I want to end this series with some final thoughts and ideas for the future about orcas in captivity.
The Impact of Blackfish
My own interest in orcas began with the film Blackfish and my education about orcas grew from there. I found the documentary moving, educational, and enlightening. While some charge that Blackfish was one-sided, the producers, as indicated in the film, requested interviews with SeaWorld multiple times and SeaWorld declined all requests. Further, many other sources support the information in the film. SeaWorld spent years fighting against the film’s revelations, calling it propaganda, and even dedicating an entire website to trying to debunk the film. That website has since been taken down and their current website does not make a single reference to it that I could find.
According to David Neiwert, “The marine-park industry attracts more paying customers than even the most popular sports leagues. In 2012, orca facilities around the world drew over 120 million people, more than the combined attendance of Major League Baseball, National Football League, and National Basketball Association games. Orcas are Big Money now.”1 Of course, the Blackfish effect permanently altered the course of the marine amusement park industry on the western side of the world. There have been many articles written about the film’s significant long-term effects, some of which I’ve included under Additional Resources below.
Still, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment alone had annual attendances of over 22 million in both 2018 and 2019.2 It is difficult to determine if SeaWorld has experienced a continued decline in recent years since 2020 and part of 2021 were affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Entertainment as Cause
1970s MarineLand Canada brochure, image from Cetacean Collective on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC 2.0)
In my article about wild orca captures, I explained how the marine amusement park business model developed over time. Killer whales were once feared and believed to be dangerous. “Then someone got the clever idea to capture one of these terrifying creatures and to put it on display. And that changed everything…The public’s fascination with orcas was remarkable, considering that less than a generation before, these creatures had mostly elicited shudders of fear.”3 Humans discovered how intelligent and easy it was to train killer whales to perform, much like circus animals, for the purpose of entertainment.
“Ironically, it is their intelligence that has made these animals desirable for public display—their ability to understand human commands and learn complex behaviors or tricks has been exploited to provide humans with entertainment.” -Dr. Naomi Rose4
Image by M W from Pixabay
The Argument For Captivity
In Of Orcas and Men, David Neiwert talked about his experience taking his daughter to SeaWorld when she was very young. He asked, “These parks deserve great credit for providing people the opportunity to actually see, in the flesh, one of these great creatures, but do they truly show orcas as they really are?”5 Of course, the answer is no. I have struggled with that exact point throughout my whole orca series: the parks allow people to see orcas, and most of us don’t have the opportunity to see one otherwise. Isn’t that one of the same arguments in favor of zoos? To allow people to see and learn about the animal kingdom so that they will want to protect them?
But marine amusement parks have a different primary goal, that of entertainment. As Neiwert noted, “Those parks tell a different story about killer whales. They portray them as docile and friendly, like super-smart performing dogs.”6 Dr. Naomi Rose noted that the Animal Welfare Institute and World Animal Protection organizations “maintain that exposure to captive marine mammals does exactly the opposite of what the industry rhetoric claims; instead of sensitizing visitors to marine mammals and their habitat, it desensitizes people to the suffering inherent in removing these animals from their natural habitats and holding them captive.”7
“Captivity has been a catastrophe for most killer whales taken from the wild. Study after study has demonstrated that whales in captivity are more than two and a half times more likely to die than whales in the wild.”8
Photo by Shawn McCready on Flickr, Creative Commons license CC BY-ND 2.0)
The Façade of Science and Education
Many marine amusement parks in the U.S. are AZA-accredited. But many have not contributed to science, conservation, and education to the extent that zoological parks have. As whale researcher, Erich Hoyt, noted in 1992, “Marine parks do not measure up to the best zoos or environmental groups in terms of supporting or conducting science.”9 As I’ve learned, marine amusement parks still do not measure up, thirty years later. I think they’re starting to turn things around for the better, but there’s still a long way to go. “If science were a primary goal at marine parks, rather than display, much better scientific results could have been obtained with a fraction of the number of captive orcas and in a fraction of time.” Then the orcas could have been released. Hoyt argued that “science” was an excuse to keep captive orcas.10
Marine amusement parks also do not educate their patrons about cetaceans in the wild, or at least not very accurately. SeaWorld and other marine amusement parks sometimes portray the ocean as a scary place that orcas face a lot of challenges within, which is misleading. “However, that does not mean captivity is a better place for them than the wild. It only means that the people who fear for their well-being in captivity, and wish to see it ended, also need to be engaged in helping killer whales to thrive in the wild.”11 SeaWorld and the other parks have an opportunity to inspire their patrons to help protect the natural world.
“There is about as much educational benefit to be gained in studying dolphins in captivity as there would be studying mankind by only observing prisoners held in solitary confinement.” -Jacques Cousteau
An Example in Morgan the Orca
Photo by Annemieke Podt, found on Wikipedia, Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0)
Morgan is a female orca at Loro Parque in the Canary Islands whose captivity is very controversial. Accidentally separated from her family when she was about 3 years old, she was captured off the coast of the Netherlands in 2010. She was taken to Dolphinarium Harderwijk to receive medical care for starvation and dehydration. Morgan was supposed to be rescued, rehabilitated, and released back to the ocean. However, the marine amusement park transferred her to Loro Parque instead where she has become a performing orca and was integrated into the park’s breeding program in conjunction with SeaWorld. The original agreement stated that she would not be put on public display but that part was ignored. There was a year of lengthy court battles but in the end, Morgan sadly remains at Loro Parque. She is an example of a captive orca that could be released to a sanctuary, if not back to the wild.
“Children know conservation is important, but what more powerful lesson than to show them how to put conservation into action by returning something to nature? It would be a noteworthy gesture from marine parks that have earned so much money from cetaceans.” -Erich Hoyt12
“If captive [cetacean] facilities were serious about trying to conserve the species that they possess, they would be focusing on protecting the habitats of populations in the wild and would actively be trying to ensure that their captive-bred animals could be reintroduced, and survive, in the wild.” -Dr. Naomi Rose13
Photo by Adam Ernster from Pexels
The View of Captivity is Changing
The view of orca and cetacean captivity is changing, though more on the western side of the world. As David Neiwert noted, “When we are forced to concede, as with orcas, that we are not unique in our intelligence, that we may not be the only creatures worthy of being considered persons, then we likewise have to reconsider our previous, Western-grown position as special beings somehow separated from nature.”14 But the marine amusement park industry is growing on the eastern side of the world, as I wrote about in a previous article. We, as human beings, have a long way to go in spreading the information and educating others about the problems of cetacean captivity.
