With such deliberate placement, the writer seeks to exemplify insight of the article by providing historically iconic dates in cetacean captivity, particularly those which have made an impact in media coverage of the topic. By searching through news articles of these dates, the student is immediately able to locate cover stories and breaking news videos of various attacks. Along with dates, statistics can also be found within the entry. Several times throughout the pages, the whale Tilikum appears in association with three deaths in the past years he has been held in captivity, and his being the largest whale in captivity. This means that Tilikum has a violent past, and can easily overcome a trainer. Another statistical factor that is referenced is that of Mean Duration of Captivity, or MDC. “Based upon the MMIR data, and represented in Appendix A, we have calculated the mean duration of captivity (MDC) to be less than nine years. This is regardless of whether an orca was extracted from the ocean, or born at a theme park.” This statement emphasizes that orcas live shockingly short lives while held in captivity, due to less-than-ideal living conditions. The statistics provide the student with a grasp of exactly of much or how many ways the actions of the parks have an effect on the animals living in captivity. It provides concrete evidence on which we can rely for an image of things such…
c) Summary: This article is about some former employees who worked at Marineland and have filed a petition with 77,000 names bringing awareness and urging the government to take immediate action to regulate zoos. Premier Dalton McGuinty recognizes the concerns behind the petition but wants to wait until the Society for the Protection of Animals completes its investigation and makes recommendations before he takes further action. Phil Demers is a former animal trainer at Marineland who quit after 11 years because he could no longer bear to see animals not being properly cared for and housed in inappropriate settings. He goes on to further add that his heart is breaking after watching dolphins swimming with their eyes squeezed shut because their water filtration system broke down and was not repaired.…
I have recently watched a movie called blackfish. Actually it was a documentary about orca whales written and directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite. For those of you who don't know orcas are the black and white whales, they have also been referred to as Shamu, blackfish, and my favorite, the killer whale. I've always found it kind of fascinating that they are called the “Killer Whales” because they are used at water parks such as SeaWorld. Disney World wouldn't use anything dangerous in their parks. Would they? As it turns out that is a far more complicated question than a simple yes or no answer.…
If we keep marine animals in captivity for over a year, then their health and behavior will be negatively impacted.…
The average life span of captive marine mammals compared to free marine mammals. Reports of abuse of captive marine mammals.…
With a total of 23 beautiful orca whales, it is no surprise SeaWorld attracted 4.4 million tourists in 2014. These millions flock to watch the black and white beauties swim, splash, and wave in front of huge audiences and charismatic trainers, but these millions might not be so excited once they watch, Blackfish. In the documentary, Blackfish, filmmakers attempt to discredit the SeaWorld corporation, for compromising the welfare of captive orcas for a higher financial gain. Blackfish caused quite the stir when it comes to SeaWorld’s treatment of their orcas, and brought into question, if it is ethical to keep these animals in captivity.…
Using killer whales as entertainment is unfair/inhumane, and not appropriate for others enjoyment because in the film, “Blackfish,” dates back to 1983, where a man is interviewed on capturing Tilikum, who showed emotion while telling his story. Tilikum was taken away from the wild, his mother, and family as a baby whale. As the men were trying to capture Tilikum, the mother and rest of the family were around the boat, calling for each other, and trying to help Tilikum to get away. It is such a sad thing to see or even think about, imagine someone just taking what doesn’t belong to them. The men showed no feelings or emotion on just taking the baby whale away and not even caring. “…killer whales that live in captivity more likely to suffer…
Aquatic and wild animals seem to be a huge contribution of our society and entertainment, but rarely we see incidents recently recalling killer whales at SeaWorld. Reading the article “After Seaworld, ‘Blackfish effect’ on circuses and zoos?” by Kelly Wallace, shows the viewpoint on the topic of the movie called “Blackfish.” The film is about Seaworld and the famous killer whale Tilikum. The history of him and his seaworld experience was introduced. He ended up killing his trainer Dawn Brancheau, and some people even blamed her for it. This is a topic that is rarely discussed in society, but it seems as if people have a misunderstanding or don't know enough about it to have an opinion. The shocking news, is that this is not the first time…
