Flowers

LaurenFlowers
Ms.David
HELA10block4
16February2016

KillingtheKillerWhale

Imaginebeinginasmallconcreteenclosureforlifewhen
it'snormaltobe
swimming100
milesaday.

SeaWorldhasbeencapturing,enclosingandtrainingkillerwhalesforalmost50
yearscausingnegativementalandphysicaleffects.Thesefreespiritedanimalsaresqueezedinto
anenvironmentthatistoosmallfortheir8,000poundbodies,makingthemfeeltrappedand
depressed.TedGriffinbeganthebusinessofcapturingorcas
,
whichsprungtolifeduringthe
1960s,creatingtheideathatcapturingorcasforpersonalinterestissomethingofthenorm.Due
tomorepublicawareness
,
theharmfullifestyleofkillerwhalesinSeaWorldhasbeenbroughtto
light,whichhasraisedquestionsabouthowSeaWorldtakescareoftheirmostvaluableanimals.
Effortscontinuetobemadetoeliminatethekillerwhaleexhibitintheparkandfreethe
remainingwhales.SeaWorldshouldbeshutdown,puttinganendtocapturingorcasand
trainingthemforpersonalenjoyment.Thisyear'slongdebtofclosingSeaWorldalloriginated
fromtheideathatitiscustomarytotakeorcasfromtheirnaturalhabitsandforcethemtodo
flipsandtricks.
Capturingandenclosingkillerwhalesisimmoralbecauseitdetachesthefroma
freelife,shortenstheirlifespan,andripsthemawayfromtheirpod.
TheabductionofkillerwhalesboltedatSeaWorld,whichturnedintoabusinessbecause
ofanideathatformerorcacapturer,TedGriffinhad.Theconceptofcapturingkillerwhales
originatedfromavisionGriffinoncehadofhimselfridingonanadultorca.America'sfirstorca


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showwas50yearsago,buttheseshowswereveryraretothepublicbecauseoftheperception
thatorcasshouldbefeared,notbefriended
(Kaplan).
Throughouthistory,thewhaleshavebeen
thoughttobevicious,andtheywereviewedwithdeadlydread,soopeninganorcashowwitha
humaninthetankwasunheardof.Peopletookinterestinthisunfamiliarideaandafterseeing
thetrickstheycoulddo,killerwhalesbecamealovableicon.Thenewkillerwhaleperformances
grewsopopular,thepublicdemandedmoreexposureoftheseorcas.Thusbegantheopeningof
theworldfamouskeeperofcaptivekillerwhales,SeaWorldSanDiego,whichannouncedthatit
willbephasingout"theatrical"stuntslikeGriffin'sfamousfirstride
(Kaplan).
OnJuneof1965,
Griffinboughta22footorcafromagroupoffishermanandnamedthewhale"Namu"
(Kaplan).
Namuwasincrediblypopular,heappearedonthefrontpageofeverynewspaperinthePacific
Northwest,aswellasTshirts,keychains,mugsandcoloringbooks.Namuwasn'tthefirstkiller
whaletobeputondisplay,buthewasthefirsttobeputtoworkinthekindofacrobaticsorcas
arenowknownfor.OnOctober1965
,
GriffinfoundacompanionforNamu,a14footfemale
orcaheandacolleaguewereabletotrapinacornerofthePugetSound
(Kaplan).
Theywere
hopingforsparksbetweenthetwowhales,insteadthefemalewhalebecameincreasingly
aggressivetowardbothNamuandGriffin.WhenSeaWorldcamelookingforanorcaforits
facilityinSanDiego,Griffinofferedthemtheaggressive,youngfemalefor$70,000."Andthat's
howitallstarted,"Griffinconcluded
(Kaplan).
Fromthere
,
itwasallaggressivewhalecapturing
fortheparksandaquariums.AfterGriffinhadattemptedtocapturethreekillerwhalesbutthey
alldiedandtheirbodieslaterwashedashore,theirbelliesslitandfilledwithrocks.Shortly
afterward,WashingtonstatepassedlegislationbanningthecaptureoforcasinPugetSound,and


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twoyearslater,thefederalMarineMammalProtectionActendedalmostallotherorcacaptures
(Wang).
Theorcabusinesswentdownhillfromthere.Eventhoughthebusinesstriedtocoverup
theirmistakes,
w
orldfamousShamuranintoproblemsattheSeaWorldinSanDiego.Shamubit
ayoungwomanwhofelloffherbackduringatrainingsession,suffering18to20wounds,
requiringasmanyas200stitches
(Wang).
Shamuwastakenofftheperformancecircuit,andshediedseveralmonthslater.It
becamemorecleartothepublichowupsetthesewhaleswerebutthebrutallifestyleforthese
whalescontinued.