“Growing awareness about the problems associated with captive cetaceans have led marine parks around the world to shut down or redefine themselves,” including India and Switzerland, both of which have banned orca captivity.15
The Future of Orcas in Captivity
There are many possibilities of drawing visitors to marine amusement parks without necessarily having real animals, especially ones that do not fare well in captivity. Several scientists have promoted the idea of having visitors view live feeds of wild whales, or offering virtual reality productions. Erich Hoyt wrote in 1992, “Anyone will then be able to experience life in an orca pod, to get a taste of life among wild whales at sea. With such possibilities, marine mammal shows which feature performing orcas will seem as passé as those spectacles of the Roman Colosseum. As public attitudes change, we believe that SeaWorld and other marine parks could make the transition to these new ways of ‘exhibiting’ marine mammals without any loss in admissions.”16 With the technology we now have almost 30 years later, imagine the possibilities!
Life-sized orca models at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Photo by Thomas Hawk on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Examples
The Vancouver Aquarium was the first to start changing its programming surrounding orca exhibition. In 1986, the programming featured information about the daily life of orcas and was perhaps the most educational show at any marine park at the time. Then, in 1991, they discontinued scheduled performances, moving away from the circus-like show, and instead offered limited training demonstrations.17 Since 2001, Vancouver Aquarium has not kept any orcas in captivity and has pledged not to capture wild animals. (Note: In April 2021, the pandemic nearly bankrupted the Vancouver Aquarium, so Herschend Enterprises, an American theme park and entertainment company, purchased the aquarium. They also co-own Dollywood, so I hope that they hold true to the Vancouver Aquarium’s ideals.)18
The Monterey Bay Aquarium, which focuses on the complex marine environment of Monterey Bay in California, is a highly successful aquarium with no large captive cetaceans or marine mammals. They have life-sized models and wildlife viewing from their facility.
Some museums offer full-scale models of all types of cetaceans, such as this one. “Blue whale model” at the Natural History Museum in London. Photo by Matt Brown on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY 2.0)
Viewpoints
“We need to realize that these are beings that suffer the same as we suffer, they want freedom the way we want freedom.” -Russell Simmons, music executive19
Orcas were once feared and called ‘killer whales.’ But orcas in captivity changed the view of millions of people. People started to view them as more like playful dolphins that were fun, loveable, and intelligent. “Studies of wild orcas followed – some of the first were to help regulate the number of live captures – and this research gave insight into the lives of the free, wild orcas and led some to question whether orca captures and the practice of keeping them in marine parks should continue.”20 So, in this way, did captivity help this animal?
I don’t believe so. Humpbacks, blue whales, and other large cetaceans aren’t kept captive and people are still drawn to those animals. Interest breeds education and education breeds understanding. Also, the destructive wild captures have decimated some ecotype populations of orcas. Those populations might be fine if the marine amusement park industry hadn’t tried to capture so many, killing some unintentionally along the way.
Photo by Christopher Michel on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY 2.0)
Where do we go from here?
I encourage you to read books, articles, and publications, and watch documentaries about the issues in my Orca Series. I’ve listed many resources throughout my articles in this series. You can follow the organizations trying to help both captive and wild cetaceans and the scientists who work with those organizations. For example, the Whale Sanctuary Project is a proposal to build a large sanctuary for retired cetaceans in Nova Scotia. They have a large team of scientists and professionals and have conducted extensive research in order to build the sanctuary once fundraising is complete. Cetaceans from marine amusement parks will have a safe ocean area to retire to, where scientists will care for and monitor them.21
Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project has operated for decades to free dolphins from captivity. They’ve worked tirelessly to close down or prevent from opening dozens of facilities that would have held captive dolphins and whales.22 Those are just two examples. I’ve listed other organizations under Additional Resources.
Don’t support marine amusement parks if you aren’t sure about their practices and ethics. If you don’t want to support a company, don’t buy tickets to any of their parks, as some companies own multiple. SeaWorld Entertainment, for instance, owns 12 parks. Though SeaWorld seems to be improving its practices and being supportive of the ocean and wildlife, they have a ways to go. But they claim that every ticket helps support their rescue operations. What do you think?
“Humans, despite a poor record of respecting the rights of other humans, as well as whales in general…are now in the position of helping or hurting all life on Earth. The question may well become: Can humans be good managers without assuming the traditional role of exploiter?” -Erich Hoyt23
Thank you for reading this series. I hope it’s helped you understand the issues, problems, and potential solutions regarding orca captivity. Please share and subscribe!
Additional Resources:
Blackfish:
Article, “SeaWorld’s ’69 Reasons you Shouldn’t Believe Blackfish’ – My Rebuttal,” Inherently Wild, accessed April 7, 2021. This website also features a full database of captured orcas, deceased orcas, pregnancies, and mother and calf separations.
Webpage, “Blackfish Reviews,” Blackfishmovie.com, accessed April 1, 2021.
Article, “The Blackfish Effect,” The Nonhuman Rights Project blog, December 27, 2013.
Orca performance at SeaWorld San Diego, May 7, 2021. Photo by K M on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY 2.0).
In my series, The Plight of Orcas in Captivity, I have spent a lot of time explaining why I (and many others) believe that SeaWorld and other marine amusement parks should end orca captivity and cetacean performance. However, I’d like to emphasize that I am not anti-SeaWorld across the board. In fact, I believe SeaWorld has a chance to lead the way! They have the audience, expertise, funds, and resources to be leaders in ending such practices. They could be the example of increasing marine amusement park sales without having performing, captive marine mammals. Also, they could become leaders in conservation.
Today, I’ll explore those ideas, as well as what SeaWorld is already doing to change its own image and brand.
Orca performing at SeaWorld San Diego on October 24, 2019. Photo by .Martin. on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY-ND 2.0)
“All the care in the world cannot compensate for the stress brought on by placing a large, highly mobile, highly intelligent, and highly social animal with a complex life into a small concrete tank.”1
SeaWorld in the Last Decade
After the deaths of two orca trainers in late 2009 and early 2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigated SeaWorld. They found that SeaWorld violated labor and safety laws. They instituted fines and banned “waterwork,” meaning that trainers could no longer swim with the killer whales. In 2013, after Blackfish and several books raised awareness about the harmfulness of orca captivity, SeaWorld’s ticket sales and shares declined steadily. They spent years on an ineffective public-relations campaign, criticizing and trying to discredit the producers of Blackfish, authors of several books, journalists of multiple publications, and former SeaWorld employees. They claimed the information stemming from all of those was agenda-driven. SeaWorld wasted resources on misleading public relations campaigns. That time and energy would have been more useful if directed toward transparency, education, and conservation.
