I wouldn't feel bad for the trainer at all. Why? Because swimming with your mom shouldn't result in having to be forced to do tricks which ends with a crowd of high-pitched shrills. This is why believe that Seaworld isn't treating their Orca's very fairly.
SeaWorld presents itself as a family establishment full of fun “educational” activities. However, these activities harm animals physically and emotionally.
Jerry Adler in the article, Why Killer Whales Belong In The Ocean Not Seaworld suggests that seaworld trainers needs to let the whales stay in the ocean where they belong, and don't mess with them at all, because if you bring them to seaworld they are just going to want to get to know you then after a while they may kill you.
It all began with good intentions. People thinking that they can control these animals and not expect any negative impacts. It was all due to wanting to explore and entertain with the animals. However, not all animals are meant to be taken from the wild to be show animals. After many years of unfair ways, SeaWorld is doing the right thing by closing down the whale exhibit even if it isn’t by choice because it is unhealthy for both the humans and animals involved.
John Crowe, one of the hunters, is interviewed and tells the story of “the worst thing he’s ever done”. He appeals to the appalled emotions of the audience by admitting to the inhumane way they captured the baby whales. He uses an analogy when discussing the capturing, claiming it was like “kidnapping a kid from its mother”, which pulls at the heartstrings of any parent watching the film, establishing a sense of relatability. The film uses juxtaposition by examining how Crowe, a tough looking man, can be brought to tears by this horrific act. Blackfish then moves to discussing the reason behind Tilikum’s outburst by running a montage of news reports ambushing SeaWorld on the inhumane treatment of whales. The use of the rhetorical question “If you were in a bathtub for 25 years don’t you think you’d get a little irritated, aggravated, maybe a little psychotic?”, grabs the audience’s attention by creating a scenario they can understand. These events create an accusing tone that convinces the audience that SeaWorld is the antagonist of the film. Along with accusations from reporters, SeaWorld has fought many lawsuits against OSHA- the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, due to the way SeaWorld treats their animals. A court hearing is held regarding Tilikum’s behaviour due to pulled video footage of Tilikum lunging towards one of the trainers
Thesis Statement: Closing SeaWorld’s doors would be unjust, however; SeaWorld can repair its image by providing excellent care for its current residents and by shifting the business model from entertainment to rescue, rehabilitate and release at all locations.
Seaworld is a giant marine life theme park. The greatest attraction to these many theme park would be those killer whales. In fact, these killer whales are the face of the park. As gigant as these mammals are, seaworld is keeping them in some pretty tight quarters. Mr. Jett and Mr.Ventre says “Wild killer whales can swim a hundred miles daily as they socialize, forage, communicate, and breed. In stark contrast, with little horizontal or vertical space in their enclosures, captive orcas swim only limited distances, with most spending many hours surface resting.” The animals don't have the freedom they need. Also when taking the whales out of their natural habit the whales tend to be depressed and not as heath in that situation. They need their freedom in the big ocean blue. Bring them into the small living units, breeding whales in captivity all for the entertainment of humans. At young ages the calves are taken away from their mothers on to a new seaworld park. Mothers of the calves have even been seen denying their offspring.
The quest to gain international agreement on ethical and legal norms for regulation of whaling has had a long and troubled history. The modern phase of global concern over whaling ethics and conservationist management originated in 1946, when the International Convention on Regulation of Whaling was signed. Thus the International Whaling Commission was created. The International Whaling Commission was designed to control and mandate the whaling industry. From it’s beginning as simply a whalers club with scientific guidance, to the current day conservationist body; the IWC has undergone many revisions and transformations since the start. In 1982 the IWC voted to implement a “pause” on commercial whaling (which is still in effect today). Which major whaling nations, Japan, Norway, Peru, and the Soviet Union (later replaced by Russia) lodged formal objections, due to the fact that the moratorium was not based on advice from the Scientific Committee. One major disappointment of this regulation was due the fact that the moratorium only applies to commercial whaling. Thus, whaling under scientific-research and aboriginal-subsistence is still allowed. Japan and other countries have continued their hunt in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary under the “scientific research” loophole. However, environmental activist groups openly dispute the claims and continue their rally to end the whaling industry for good.