Imagine you are in a boat right off the shores of Greece. You happen to look up and out of the corner of your eye you see something. As your gaze adjusts, you notice it's a killer whale, being torn away from his home. A large net encloses in in, attached to a large ship. Now, imagine you are sitting in the stands at SeaWorld, surrounded by hundreds of people, people waiting so eagerly to lay eyes on this year’s rendition of “Shamu”. When you look into the cement “pool”, you see him. You see the majestic, beautiful, free, wild animal now in captivity. Only, this time, he looks tired, old, neglected, abused, and lifeless. This is exactly what SeaWorld is doing to killer whales. They take these wild animals out of their natural habitat and force them into captivity.…
We are all well aware that capturing wild animals and putting them in zoos is not an enjoyable experience for them. Having their freedom literally ripped away and being locked into a cage for an unknown period of time, these animals don’t know how to cope with their new feelings of stress, anxiety, and boredom. Sometimes, when these animals can’t cope with their stress, anxiety etc, they can develop a psychological disorder called zoochosis. This disorder makes the animals have abnormal behaviors such as pacing, rocking and swaying, self-mutilation, over-grooming, and vomiting. These mindless behaviors serve as a coping mechanism. I’ve been to Marineland many times, and I can remember looking through the exhibits, seeing whales, bears and many other animals displaying…
There are two sides of every argument, in particular SeaWorld. Should animals be held captive for research and entertainment or should they be only held for rehabilitation purposes and released? SeaWorld currently holds twenty-two Orcas in each of its three…
When saying that the animals shouldn’t be released because they will die is in my opinion an assumption or even an excuse, because they are not giving statistics, which really proofs that statement. In the article they also give an example that “Keiko – the free Willy whale” was a failure to release him, but as far as I know this whale did not die because he was released – he died because of illness. The author also gives supported arguments by naming different organizations, which gives evidence to believe him. I would wish that the author had more proof about what SeaWorld is doing in the future, or more evidence what makes it believable. The author is not using big words but he uses his language appropriate for the subject and also explains clearly what he is talking about. The author himself is not taking a point of view but he is pointing out, that SeaWorld should stop breeding whales and maybe not keeping them in captivity anymore; but he also give credit to SeaWorld because they are doing rescues for certain animals too. He wants his audience to think about the problems which already exists for example there are already more than 3000 species endangered and the world is threaten by “the sixth extinction” so the real problems are not zoos or aquariums. In conclusion, the article is well written, the author is using appropriate language and gives his audience a reason to think about the main problems in his last sentence. All in all, his article is informative and he gives both sides of the issue, but I personally miss more evidence that proofs the statement that SeaWorld stops breeding whales and take out the show from the…
Who does not love to see dolphins and whales flipping and doing tricks? Although the animals look happy and unharmed, there is a dark truth behind the captive marine life in amusement parks and zoos. Yes, attending zoos and marine life amusement parks are a part of childhood; but recently researchers have discovered just how cruel the environment is for the marine life in captivity. After studies of comparing the quality of life of marine animals in the wild and in captivity, there are multiple examples shown in Blackfish, PETA, and the Animal Welfare Institute that show that animals prosper and live longer in their natural habitats. Due to the cruelty endured by the captivated Orcas, all the SeaWorld parks should be shut down and the Orca whales should be set free to prevent further demise to their species.…
I do not think whales should be in captivity because whales are way too big to be in takes at seaworld the whales can’t even move around in the tank, imagine you are living in the entire ocean and then you just get pulled out and get put in a tank where you can’t even move. I think that they just want a bigger crowd because it means they would get more money. Whales should not be in captivity because the tanks are way to small, Trainers don't not feed the whale enough, and people don’t have the best interest in the whales.…
Seeing exotic animals behind cages or glass walls at the zoo, watching Shamu do flips for a fish at SeaWorld, and laughing as elephants perform tricks at the circus are all entertaining, but is our entertainment worth the suffering these animals endure behind the scenes? The answer is no. The billions of animals that are subjected to abuse outweigh any claimed benefits that can be made of these businesses. The debate of zoos and parks being ethical or unethical has two main arguments, these being the animal abuse involved and the supposed benefits.…