Half-Measures and Misleading Public Relations
In 2015, the state of California proposed banning breeding, restrictions intended to gradually end orca captivity. The then-president of SeaWorld San Diego said that “A ban on breeding would sentence these animals to a slow extinction in our care.”2 Many orca experts and marine biologists found SeaWorld’s breeding practices unethical and inhumane. By 2016, California passed the law and banned the practice through the California Orca Protection Act.3In 2017, SeaWorld San Diego announced that it was ending its breeding program, as if it were a decision they made voluntarily. This “spin” was somewhat misleading because it was driven by legal requirements, it was not a decision made of their own volition.
Image by Aktim from Pixabay
That same year, SeaWorld San Diego announced a new orca experience. The new program “takes place in more natural looking habitats, with a focus on the whales’ natural behaviors” and that it would “include the awe-inspiring moments you love with an added emphasis on education and conservation.”4 However, SeaWorld continued to have the captive orcas perform multiple shows per day and their enclosures did not expand or change.
SeaWorld noted in that same post: “We haven’t collected a whale from the wild in nearly 40 years.” This was, again, misleading in that they didn’t mention that orca captures were banned by the late 1970s in several areas of the world, largely because of marine amusement parks and aquariums. Nor do they include the number of ‘transfers’ they’ve had over the years, which I wrote about in a previous article. In these situations, SeaWorld paid other marine amusement parks to capture whales and then transfer them years later with ‘incomplete’ documentation about the orcas’ origins.
“I have always been told that the truth is the best defense. If you are telling the truth, then there is no defamation.” -Dr. Naomi Rose5
Image by Chris Jones from Pixabay
Conservation in Marine Amusement Parks
Conservation efforts in aquaria and zoos are the most important of all. Though marine amusement parks aren’t quite an aquarium nor a zoo, they fall somewhere in between. Does this mean they should be exempt from having to participate in such efforts? No. In fact, any institution that holds captive animals should take responsibility for those animals in the wild.
Many in the scientific community are skeptical that marine amusement parks are not making real efforts, but merely participating in limited conservation efforts for public relations purposes. As Dr. Naomi Rose noted:
“The one area of activity in which dolphinaria and aquaria can legitimately claim to serve a conservation function is work involving the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of stranded marine animals…But even stranding programs, as they are now conducted, give cause for concern…Often the rescue efforts of the industry seem motivated by the desire to create better public relations…A more subtle facet of the issue is that the public display industry takes every opportunity to use a stranding as proof that marine mammals’ natural habitat is a dangerous place full of human-caused and natural hazards.”6
As noted in The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity, only beached, injured, or rescued individuals should be held until released. Those who cannot be released could be exhibited but without making the animals perform. Retained animals should have enclosures that replicate their natural habitats as much as possible.7
“That Should Be The Show”
Marine amusement parks have a unique opportunity now. Conservation is the area where they can make the biggest difference. Ric O’Barry, in A Fall from Freedom, said that many animal rights advocates don’t want to close down marine amusement parks. “Our strategy is to revolutionize them.” Marine parks can play a major role in the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of injured, stranded, and sick species. “That should be the show…not reducing them to performing circus clowns and selling this as education and research.”8
“Some marine parks participate in rescue work and education on conservation issues such as marine pollution and overfishing. These are commendable, but they do not justify displaying cetaceans captive for entertainment purposes. With the technology available today, there are endless possibilities for cruelty-free attractions, experiences and rides that can engage and entertain park guests, and in turn continue to fund rescue and education efforts.” -Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project9
Photo by Chad Sparkes on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY 2.0)
SeaWorld’s Potential
In a commentary in the Orlando Sentinel, Brian Ogle, an assistant professor of anthrozoology, wrote that SeaWorld struggles with a “brand-identity crisis.” It was once a theme park based on entertainment but has now switched its identity to more closely align with the increasingly higher standards of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). He argued that SeaWorld must work on “creating a balance between a modern theme park and a contemporary zoological facility.” He applauded their marine-life rescue programs but noted that “it must continue to do more.”10
“SeaWorld finds itself uniquely positioned to show the world it remains the industry leader in marine life exhibition and conservation.” -Brian Ogle, assistant professor of anthrozoology at Beacon College in Leesburg11
There are wild animal sanctuaries across the world for retired and rescued animals. Most operate on a non-profit business model, but Dr. Naomi Rose believes that a for-profit model could work for SeaWorld. They could have a sanctuary and rehabilitation center in a coastal area and open it to the public, generating ticket sales and other sources of income. “A visitor’s center can offer education, real-time remote viewing of the animals, a gift shop, and in the case of whales and dolphins can even be a base for responsible whale watching if the sanctuary is in a suitable location for that activity,” she told David Neiwert.12
SeaWorld Today
SeaWorld’s website claims that they are working toward being more environmentally responsible, by reducing single-use plastic straws and shopping bags, investing in renewable energy at one of their parks, reducing their overall waste and emissions, and using water conservation practices such as collecting rainwater and updating landscaping that requires less water. Unfortunately, the link to their Corporate Responsibility Report was broken so I could not review it. I emailed SeaWorld twice requesting the report but they never responded.13
Seaworld today is very different from the SeaWorld’s of the 1960s and 1970s when they were first established. They began as solely an entertainment park, and while that is still their primary purpose, their company statement indicates that their paradigms are shifting:
“SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is a leading theme park and entertainment company providing experiences that matter and inspiring guests to protect animals and the wild wonders of our world. We are one of the world’s foremost zoological organizations and a global leader in animal husbandry, behavioral management, veterinary care and animal welfare.”14
They want to inspire people to care and protect, which is a goal of many zoos and aquariums. Most wildlife photographers and biologists agree that people will only protect what they can see and love. But there are ways to present these beautiful creatures without keeping them in small pools and making them perform.
Orca performance at SeaWorld San Diego, May 7, 2021. Photo by K M on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY 2.0)
Rescue & Rehabilitation Operations
All SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks participate in the rescue and rehabilitation of injured or stranded species. From their website:
“The SeaWorld Animal Rehabilitation Program is an important part of SeaWorld’s commitment to conservation, research, and education. Through this program, the SeaWorld animal departments rescue, treat, shelter, and release stranded animals. The main objective of the Rescue and Rehabilitation Program is to return rehabilitated animals to the wild.”
