Liquigan, Tracie Professor Lorie Hamalian English 114A 2 December 2013 Happy Well Be, Beyond The Sea

and Never Again Well Take Them Fish arent meant to be in a box [Nemo]it does things to [ya], (Finding Nemo) says Gil pertaining to the fish tank he and his friends are stuck in. Gil continuously attempts to escape the tank, but always appears to be unsuccessful. This made me question if captive marine animals actually enjoy being away from the ocean. After watching Blackfish, a documentary about how SeaWorld treats their orca whales in captivity, I began to realize how barbaric it is to keep animals from their homes. In this day and age, parents would go through anything to supply their children with happiness. The adolescence grows up playing with figurines, having trips to the zoo, and being forced to watch educational television. In our culture, children are brainwashed to thinking that because they are intelligent and much different than animals, that all animals should be treated as pets. They begin to believe that animals are meant to be inside a cage, outside their habitat. That animals are meant for entertainment. That animals dont have knowledge, families, or emotions. That animals are nothing but a show in society. SeaWorld was once a magical place that provided me with joy and comfort. Now my adolescent thoughts have completely turned around. SeaWorld looks nothing but a jail cell for the animals. SeaWorld and their supporters, however, believe otherwise. Although, SeaWorld and their supporters can argue that captive animals have better lives, I argue that the orca whales should not be exploited by SeaWorld due to psychological and physical damage.

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Orcas are known to be intelligent and family oriented, but being put into confinement deprives them from these traits. The orcas dont react well to confinement. They cannot live freely like orcas were born to do. All orcas have their pods that they are born into and they stay together, as we have our families. However, SeaWorld takes away young orcas from their pods. Although Orcas are animals, they do have emotions. In fact, orcas have deeper relationships than most humans do. Dr. Lori Marino studies neuroscience, behavioral biology, and psychologist. She exemplifies how intelligent and family orientated orcas throughout her narration: Theyve got a part of the brain that humans dont havethese are animals that have highly elaborated, emotional lives [They] have a sense of self, a sense of social bonding that theyve taken to another level, much stronger, much more complex than in other mammals, including humans (Marino). When SeaWorld takes away an orca whale from their pod, they are taking away a family member. They feel sadness, pain, and torture and SeaWorld is supplying the whales with that. In addition to being torn from their families, orcas are then put into a tank with other orcas that lead to bullying and fighting. Orcas are like human beings, they can feel superiority, aggression, and other spiteful emotions towards others. Forcing orcas to live in tanks dictated by SeaWorld disrupts the dynamics of the natural hierarchy, which in turn upsets their natural behavior. Hence, orcas are bullied and mistreated by other orcas in these tanks. Being in such a small tank, orcas are unable to swim away from the aggressor. The orcas must deal with the brutal attacks because there is no way for them to escape. This takes a toll for the orcas physiological and physical standpoint. They feel unsafe, inferior, and especially vengeful. This then affects the trainers with 76 Whale and Trainer Mishaps. For example, Tilikum, being the

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largest killer whale in captivity has attacked and killed trainers. Tilikum has a history of being hurt, bullied, and abused by other orcas. The way Tilikum is being treated is the way he treats the trainers. The orcas know when they are treated unfairly and they react on that. SeaWorld are not attentive of the psychological effects that they put their orcas through. SeaWorld is simply exploiting their orcas to unnaturally entertain their guests, rather than educating about the marine life. The orcas experience a variety of long term effects for being secluded in a tank for so long. Due to the unnatural care for the SeaWorld orcas, they are very different from the orcas in the wild. They grow and age differently than the orcas in the wild. According to Howard Garrett, a orca researcher who was also interviewed in Blackfish, the lifespan of orcas in the wild are similar to the human lifespan. The lifespan of orcas born in captivity is under twenty years. Because of their unnatural diet, exercise, and habitat their lifespan is shortened. All captive adult male orcas have collapsed dorsal fins, likely because they have no space in which to swim freely and are fed an unnatural diet of thawed dead fish (SeaWorldofHurt). In the wild, all orcas at straight dorsal fins and the collapsed dorsal fins that the captive orcas have are a sign of poor nutrition. Because the orcas feel so secluded due to stress, anxiety, depression, and even boredom. The orcas dont have the freedom to swim miles a day. In captivity, the orcas grow differently. Due to incorrect natural lifestlyes, the, species differences in baseline attributes, response style or husbandry might otherwise lead to incorrect inferences about differential welfare (Mason). This prominently means that the animals grow differently. They want to break free. The orcaas also tend to bight on the metal bars that are barriers from other tanks. This harms their teeth and is very unhealthy for the orcas.

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Seaworld supporters would argue that captive animals are often healthier, live longer lives and more fecund than free-living species. In captivity, animals are given everything that they need to survive. They are given unlimited food and water, protection from predators, and care for when they get sick or injured. Geoffrey Sircom studies animal captivity and phycology as states that, In nature most animals really do not enjoy full freedom, but are tied to a definite territory, are inhibited by social rank, are in constant fear of predators, are exposed to periods of famine, and frequently are sexually frustrated, while disease and accidents are surprisingly prevalent (Sircom). The animals in zoos are given incredible care, and scientists study to provide them with best care. Animals are also very fecund. The animals that are fecundproducing or capable of producing an abundance of offspring or new growth- are given the necessities in order to procreate. These animals are given supplies that will help them have better and longer lives. Despite the fact that in some instances animals could thrive well in captivity, the orcas do not. The orcas are being broken away from their families, which are a very important part of their being. They have a part of the brain that we, humans, dont have. Their relationships are much stronger and they share the same emotions we do. Being separated from their families and put into confinement is treacherous and unethical. Some orcas dont get along with other orcas and that can lead to bullying and fighting. Strictly having to stay in one tank, the orcas are not able to escape the attacks. With all the commotion happening to the orcas this can lead to depression, anxiety, and nostalgia. We dont do this to humans, so why must it be done to animals. Orca captivity is simply wrong. Blackfish is basically the starting point to the end of orca captivity. Seaworld must realize how inhumane it is to put the orcas through this torture.

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Hopefully, in the years ahead there will be no orca captivity and the orcas will be able to be in the ocean and just keep swimming (Finding Nemo).

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Works Cited Blackfish. Dir. Gabriela Cowperthwaite. Perf. Suzanne Allee, Jeff Andrews, Kim Ashdown, and Ken Balcomb. Manny O Productions, 2013. DVD. Finding Nemo. Dir. Lee Unkrich and Andrew Stanton. Perf. Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, and Alexander Gould. Disney, 2003. Mason, Georgia J. Species Differences in Responses to Captivity: Stress, Welfare and the Comparative Method. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 25.12 (2010): 713-721. ScienceDirect. Web. 26 November 2013. "8 Reasons Orcas Don't Belong at SeaWorld." SeaWorld Of Hurt: Where Happiness Tanks. PETA, n.d. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.