Many people are aware of the disgusting treatment towards animals at SeaWorld but not many know of the facts. Very few people have seen the documentary on Netflix called Blackfish. The documentary follows the story of Tilikum, a captive killer whale that has taken the lives of several people and the problem with sea-parks. Just like the documentary, this article will focus on the treatment of the orcas kept at SeaWorld.
SeaWorld is an animal theme park and a “rehabilitation” center. It houses animals such as killer whales, sea lions, and dolphins. Along with housing them, they perform shows where these animals are made to do things that they wouldn’t normally do in the wild. Keeping an animal like an orca in a small tank can lead to premature deaths, avoidable injuries, and the death of trainers. Having them kept in terrible conditions is extremely inhumane.
The main issue with keeping an orca in captivity is that there is no tank in the world that can house an orca. Orcas can swim up to 140 miles a day. The tanks in SeaWorld are practically bathtubs for the whales. Even when captive-bred, orcas are one of those animals that just can’t be kept in an enclosure.
Captive-breeding for orcas needs to stop because most of those animals cannot be returned to the wild since they only know life in a tank where there's no competition. Instead, those that are captive bred should be kept in a sanctuary like many land animals. Sadly, there are currently no sanctuaries for whales so they are left to live in a small tank.
The tanks at SeaWorld are usually forty feet deep which is not nearly deep enough to give them a reprieve from the harsh elements. Because of this, orcas have sunburns which are hidden from the public by using black zinc oxide. Although zinc oxide can also be used as sunblock, it's usually applied way after a whale gets a sunburn. They can at least give them some sort of shade but that would ruin their “show”.
SeaWorld forces their animals to perform shows for their audience. They have them doing flips and holding people up. This is not only bad for the orcas but also bad for the trainers. Orcas are often called killer whales for a reason, even though in the wild they tend to leave humans alone. As of 2013, four humans have died due to interactions with an orca. All such incidents happened with captive orcas, including Tilikum were involved in three of those. Keeping an orca in unlivable conditions will make it stressed and very aggressive leading to injuries and sometimes death for most of the trainers.
As well as hurting trainers, the orcas often also hurt themselves. Because of the chlorine in the tanks, the orcas lose most if not all their sight. They are left to run into the sides of the tanks and injuring their heads. While this can be on accident, there are some orcas who become depressed and suicidal. There was an incident where an orca jumped onto a ledge and stayed there for nine minutes, after being instructed to enter the water by a trainee, She jumped back onto the ledge sort of slamming herself which resulted in her death. These actions were a result of an orca being stressed. She was placed in a tank with other orcas she was not compatible with. Those other orcas chased her around and pushed her towards the wall.
Another major thing with orcas being kept in captivity is that all of the males have collapsed dorsal fins. SeaWorld claims that this condition is common and natural for all orcas. However, collapsed dorsal fins are caused by the unnatural environment of captivity and are rarely seen in the wild. Only one to five percent of male orcas in some populations (and none in others) have fully collapsed dorsal fins. This is likely due to having no space to swim and being fed an unnatural diet of thawed fish.
Whales don’t belong in captivity. They are born to swim for miles and live longer than fifty years. Different steps can be taken to correct the terrible treatment of whales. One of which is to prevent your friends and family from visiting these Marine Mammal Parks. Though it may not seem like a lot, every person counts. To take this first step, the following is a list of the top offenders:
SeaWorld is an animal theme park and a “rehabilitation” center. It houses animals such as killer whales, sea lions, and dolphins. Along with housing them, they perform shows where these animals are made to do things that they wouldn’t normally do in the wild. Keeping an animal like an orca in a small tank can lead to premature deaths, avoidable injuries, and the death of trainers. Having them kept in terrible conditions is extremely inhumane.
The main issue with keeping an orca in captivity is that there is no tank in the world that can house an orca. Orcas can swim up to 140 miles a day. The tanks in SeaWorld are practically bathtubs for the whales. Even when captive-bred, orcas are one of those animals that just can’t be kept in an enclosure.
Captive-breeding for orcas needs to stop because most of those animals cannot be returned to the wild since they only know life in a tank where there's no competition. Instead, those that are captive bred should be kept in a sanctuary like many land animals. Sadly, there are currently no sanctuaries for whales so they are left to live in a small tank.
The tanks at SeaWorld are usually forty feet deep which is not nearly deep enough to give them a reprieve from the harsh elements. Because of this, orcas have sunburns which are hidden from the public by using black zinc oxide. Although zinc oxide can also be used as sunblock, it's usually applied way after a whale gets a sunburn. They can at least give them some sort of shade but that would ruin their “show”.
SeaWorld forces their animals to perform shows for their audience. They have them doing flips and holding people up. This is not only bad for the orcas but also bad for the trainers. Orcas are often called killer whales for a reason, even though in the wild they tend to leave humans alone. As of 2013, four humans have died due to interactions with an orca. All such incidents happened with captive orcas, including Tilikum were involved in three of those. Keeping an orca in unlivable conditions will make it stressed and very aggressive leading to injuries and sometimes death for most of the trainers.
As well as hurting trainers, the orcas often also hurt themselves. Because of the chlorine in the tanks, the orcas lose most if not all their sight. They are left to run into the sides of the tanks and injuring their heads. While this can be on accident, there are some orcas who become depressed and suicidal. There was an incident where an orca jumped onto a ledge and stayed there for nine minutes, after being instructed to enter the water by a trainee, She jumped back onto the ledge sort of slamming herself which resulted in her death. These actions were a result of an orca being stressed. She was placed in a tank with other orcas she was not compatible with. Those other orcas chased her around and pushed her towards the wall.
Another major thing with orcas being kept in captivity is that all of the males have collapsed dorsal fins. SeaWorld claims that this condition is common and natural for all orcas. However, collapsed dorsal fins are caused by the unnatural environment of captivity and are rarely seen in the wild. Only one to five percent of male orcas in some populations (and none in others) have fully collapsed dorsal fins. This is likely due to having no space to swim and being fed an unnatural diet of thawed fish.
Whales don’t belong in captivity. They are born to swim for miles and live longer than fifty years. Different steps can be taken to correct the terrible treatment of whales. One of which is to prevent your friends and family from visiting these Marine Mammal Parks. Though it may not seem like a lot, every person counts. To take this first step, the following is a list of the top offenders:
- SeaWorld
- Six Flags
- Marineland
- Sea Life