The company considers the program a “valuable scientific resource” because they learn about the biology and ecology of rescued animals and “this information adds to the pool of knowledge necessary to conserve threatened and endangered species.”15According to their website, the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens rescue teams have helped more than 38,000 animals in need since 1965. Where does that number come from? Here is a brief breakdown from their website:
Seaworld’s website provided more detail about the animals they’ve rescued and rehabilitated over the years, although it is not comprehensive.16
Laws and Regulations
SeaWorld is required to follow federal and state regulations regarding animal rescues. They outlined their rehabilitation process and included these statements: “The eventual outcome of an animal depends upon its initial condition when rescued…Rehabilitated marine animals must meet criteria for return established by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) or the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).”17 Some might argue that these are justifications for retaining animals for display rather than true rehabilitation. But there is a hierarchy and SeaWorld cannot go rescue an animal without authorization from state and federal agencies. When the latter is notified of an injured or stranded animal, they have a contact list of organizations that can assist, like SeaWorld.
An example was in April 2021, when a boater discovered a sea lion with its head stuck in a buoy. They called the Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department, which contacted SeaWorld San Diego for assistance. The rescue team was able to free the sea lion. Additionally, they tagged the animal with a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) identifier. NMFS is an agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and SeaWorld would not be able to do this without their authorization.18 In fact, NMFS has all three SeaWorld parks listed on their “Report a Stranded or Injured Marine Animal” contact page.19
Rescuing a distressed sea turtle, April 2016. Photo by USFWS – Pacific Region on Flickr, copyrighted by SeaWorld. Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC 2.0)
The Killer Whale Research and Conservation Program
This program is a sector of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. It supports efforts to advance the knowledge and conservation of killer whales. They specifically focus on the recovery of the Southern Resident orcas. They partner with SeaWorld, Shell, NOAA, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. According to the program’s website, “Resident populations of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest saw steep declines in the early 1970s and have failed to recover even with increased management protection since then.”20 They do not address that the steep decline was because of orca captures for marine amusement parks, including SeaWorld. SeaWorld does not directly address this either.
Photo by Bart van meele on Unsplash
Manatees
Organizations such as the Manatee Rescue & Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP) and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) regularly work with SeaWorld, in addition to other local and state agencies, to rescue injured and sick animals. Manatees are a threatened species and are often injured by boats and propellers. They’ve also been affected by toxic algae blooms, known as red tides, in Florida.21SeaWorld Orlando has a Manatee Rehabilitation Area that people can visit.
Image by PublicDomainImages from Pixabay
Coral Reefs
SeaWorld has partnered with multiple organizations to help conserve coral reefs. This is especially in regards to the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease in Florida reefs. The disease was first discovered in Miami in 2014. It has spread and now affects more than 95% of Florida’s coral reef. The disease has high rates of transmission and mortality and has even traveled to the Caribbean. Numerous institutions and organizations have collaborated to fight the disease to try and save the coral reefs.22
In the meantime, AZA-accredited zoos, aquariums, and marine amusement parks are storing and caring for the rescued coral colonies.23 SeaWorld and Disney are among the organizations that help support the Florida Coral Rescue Center in Orlando, “the nation’s largest caretaker of rescued corals.”24
“Image of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) on a Montastrea cavernosa, common name: Great Star Coral.” Photo by FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Other Partnerships
Other SeaWorld partnerships include the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to help save the critically endangered North Atlantic Right Whale;25Rising Tide Conservation;26 The Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in the Western Everglades;27 and OCEARCH.28
SeaWorld Busch Gardens Conservation Fund
The SeaWorld Busch Gardens Conservation Fund has donated more than $18 million to projects such as animal conservation projects, coral reef restoration, habitat protection, and clean ocean initiatives. Established in 2003, the non-profit “works with organizations, individuals and experts in the U.S. and around the world to identify the most pressing challenges facing wildlife. The Fund then awards grants to projects focused on protecting wildlife, people and places in ways that are sustainable and long-term.” They partner with more than 40 organizations and universities.
But there are questions about this fund. They have not posted an annual report to their site since 2014. Their website also indicates that they are pausing and will not be accepting new grant applications because they want to “focus on funding pre-selected projects.”29 It is not clear what that means.
“Conservation research only works if it helps animals remain in the wild.” -Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project
Photo by Leslie Driskill on Unsplash
Is SeaWorld Changing?
When it comes to performing cetaceans, SeaWorld and other marine amusement parks have a dark history. I hope that era is coming to an end with SeaWorld leading the way. This would go a long way in earning the public’s trust and respect. And while they are not breeding orcas, SeaWorld still holds captive marine mammals that perform daily. SeaWorld should shift its focus away from performing captive animals and animals bred in captivity. They should retire and if possible, release their cetaceans into a sanctuary or their natural habitat. They should make the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of aquatic wildlife the point.
At the beginning of this article, I said that I believe SeaWorld could lead the way in conservation. It turns out that SeaWorld is already doing more than I thought. The company regularly commits time, energy, and resources to rescue, rehabilitation, and conservation efforts. They have many partnerships with organizations that are doing good work as well. So are they on the path to leading? Could it evolve their whole business model?
My hope is that SeaWorld does continue to change for the better. Maybe someday I can feel good about buying a ticket. Thank you for reading, please share and subscribe!
Additional Resources:
Website, Investor Relations, SeaWorld Entertainment, accessed May 31, 2021. This site features information about the company’s financials, stocks, shareholders, governance, annual reports, policies, etc., going back to 2013.
Page, “Federal & State Regulations,” SeaWorld Entertainment, accessed July 8, 2021.
Page, “Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program,” National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, accessed June 30, 2021.
Page, “Benefits of Rescue Program,” SeaWorld Entertainment, accessed July 8, 2021. Provides information on what to do if you encounter a stranded or injured animal.
Page, “Florida’s Coral Reef Disease Outbreak: Response,” Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, accessed June 26, 2021.
Article, “Proposed Pot/Trap Fisheries Regulations to Help Save North Atlantic Right Whales Available for Public Comment,” National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, December 30, 2020.
Page, “Restoring Our Reefs,” Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida, accessed June 26, 2021.
