Orcas for many years have been either captured or left helpless once they are away from their pods and spotted near shores but how come after all these years humans haven’t changed their actions? In the article “Orca Encounters” by Isabelle Groc, there have been many examples about how in the past, times have shown us that orcas wander away from their pods then find their way close to shores and near humans, which leads to interactions. Isabelle Groc explains that “animal-rights activists wanted to leave Luna alone. Some boat owners and fishermen wanted to be rid of him. First Nations people claimed he was the spirit of a recently deceased chief”. The issue with this situation was that people had different views on the problem that was Luna, …show more content…
This is a massive situation that needs to be permanently fixed. Aquariums around the world keep many sea creatures captive and orcas happen to be one of them. They are not only kept for show but also are taught to perform by trainers at aquariums for the public. John Jett and Jeffery Ventre, writers of “Captive Killer Whale (Orcinus Orca) Survival” talk about the cruelty and capturing procedures that happen in captivity. “Killer whales (Orcinus orca) were first placed into captivity in 1961 and are now found in theme parks around the world”. Research has shown us that 55 years have gone by and we are still holding orcas in captivity. How come the nothing has altered even when most humans know it’s wrong? With the whales being held hostages they are having an extremely difficult time surviving. John Jett and Jeffery Ventre state “Despite successful breeding of captive killer whales since 1985 there is growing concern for their welfare in captivity, which often includes claims of poor survival”. These theme parks where the orcas are prisoners multiply due to humans manually breeding them but they are clearly not treating them seriously and because of this matter, places like that should be shut
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
Second reason why they shouldn’t be kept in a captivity. You can’t recreate on orcas natural environment. The pods sea world cannot hold 40 or more whales which are usually in a pod. If it holds 40 orcas they will make more babies and after their gonna be so much whales and the water won’t hold that much whales. Because whales are the size of bus school and is just like 40 bus
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?
Suppose you were kidnapped from your family as a child by an alien species while your family watched in despair, crying out helplessly for your kidnappers to not rip you away from them. Now imagine then being strapped down and transported to a place unknown and once you arrive, you see that some of the other children that were also kidnapped have died. You then witness something that will forever remain engraved into your mind; you witness those monsters that took you hostage cut the children open, fill their bodies up with rocks, tie an anchor onto their feet and throw them into the ocean. The monsters then throw you into a tiny cage; you learn that you will not only never see your family again and die in that confinement but you will also work for these monsters and perform as a source of entertainment for them. You spend every night locked away into an even smaller steel cage that gives no freedom of movement at all and aren’t fed if you displease your new masters. Although this sounds like an outline for a horror movie, it is not. It is happening in real life and in our world. It is horrific, not only unethical but inhumane. This depicts the capturing process and life in captivity for public display of Orcinus Orcas, popularly known as Killer Whales since 1961. Although some laws regarding the capturing of whales have changed, whales are still being treated unethically. Just as inhumane as it is for this to be done to humans, it is equally inhumane for it to be done to animals. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, inhumanity is “the quality or stage of being cruel to other people or to animals” (dictionary.com) and that is what their captivity is...
The trainers along with Cowperthwaite believe to have them in a captivity like SeaWorld is inhumane. I agree with this documentary, Blackfish. This documentary gave a perfect visual representation on why I do not like having animals in a cage or in a small area. Having animals captive, working hard, and hardly fed is wrong, especially only allowing them in a small area to roam. Watching this documentary made me feel sympathy toward these poor animals that must go through with this harsh life style. Just like Cowperthwaite, I strongly believe the orcas shall not be held in these small areas and be allowed to live in their natural
7 of the 10 Orcas were born in captivity and they would not be expected to live in the wild. Plus, the other three Orcas have very very low chances of finding their pods ( families ). So the alternative would be to stop breeding or capturing Orcas. We also need to retire the ones we already have in captivity. Then the Orcas would be allowed to be in a somewhat more natural environment. Instead of having to do stupid tricks 24/7. After the
Let me first start of by saying that Orca's don't live up to their killer name in the wild, only in captivity. There has only been one report of Orca aggression in the wild. Only 1. In captivity, specifically Seaworld, there has been over 100 reports of Orcas putting humans in danger. I don't believe that Orcas should've ever been called by this nasty name. It was just
And even a six year old wasn’t blind to that fact. The issue of keeping Orcas in captivity and under the care of man has been a controversial practice ever since the first dolphins and whales were taken into aquariums for the amusement of humans. In more recent times, the documentary Blackfish (which has been recently broadcast on popular TV stations such as CNN) that focuses on Tilikum, an orca held by SeaWorld, has brought to light the controversy over captive killer whales. Orcas are majestic, beautiful, and intelligent creatures that should not be kept in captivity for our entertainment because of the harm they cause. SeaWorld, a leader in the captivity and use of killer whales for entertainment, has counterattacked the points made by the documentary Blackfish, which brought many points to light.
