Blackfish Research Paper

Blackfish: Why Orcas Should Not Be Held in Captivity There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Seaworld’s treatment of captive orcas recently. A documentary called Blackfish was released in 2013 that highlighted the abuse of killer whales at Seaworld. It also showed how the aggression of orcas in captivity has resulted in the death of trainers. Though Seaworld has denied inadequate treatment of their orcas, they have clearly been in distress. Orcas, and animals in general, should not be kept in captivity because of the emotional and mental abuse they suffer and the harm they cause to themselves and other orcas. Emotional abuse and mental abuse have contributed to orcas being unable to live natural lives, even if they were freed. Orcas
This is supported in the article,” Seaworld to phase out killer whale shows, captivity,” where the author, Nathan Bomey, said,”...a controversial proposal because captive animals often can’t adjust to the wild.” This shows that the orcas have been in captivity so long that they can’t even live without assistance. This also shows that can’t learn to live in the wild because of all the emotional and mental abuse they have suffered. Some have countered by saying that animals in the care of Seaworld have better odds of having long lives than those in the wild. Seaworld addresses this in an open letter made as a result of Blackfish. “ This type of controlled research and study is simply not possible in the wild, and has significant real-world benefits to the killer whales that live there,” they claim. While orcas may live past the average lifespan in captivity, they go through physical, emotional, and mental abuse as a result of captivity. A specific example of emotional abuse among orcas is shown in the documentary Blackfish where the mother orca, Katina, was separated from her daughter, Kalina. Several trainers go on to explain that Katina was never the same after Kalina transferred to
The death of a Seaworld trainer, Dawn Brancheau, was caused by the aggression of Tilikum the orca. Footage from a witness of the attack reveals that Tilikum grabbed Dawn’s arm and dragged her underwater. Tilikum was clearly agitated from something going on and he snapped. This shows how killer whales in captivity can cause harm to experienced trainers. Dawn Brancheau was regarded as a good trainer and she knew how to work with killer whales properly. This shows that this accident didn’t happen as a result of Dawn’s inability to work with killer whales. Some have argued recently that the footage was out of context and therefore shouldn’t show that Tilikum was acting aggressively, Regardless of what the footage says, Dawn Brancheau still died as a result of an attack by Tilikum. Humans haven’t been the only victim of killer whale attacks; other orcas have been harmed as a result of aggression of killer whales. Different species of orcas have been put in the same pens which results in the harm of the killer whales. Lori Marino, a neuroscientist, explained how orcas of different species have many difference and that can result in hyper aggression. This reveals that Seaworld has no interest in the safety of their killer whales. It also reveals that they know that something is wrong, but refuse to do anything about the issue. Some may counter this