Hugo and Lolita at the Miami Seaquarium in the early 1970s. Photo by my mother
In my last article, I explained a few of the issues with keeping orcas in captivity. Today I want to share the sad stories of two orcas held for decades at the Miami Seaquarium.
“It’s inherently hypocritical to keep a large-brained, gregarious, sonic animal in a concrete box. It needs to end.“-Ric O’Barry1
Postcard, Hugo, the Killer Whale, performing at Miami Seaquarium, circa 1968. From Florida Memory of the State Library and Archives of Florida, public domain.[efn_note]Postcard, Florida Memory, State Library and Archives of Florida, accessed January 29, 2021.[/efn_note]
Hugo, Miami Seaquarium
In 1968, whale herders captured Hugo at approximately age 3 near Puget Sound, Washington. The Miami Seaquarium purchased him but did not have an orca tank. He lived in an even smaller tank, the present-day manatee tank, for the first 2 years.
Small Tank
Ric O’Barry, founder of the Dolphin Project, worked at the Miami Seaquairum when they purchased Hugo. O’Barry objected to the tank’s tiny size. “When [Seaquarium manager Burton Clark] showed me Hugo, I shook my head in disbelief…’He’s longer than the tank is deep,'” he said. Hugo was thirteen feet long and the tank was only 12 feet deep. “He’s just a baby. He’ll grow twice this big. Leave him in here, Mr. Clark, and you’ll have the Humane Society down on your ears.” Clark said they were building a new tank and showed O’Barry the site. “I looked at it in dismay. ‘This is it?'”2 The current tank was completed in 1970. It is the one the park still uses today and is the smallest orca tank in use in the world.
Clark asked O’Barry to take care of Hugo and ‘keep him happy’ while the new tank was under construction. So O’Barry became Hugo’s caretaker, and though he was warned that killer whales were dangerous, O’Barry found that Hugo was a sensitive, intelligent creature and wasn’t scared of him. “‘Hugo!’ I said with a grin. ‘You’re nothing but a big, wonderful dolphin!” Hugo and O’Barry came to trust each other. “He allowed me to ride on his great back and, to amuse the tourists, I rode around on his back playing flute and guitar. Hugo loved music.”3
But O’Barry, wanting to protect Hugo and learn about orcas, struggled with the situation. “Hugo was eating 100 pounds of fish a day, and the bigger he got, the smaller his little whale bowl seemed. Nobody was more conscious of this than I, but every tourist who came through, thousands of them every day, pointed it out to me as if it were a great discovery.” The new tank construction had constant delays and slow progress. Even once completed, you can see how small it is since they haven’t expanded it. He was questioned by tourists about Hugo’s situation, and O’Barry in turn questioned his supervisors about it. But they were dismissive and nothing changed. “I left, this time for good,” O’Barry wrote about leaving the Miami Seaquarium.
“The [Miami] Seaquarium had sought to capitalize on Hugo by splashing an artist’s conception of him on billboards along the highway leading south: Hugo the killer whale thrashing through the frothy water, with an angry countenance and huge, bloody teeth.” – Ric O’Barry4
Hugo Suffered in Captivity
Hugo repeatedly injured himself while in captivity. At one point he severed the tip of his rostrum and a veterinarian had to sew it back on. According to a newspaper article at the time of the incident, “His powerful drive shattered the acrylic plastic bubble, and knocked a five-inch hole in it. And a piece of jagged plastic severed Hugo’s nose.”5 The same article speculated that an incident like this might happen again. And it did. Hugo rammed his head into the tank multiple times throughout his twelve years in captivity.
In 1980, Hugo died from a cerebral aneurysm, likely from the trauma he suffered from his self-mutilating behavior.6 Many refer to Hugo’s death as a suicide. The Miami Seaquarium lifted his body from the tank and put it in the Miami-Dade landfill.7 They did not memorialize his life or death in any way, “it was as if he had never existed.”8 Even today, this is the only mention of him on their website: “Miami Seaquarium welcomes the arrival of Hugo, it’s First Killer Whale to the park. The whale is named after Hugo Vihlen, the man who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in a six-foot sailboat.”9
Hugo and Lolita at the Miami Seaquarium around April of 1977. Photo found and digitized by Thomas Hawk on Flickr, Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Lolita, Miami Seaquarium
While Hugo’s story is sad, Lolita’s story is even more sorrowful. She is a 7,000-pound orca and is 22 feet long but lives in the smallest and shallowest tank of any orca in North America. The tank is 80 feet long, 35 feet wide, and 20 feet deep. She can’t dive because she is as long as the tank is deep. For comparison, an Olympic-sized swimming pool is 164 feet in length and 82 feet wide. The tank violates the law, as the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), operating under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), requires a minimum of 48 feet wide in either direction with a straight line of travel across the middle. But they do not have the authority to require an expansion. Worse, the local jurisdiction opposes the expansion of the Seaquarium on the small island. Drone footage shows just how small the pool she lives in is compared to her body:
“The orca Lolita’s tank at the Miami Seaquarium may be the smallest for thisspecies in the world—she is longer than half the width of the main tank.”10
But the size of her tank isn’t even the worst part.
Lolita lives alone.
Recall that orcas are highly social animals that usually live together for life in multigenerational family groups. Since Hugo’s death in 1980, she’s lived alone. Sometimes two or three Pacific white-sided dolphins live with her, but reports show that they rake and harass her.11 Can you imagine living alone except for two other species that only sometimes interacted with you?
After Hugo’s death, the Miami Seaquarium required Lolita to continue performing without her companion. In fact, they had her doing her regular performances the very next day. Her former trainer told a reporter at the time: “We expected problems when Hugo died, but Lolita performed as usual the next day…Once in a while she would look for him, but she got over it.”12 We now know that orcas grieve as humans do, so it is difficult to understand this today.
Lolita has always struggled in captivity. A former Seaquarium employee recalled Lolita’s early days at the Miami Seaquarium: “The skin on her back cracked and bled from the sun and wind exposure,” she said.“She wouldn’t eat the diet of frozen herring. … At night, she cried.”13 Today, she often floats very still and appears despondent. She cannot get enough physical activity, hasn’t seen another orca in over 40 years, and likely suffers emotionally.
