The Immoral Mistreatment of Killer Whales in Captivity

“Imagine if the world you lived in, the space you breathed in, and the freedom you played in were suddenly taken away from you.” (Free Willy). Killer whales also known as orcas are the biggest members of the dolphin family. They are one of the most intelligent marine creatures. Orcas are very social mammals. It is normal for them to swim up to 100 miles a day. Killer whales live on average around 80-100 years. The captivity of the whales and continuing to hold them captive creates many issues such as physical and psychological disorders. There are many concerns about safety for all the whales and trainers. There are other ways to enjoy and experience the beauty of Killer Whales in their natural habitat.

Killer whales are the top predator in the world’s ocean. (Factly, 2016) They are smarter than chimpanzees. Killer whales are often called “orca whale” The name Orcus came from one of the Roman gods of the netherworld who punished evildoers, very fitting for the ocean’s most fearsome predator. (Factly, 2016) Orca also means barrel shaped referring to the round shape of the killer whale. Although it is called the killer whale, it is actually the largest of the dolphins. The largest killer whale ever captured weighed 22,000 pounds, on average the yare 16-30 feet and weigh 3-6 tons. Males are larger than the females. At birth baby whales are about 8 feet and weigh pounds. They are not preyed on because of their size, they are at the top of the food chain in the ocean. They eat fish, great white sharks, rays, squid, crabs, lobsters, seals, sea lions, dugongs, sea birds, penguins, sea turtles, baby sperm whales, and baby blue whales, and if give the opportunity they will eat moose and polar bears. (Factly, 2016)

Killer whales are very social, they live in groups called pods lead by the oldest female. The pods generally consist of 30 -100 whales. These family’s stick together from birth till death there could be as many as 5 generations of whales in a pod. They travel, hunt, and sleep together, and mourn when a member of the pod dies. Scientist believe that they communicate with each other with one of the most complex languages in the animal kingdom. They produce high-pitched whistles for close range or private communication, pulsed calls and low-frequency pops are for long range communication. Members from the same pod use the same calls. (Factly, 2016)

The stress of captivity can drive orcas to display neurotic behaviors that can lead to tragic consequences. Premature death in captivity they live an average of only 10 years but in the wild they live 80- 100 years, depression, injury to trainers. Captivity has been confirmed through science to lower breeding success, whales suffer from high mortality rates, whales may endure physical and psychological disorders. In captivity the whales are often isolated, unable to communicate with each other or form social relationships as they would in the wild. These Killer Whales are being made to mass breed, they are being overbred, crossbred, and even inbred, this is immoral, and these breeding methods cause safety conditions and threaten the animals’ health. In the wild orcas choose their own mates, and the families stay together for life. (Mills, 2012)

When I was little I went to Sea World and I was intrigued by the killer whales, but I did not know the cruelty that was involved, I will never be returning or supporting and exabit where they keep animals in situations like these whale have been kept.

The orca society is dominated by females therefore when Haida, Nootka and Tilikum were put into a small metal-sided pool that was 26 feet in diameter and less than 20 feet deep. There was conflict and tooth raking for all three orcas, even after Haida was recognized as being dominate the females still continued to put young Tilikum around. Because of the small area he had no where to go or no way to get away. The would all scrape the sides of the pool scraping and cutting their skin. The stress was worse at night they were left in there for 14.5 hours each night. (Zimmermann, 2010) Orcas suffer major physical and mental problems from being kept in such small areas, thing such as broken teeth from gnawing on steel gates, dorsal fin collapsing from lack of exercise, and signs of depression. In the wild, a killer whale’s dorsal fin is upright, but in captivity, it often “flops”, or collapses to one side. There are several reasons for this, such as stress, dehydration and lack of exercise. (Factly, 2016)

With four documented deaths and a long list of attacks. The most recent being Dawn Brancheau in 2010 when 12,000 Tilikum allegedly grabbed her by the hair and drug her under water. Killer Whales in captivity pose a great danger to trainers. When animals are taken into captivity they may become very depressed, very hostile, and even suicidal. Tilikum had also been involved in an earlier death of a trainer in 1991 when Keltie Lee Byrne fell into the tank. There have been over 100 documented attacks in captivity, but no human deaths from orcas have been reported in the wild. These cases prove that living in captivity are likely the cause of aggressive behavior and attacks on humans. (Mills, 2012)

It is immoral to profit from the mistreatment of animals. Park attendance would drop with out the killer whales as a main attraction. So the shows go on. But there are other ways for people to see and enjoy the fascinating killer whales and their tricks in their natural habitat, there are reserves in Alaska and Washington state where the public can see orcas interact in the wild. Also places like Vancouver Island offer whale watching tours.