Killer whales are one of the most fascinating displays of ocean life. The killer whale has characteristics that are important to its survival in the ocean. It is interesting to know that killer whales have a plentiful diet. It is astounding to see how killer whales behave in the ocean. I plan to tell you about the killer whale, its characteristics, its diet, and its behavior in the ocean as well as the predation of the orca.
If you have ever been to Seaworld you would have had to go see the Killer whales in fact its one of the top attractions there. Through the eyes of a child, these gentle giants seem to be happy, healthy, and enjoying a playful game with their trainers. The question is are they really happy, do they get treated the right way, and why have there been deaths and injuries. Many people wonder about these things and after the movie Blackfish came out more and more people began to question how well Seaworld treats their animals. “The truth is that Sea World keeps its animals for entertainment and money and helps no one but themselves.”- Animal Legal Defense Fund
The whales are usually pregnant for 15 to 17 months; but having young every 2 to 6 years. In captivity about 163 orcas have died. As well as about 30 miscarried or stillborn calves (“10 Things…”). SeaWorld force breeds the orca’s. They do this by having the animal lye on its back while they masturbate it. The people take the sample and put it inside of a female (“The Fate of…”). They do this to make the numbers of orca’s they are capturing to go down. In all actuality they are making things worse. They have inbred these animals. They don’t know what it could do to the baby inside of the mother. It could come out with some type of deformation, and the wiring in their brains could become
With forty-three dead (Bekoff, 2013) and countless others living in torment, it’s a wonder that humans haven’t decided to free the orca whales that are held captive in amusement parks all over the world. Marine biologists, psychologists, and other specialists in the field are beginning to recognize a kind of psychosis (Bekoff, 2013) that sets in on the jailed cetaceans. With symptoms that mimic those of humans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Bradshaw, 2010), there is no denying that these underwater inmates are sick. But instead of setting the innocent free, the people in positions of power, the ones who really have the ability to make a change in public opinion about cetaceans in captivity, are choosing profit over “vitality” (Clark, 2014). But not all cetaceans live lives of torment and torture. Cetaceans in the wild seem to combine intelligence and emotion, creating familial structures that endure over hundreds of years. Possibly more interesting than the psychological theory behind aggression in captive orca whales is theory behind healthy, wild orcas. The massive mammals, when living in the wild, exhibit behavior which proves their nickname as killers to be totally false. Cetaceans process and feel at a level close to that of humans.
SeaWorld has a huge crowd advocating against it and many refuse to even step foot in the place. Well I’ve been there twice and once I even got to witness backstage and firsthand that they do not abuse the animals. People often like to bring up the fact that the killer whales have well killed some trainers before. And I’m not going to downplay it. It happened. But there is always risk when handling animals. I own a dog. My dog has bit me before. There was blood. Does this mean I abuse my dog? I love her and feed her and have never once abused her? No. And no one has even accused me of abuses my dog even though she has bit me. It is the same with these whales. They are called killer whales for crying out loud. If the trainer isn’t being careful enough, bad things can happen. And it is tragic. But it certainly does not mean
In the United States alone, there are more than 500 dolphins and members of the dolphin family held in captivity; equally thousands have died in captivity. Today, dolphins are kept captive in amusement parks, "Swim With Dolphins" programs, casinos and sometimes even shopping malls. Many people enjoy watching them perform in shows or even interacting with them in aquatic parks, but most people lack the understanding of the trauma dolphins suffer in through being captured and transported, and the often cruel conditions in which they are kept. The process of capture and the conditions in which dolphins are kept are cruel and unnatural, and can be stopped by educating the public about the significant cost of this industry to the health and life of the dolphin species, and convincing the public to not buy tickets to the different events that captive dolphins are involved in.
Now let’s take a look at Orcas and the torture they go through at places like Sea World and Sea Land. What exactly do you think goes on in there after hours? Do you think they are just trained so well that they are released overnight and just come back the next day by themselves? I sure hope not, though. They are kept in tiny wells, it wouldn’t be tiny to us, but they spend their off time in a little tank with seven to nine other orcas that could be up to twenty three feet long and weigh up to six tons and they aren’t happy so you could imagine what they do to each other while in there.