“Even the Seaquariums’ public-relations director admits that the show won’t tell kids where Lolita comes from, what life for orcas is like in the wild, what threats face her native L pod…But then, these are the kinds of facts that prompt children to ask uncomfortable questions like, ‘Why isn’t Lolita with her family, Mommy?'”14
Lolita at the Miami Seaquarium, image by Marita Rickman from Pixabay
Capture & Relation to Hugo
In August 1970, four-year-old Lolita (originally named Tokitae) was one of six juvenile orcas captured from the waters off Washington state. “By 1987, Lolita was the only survivor out of an estimated fifty-eight killer whales taken captive from Puget Sound or killed during captures.”15The captures were often violent and whale herders used speedboats, an airplane, and explosives in the water to herd the orcas into a small area. “The juvenile orcas were separated from their mothers, as the infants were prime candidates to be sold to aquariums, while the adult orcas were released and free to leave. However, the adult pod would not leave their offspring and refused to swim free, vocalizing human-like cries, until the last baby was pulled out of the water, never to return again.”16 Another account described it this way: “During those weeks between capture and transport, the adult orcas never left the abduction site, and the sound of their grief-filled keening rang through the cove.”17 One adult and four young orcas were killed during Lolita’s capture.
Though caught in separate years, it turns out that Hugo and Lolita were related. “Unbeknownst to the staff and owner of Miami Seaquarium, Hugo and Lolita both were captured from the Southern Resident Killer Whale population, and shared similar dialects with one another, allowing them to communicate.”18 So while this was an accidental good pairing for companionship, Hugo and Lolita only had each other and mated. Lolita was pregnant several times but did not birth any live babies. She may have miscarried due to inbreeding. This does not seem to happen in wild orca populations.
“For the Seaquarium, Lolita represents a star money-making attraction, a possession so prized that officials maintain their grip on her despite years of protests by activists and animal experts who cite evidence that her living situation is legally and ethically unacceptable.” -The Whale Sanctuary Project19
Trainer “surfing” an orca, either Hugo or Lolita, at the Miami Seaquarium in the early 1970s. Photo by my mother
Time for Lolita’s Retirement
There are many organizations working on Lolita’s behalf to free her, including the Orca Network, the Center for Whale Research, Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project, the Empty The Tanks organization, the Salish Sea Marine Sanctuary organization, and The Whale Sanctuary Project. Ken Balcomb, marine biologist and founder of the Center for Whale Research, even offered to purchase her outright from the Miami Seaquarium in 1992. He had a plan to retire her to a sea pen in San Juan Island, Washington.20 But they refused to even discuss the sale of Lolita with Ken Balcomb’s group.
These movements began in the 1990s and have escalated since Southern Resident orcas were placed on the Endangered Species List in 2005. These organizations have had multiple campaigns, detailed retirement plans, lawsuits, and appeals filed on Lolita’s behalf. The best thing for this orca is to allow her to retire to an ocean sanctuary.
Florida. – Division of Tourism. View showing an animal trainer performing with an Orca whale at the Miami Seaquarium attraction. 20th century. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. <https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/93509>, accessed 6 May 2021.
But the Miami Seaquarium has no such plans. In 2019, their general manager, Eric Eimstad, wrote to The Seattle Times: “There is no room for debate on what is best for Lolita … For almost 5 decades we have provided and cared for Lolita, and we will not allow her life to be treated as an experiment. We will not jeopardize her health by considering any move from her home here in Miami.”21 The argument against her retirement is that she will not survive in the wild.
However, biologists would not drop Lolita in the ocean and leave her to fend for herself. They would move her to a sanctuary where she could learn to swim great lengths and depths again, catch food, and socialize. They would monitor her and provide veterinary care. The hope would be that she could go back to the open ocean someday. Her pod, known as the L pod, is still active and in fact, orca biologists have even figured out who her motherly most likely is – L25 – and she’s still alive! Named Ocean Sun, she’s approximately age 90 now, and L25’s pod still lives in the same area of Lolita’s capture. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could reunite them someday?
#50YearsOfStolenFreedom #Retire Lolita
“When I heard the Lolita story, I imagined how amazing it’d be to bring her back to her mother decades after her capture…This singlular, feasible event could catapult us into such a dignified direction. We owe this species big time. And we could start with her.” -Gabriela Cowperthwaite, Blackfish director22
Hurricane Irma
During Hurricane Irma in 2017, when the storm was on track for Miami, the Seaquarium did not evacuate her – they left her there! That storm turned and went to Tampa instead, but she would have likely died if Irma had hit Miami directly. As Dr. Jeffrey Ventre, a former SeaWorld trainer, noted, “In the context of the original storm forecast, which predicted a CAT 4 or 5 direct strike on Miami, the Seaquarium’s decision to roll the dice with her life is certainly callous, immoral, and unjust.”23
The City of Miami declared that anyone who abandoned their pets during the storm could be charged with animal cruelty. But this did not include the Miami Seaquarium, and Lolita could have been injured or killed. “The threats to exposed captive killer whales include missile injuries, blunt force trauma, stress, and foreign objects in the pool, which can be swallowed. In nature the whales can ride out storms, spending their time predominantly below the surface and at greater depths,” said Dr. Jeffrey Ventre. Another former SeaWorld trainer and advocate of orcas, Samantha Berg, pointed out that Lolita’s “tank is not deep enough for her to submerge and find refuge from flying debris.”24 Further, debris can be toxic to the orca. And if caretakers evacuate, Lolita doesn’t have anyone to feed her.
According to the Case Against Marine Mammal Captivity, facilities frequently do not evacuate animals in advance of storms.25 In fact, in 1992, Hurricane Andrew flooded the Miami Seaquarium and six of their sea lions were electrocuted.26 So is this a larger problem that we should not ignore? It is not unreasonable to believe that any zoo, aquarium, or park that is responsible for other beings should protect them at all costs.
“If [the Seaquarium] has no plan or protocol during a storm other than leaving her behind, then Lolita shouldn’t live there,” O’Barry says. “It’s a death sentence.” -Ric O’Barry27
Why is Lolita still living in captivity?
Many people consider Lolita to be the prime candidate for removal from captivity. After Hurricane Irma, the Miami Beach City Commission “voted unanimously on a resolution urging the Seaquarium to release her. The proposal is only symbolic because the Seaquarium is located on Virginia Key, not under the jurisdiction of Miami Beach. But Miami Beach officials are asking the park to retire Lolita into the care of the Orca Network, a nonprofit based in Freeland, Washington, which has had plans for how to retire the creature since 1995.” The Seaquarium argued against the vote and insisted Lolita was safer at the marine park than she would have been in a sea enclosure.28
Lolita at the Miami Seaquarium, image by FrodeCJ from Pixabay
“It is Lolita, more than any other captive orca, who offers the potential to answer the big question that hovered around the Blackfish debate: Why not return wild-born orcas to their native waters and pods?” -David Neiwert29
As mentioned above, there are many organizations advocating for Lolita’s release. Several organizations propose moving her to a sea pen with human care since she likely cannot live without human care at this point. There’s also the Whale Sanctuary Project which is currently building an ocean sanctuary for former captive whales. I’ve listed links to all of these below if you want to learn more or support these projects. Please see my Update on Lolita/Tokitae article.
