SeaWorld needs to stop keeping orcas in captivity. SeaWorld treats its orcas like they are objects, made to perform, who have no feelings or emotions. SeaWorld disregards its orcas’ mental and physical health and only sees orcas as a paycheck and money in its pocket, SeaWorld exploits its orcas until they die.
Tilikum, an Icelandic orca taken from the wild, killed three people.according to Newsweek.com, stress from captivity caused him to kill. After he killed a SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, he was kept hidden in a small tank away from the public’s eye where he lived until he died.
Orcas normally never kill or attack humans in the wild but it has shown attacks were more common from orcas in captivity. Not only is SeaWorld harming orcas, they are putting their staff in harm’s way.
Orcas travel long distances in the wild but in captivity they were confined to tiny tanks. If you look at the satellite view of SeaWorld, the parking lot was bigger than the tanks the orcas were kept in. Orcas swim up to 100 miles and 850 feet (depth) a day and they don’t get that at SeaWorld. Orca’s dorsal fins collapse at SeaWorld because the tanks were so small the orcas only swim in one direction or stay close to the surface of the water.
Many orcas chew on the walls or gates of their enclosures causing worn down teeth that can cause infections and this behavior may be linked to stress and not enough enrichment in their tanks compared to the ocean, according to bbc.com. Orcas in the wild have the whole ocean to roam, hunt, and play. While orcas in captivity were confined to a small tank by concrete walls.
In general, I believe orcas should not be in captivity. Orcas are already giant animals and clearly we don’t have big enough enclosures or enrichment activities for them to have a long happy life in captivity. But with how SeaWorld treats orcas like they were objects made to perform for our entertainment.
SeaWorld needs to stop using orcas for shows and keeping them in small tanks. Orcas belong in the wild not in small concrete tanks.
Sources:
- https://www.newsweek.com/what-happened-tilikum-orca-that-killed-his-seaworld-trainer-1771948
- https://www.thedodo.com/seaworld-tank-size-1282993451.html
- https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36045576
- https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/orcas-killer-whales-captivity/
Sources for Infographic