The best thing you can do, though, is to not visit marine theme parks that hold captive whales or other marine mammals that require the animals to perform for entertainment. I’ve only shared two stories about captive orcas in this post, and I’ll share a few others in my next post. Thank you for reading, and please subscribe!
Additional Resources:
Film, Lolita: Slave to Entertainment
Website, Lolita, The Orca Network, accessed February 4, 2021.
Website, The Whale Sanctuary Project, accessed February 4, 2021.
Film, A Day in the Life of Lolita, the Performing Orca:
Website, Action for Lolita, Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project, accessed February 4, 2021.
Book, “Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us,” by David Neiwert, The Overlook Press, New York, 2015.
Article, “Photo Illustrates the Lesson We Should Have Learned About Orca Captivity in the 1980s,” One Green Planet, accessed February 4, 2021.
Website, Action for Lolita, Empty The Tanks, accessed February 4, 2021.
Article, “What Happens to Them Happens to Us,” Hakai Magazine, May 12, 2020.
Website, Save Lolita Organization, accessed February 4, 2021.
Film, “Window of the Living Sea,” Florida Memory State Library and Archives of Florida, 1970. Original film from the Miami Seaquarium, features Hugo and Lolita together in brief sections.
Orca performance at SeaWorld Orlando. Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals (https://weanimalsmedia.org/)
As I mentioned in my first article in this series, I grew up loving animals and held a deep respect for zoos and aquariums. My parents took me to our local zoo often as a child. I loved seeing and learning about the vast array of species on our planet. They also took me to Disney World and several other parks in Orlando, but we never made it to SeaWorld. I’ve always wanted to go, and when I became a mother, I mentally added it to the list of places I’d like to take my son. I thought it would be truly awesome to experience.
But marine and ocean-themed amusement parks are often different from zoos and aquariums in that they do not provide anything close to a species’ habitat or natural environment. Established for entertainment purposes first and foremost, they are more amusement parks than aquariums. After learning all that I’ve learned this year, I simply cannot support SeaWorld and similar parks across the world. The lives they live in captivity are analogous to the circus, and I have never supported circuses.
I am choosing to not buy a ticket.
I want to share the resources with you that led me to this decision. But first, let me address SeaWorld and marine parks in general.
“Marine parks differ from zoos in that the animals – whales, dolphins and seals – are performers. This, say critics, puts them squarely in the circus tradition.”-Erich Hoyt1
SeaWorld San Diego, photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
SeaWorld as the Representative
Though a very successful business, SeaWorld has always had controversial beliefs and practices. Thad Lacinak, Vice President and Corporate Curator of Animal Training of SeaWorld Orlando from 1973-2008, said in 1989: “You get the so-called environmentalists who say they don’t think the whales like it here, but what proof do they have? Everything we see indicates to me that they don’t sit out in the pool thinking about being out in the ocean– because of the way that they seem to enjoy what we do.”2 I’m not convinced that orcas swimming in a pool with concrete walls and no other species, plant life, or ocean activity taking place is all that interesting compared to the open ocean. But the lack of empathy in that statement is what is most bothersome.
While the issues of captivity occur in all marine parks holding captive marine mammals, SeaWorld is the epitome. The documentary, A Fall from Freedom, called SeaWorld the “largest, wealthiest, and most politically powerful of all marine parks.”
At least 172 orcas have died in captivity, not including 30 miscarried or still-born calves. 92% of SeaWorld’s orcas did not survive past the age of 25 years. -Whale and Dolphin Conservation3
Blackfish
After watching Blackfish, I was intrigued not only by the controversy of captivity but also by the relationships trainers developed with orcas. This film, the most well-known documentary about this subject, told of the dozens of killer whale incidents at SeaWorld, including several deaths. The producers interviewed many former SeaWorld trainers and all shared similar stories. Management routinely omitted information about incidents and provided misinformation about orcas. The work environment elicited a consistent fear of being transferred away from orca work or being let go altogether. The film interviewed marine biologists who have studied wild orcas and found SeaWorld’s “educational” materials offensively inaccurate.
The film highlighted that orcas in captivity behave differently than wild orcas because captivity is traumatizing to them. It brought the issue of keeping them in captivity into the public’s view. This argument had been going on for years between different agencies, scientists, and marine biologists. “Outrage over the film metastasized quickly into calls to prohibit keeping killer whales in captivity,” wrote Michael J. de la Merced in the New York Times.4 The debate continues today but the changes are happening, albeit slowly.
The Killer in the Pool
An article entitled “The Killer in the Pool” written by Tim Zimmerman inspired director and producer Gabriela Cowperthwaite to begin researching Tilikum’s story. The article, written shortly after Dawn Brancheau’s death, detailed the history of orca capture and captivity, as well as marine park practices, trainer injuries, and deaths.5 Cowperthwaite said, “For two years we were bombarded with terrifying facts, autopsy reports, sobbing interviewees and unhappy animals – a place diametrically opposite to its carefully refined image. But as I moved forward, I knew that we had a chance to fix some things that had come unraveled along the way. And that all I had to do was tell the truth.”6 She’s also said in an interview featured in the film Long Gone Wild that she used to take her kids to SeaWorld and now will never buy a ticket again and hopes others will not either.
“If you pen killer whales in a small steel tank, you are imposing an extreme level of sensory deprivation on them. Humans who are subjected to those same conditions become mentally disturbed.” -Paul Spong, the founder of OrcaLab
John Hargrove, SeaWorld “Whistleblower”
Blackfish led me to John Hargrove’s book, Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish. Hargrove was a senior trainer at SeaWorld and spent 14 years of his life working in the industry. He left the company and became a “whistleblower” and provided even more insight into the practices of SeaWorld. I could hardly put this book down at times, it was so well-written and read almost like a novel.
Hargrove loved orcas from childhood and dreamed of being a trainer someday. While that dream came true and it was thrilling to work with the whales, it was also heartbreaking for him. He left because he was no longer able to go along with SeaWorld’s policies that he considered poor. These surrounded breeding practices, the separations of calves and mothers, and the mistreatment of trainers and animals alike. He loved the whales and had strong bonds with them, especially one named Takara. But he knew that “love alone was not going to save them.” He dedicated his book to all the orcas he swam and built relationships with for many years. “You gave me everything,” he wrote. “But most especially to Takara, who taught me so much and whom I loved the most.”
“It would make my life so much easier if I could say that those animals are thriving in captivity, living happy and enriched lives. Unfortunately, after all the years of experience that I had, I saw the psychological and physical trauma that results from captivity. A massive corporate entity is exploiting the hell out of the whales and the trainers.” -John Hargrove7
David Kirby’s book
Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity by David Kirby was published the same month that Blackfish first aired. Though difficult to read at times, the book was very well researched and well cited. Regardless, I learned a lot from his research. Throughout the book, Kirby followed the life and experience of marine biologist and animal advocate, Dr. Naomi Rose. It introduced many people taking part in this debate including former trainers, eyewitnesses of marine park incidents, animal rights activists, and marine mammal biologists. This book went beyond SeaWorld’s problems and examined the problem of cetacean (whales and dolphins) captivity. It covered the multiple accidents and deaths in marine parks, the OSHA cases against SeaWorld, the media backlash against SeaWorld from Blackfish, and other orca studies across the world. I recommend this book to those who really want to delve into the details of these topics.
Long Gone Wild
This film, released in 2019, focused on the continued plight of captive orcas, picking up where Blackfish left off. The film covered the case against captivity as orcas continue to live in barren concrete tanks. It explained the effects of Blackfish on SeaWorld, as the park took a major hit on attendance and profit. It appealed to its audience to stop supporting SeaWorld – “Don’t buy a ticket.”
The documentary went into depth about the plight of captive marine mammals in Russia and China, triggered by the growth in ocean-themed parks in those regions. It also presented the proposed Whale Sanctuary Project, a seaside sanctuary for retired orcas that would provide a safe, permanent home in their natural habitat.8 There are sanctuaries for elephants, tigers, chimpanzees, and other land mammals, but none for marine mammals in the entire world. I’ll write a post in the near future about the project.
Many orca experts were in the film as well as renowned authors such as David Kirby (mentioned above) and David Neiwert (Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us). It explained the monetary value of the whales and how it has increased over time. Between 1966-1970, dozens of orcas were captured around Puget Sound, Washington, and sold for $30,000 – $50,000 each, some to SeaWorld. In 1976, people captured nine orcas from the seas around Iceland and sold them for $150,000-$300,000 each. Today, the wildlife trade values each orca between $2 million and $7 million dollars.
By the 1980s, wild orca captures had become controversial, especially in Western cultures. SeaWorld realized it would need to rely on breeding in order to have additional orcas for its parks. In 1985, Katina was born, becoming the first “Baby Shamu” for marketing purposes. It was effective. By 1989, SeaWorld had become a billion-dollar corporation.
SeaWorld did not respond to requests for interviews for this film.
The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity
I found this publication9 from the Animal Welfare Institute and World Animal Protection, authored by Dr. Naomi A. Rose and Dr. E.C.M. Parsons. This is by far the best report on this subject that I’ve found and at times difficult to stop reading. It is extremely well researched, organized, and written. It addresses the history of the public display industry and marine parks, the capture of cetaceans, conservation issues, animal environment, veterinary care, mortality and birth rates, ethics, swim with dolphins attractions, and the legacy of the film Blackfish. I highly recommend this if you are researching this topic, or even if you are just interested.
“The only hope of winning this war is for the public to stop buying tickets.” -Ric O’Barry, Founder and Director of The Dolphin Project
Orca performance at SeaWorld Orlando. Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals (https://weanimalsmedia.org/)
My intention for this post is to make you think about the issue of captivity. Reconsider buying tickets to these parks. I’m going to save my money. Someday I’ll take my son whale watching to witness these beautiful creatures free in their own environment. In my next post, I want to explore the issues in detail. I’ll be using research from the sources I’ve listed in this article and many more. Thanks for reading!
Additional Resources:
A Fall from Freedom from the Discovery Channel was a good film with some dated filmography and interviews. However, I learned more about killer whales, the captive industry, and the people who study them. This film helped me put faces with names that I’d read about in David Kirby’s book.
The Cove, an Academy Award-winning film that heightened public awareness of the global problems surrounding dolphin captivity. From the Oceanic Preservation Society: “A team of activists, filmmakers, and freedivers embark on a covert mission to expose a deadly secret hidden in a remote cove in Taiji, Japan. By utilizing state-of-the-art techniques, they uncover a horrible annual tradition of unparalleled cruelty. A provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure, and arresting imagery make this an unforgettable and courageous story that inspires outrage and action.” I appreciate this film and think it offers valuable insight. But it was difficult to watch at times due to the graphic nature of the content. The team of people was amazing. They risked their lives to capture the footage and expose the mass murders of dolphins.
Report, The Performing Orca – Why The Show Must Stop: An in-depth review of the captive orca industry, by Erich Hoyt, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, January 1, 1992. This is an older publication, but many of the issues are still as relevant today.
Article, “The harmful effects of captivity and chronic stress on the
well-being of orcas (Orcinus orca),” Journal of Veterinary Behavior, Volume 35, pages 69-82, January–February 2020.
Blackfish led me to John Hargrove’s book, Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish. Hargrove was a senior trainer at SeaWorld and spent 14 years of his life working in the industry. He left the company and became a “whistleblower” and provided even more insight into the practices of SeaWorld. I could hardly put this book down at times, it was so well-written and read almost like a novel.
This film, released in 2019, focused on the continued plight of captive orcas, picking up where Blackfish left off. The film covered the case against captivity as orcas continue to live in barren concrete tanks. It explained the effects of Blackfish on SeaWorld, as the park took a major hit on attendance and profit. It appealed to its audience to stop supporting SeaWorld – “Don’t buy a ticket.”
A Fall from Freedom from the Discovery Channel was a good film with some dated filmography and interviews. However, I learned more about killer whales, the captive industry, and the people who study them. This film helped me put faces with names that I’d read about in David Kirby’s book.
Report, The Performing Orca – Why The Show Must Stop: An in-depth review of the captive orca industry, by Erich Hoyt, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, January 1, 1992. This is an older publication, but many of the issues are still as relevant today.