Thistypeoftreatmentcontinuedduetolackofpublicawareness.Notenoughpeople
knewabouttheharshenvironments,fightsbetweenwhales,andaggressionthesewhalesbegan
tohavetomakeachange.NewspapersandreportersbegantoquestionSeaWorldaboutthe
negativeeffectstheorcasatSeaWorldwereexperiencing,andalltheanswerswerecoveredup
bylies.SeaWorldtookabighitafterthepopular2013documentaryBlackFishwasreleased,
causingtheattendanceatSeaWorldtocontinuallydecreases,leavingprofitstoplummetasmuch
as84%
(Wang).
Thefilmshowedthenegativelookatthecompany'streatmentofcaptiveorcas
andthe2010deathofahighlycertifiedtrainer.ThelovableSeaWorldtrainerwaskilledby
Tilikum,whowasalreadyinvolvedintwootherdeathsatthepark."Peopleknowmoreaboutall
ofthisnow,"saidStevenWise,presidentoftheNonhumanRightsProject,aFloridabasedcivil
rightsorganizationthatfightsforlegalrightsforanimalspecies."Thingsrocketaroundtheworld
inadaythingsthatusedtotakeyearstocommunicatetothepublic."Socialmediaandother


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documentariesonkillerwhalesreallyshowedthepublicwhatwasreallygoingoninsidethe
wallsofSeaWorld.Peoplearestartingtocaremoreaboutanimalsandtakingtheirlivesseriously
aswellaswellasgrowingincreasinglyuncomfortablewithanimalsasperformers.Research
showsthatnearlyathirdofallAmericans(upfrom25percentin2008)believethatanimals
shouldbeaccordedthesamerightsaspeople
(Gibson).
Althoughpeoplepushtofreethewhales
showswillcontinueatSeaWorld'sotherparks,wheretheimpactofpubliccriticismhasn'tbeen
quiteasstrongasinCalifornia.Capturing,enclosing
,
andtraininghasaffectedthewhalesina
negativewaysotheyoftenhavementalandphysicalproblems
,
whichresultintrainerattacks
anddeath.

Rippinganorcaawayfrom
its
homeandnaturalhabitatissomethingSeaWorldismore
thancomfortablewithaslongastheymakeaprofit.Thiscauses
a
negativemindsetforthese
whales
,
andtheyoftentimefeellonelyanddepressed,trappedinthetanksatSeaWorld.TheSan
Antonioparkannouncedthedeathofan18yearoldkillerwhale,Unna.Unnasufferedfroman
infectionfromaresistantstrainoffunguscalledCandida
(Wang).
Thelifeexpectancyforkiller
whalesisbeingcutinhalfwhentheyareenclosed.Normallyafemalekillerwhaleinthewild
canlivefrom3050years

however
,
likeUnna,manyfemaleorcasaredyingincaptivityatsuch
ayoungage.Thenumberofkillerwhaledeathsintheparkcontinuetoincrease
(Wang).
Unna
andtwootherwhaleshavediedattheparkinthepastsixmonths.Newrulesandregulationsare
inplacetryingtolimitthecrimesofSeaWorldbutitneedstobeshutdown,inhopesthat
SeaWorld'scurrentcropof11killerwhaleswillbeitslast.Formerlyloyalparkgoersbeganto
seeSeaWorld'streatmentofitswhalesasdangeroustoboththeanimalsandthehumanswho


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caredforthem.Therearenorecordsofwildorcaseverkillingahuman
.

H
owever
,
incaptivity4
peoplehavebeenkilled.Onesolutiontothisproblemareseapens,whichcanholdthewhales
whiletheygettobeinanaturalhabitat.AmarinemammalscientistfortheAnimalWelfare
Instituteargues"Theyarenotgoodcandidatesforreleasetothewild,eitherbecausetheywere
bornincaptivityorbecausetheyhavebeenincaptivityforaverylongtime,"saidNaomiRose
(Martin).
Whethertheyhavebeenincaptivityorwerebornintoit,theycontinuetostrugglein
toosmalloftanks.SeaWorldclaimstobehelpingorcasbuthavereallycausedthemtramaanda
shorterlifeexpectancy.

Over50yearsthemistreatmentoforcasincaptivityhasbeenallowedtocontinuebutas
people
evolve
,
perspectiveschangeandpeoplenowfeelmoresympatheticforthesepoor
animals.Therehasbeenmorepublicawarenessofthemistreatmentthaneverbefore,causing
peopletoboycottSeaWorldandstartmakingachangebypassingnewrulesandregulations.
Manyattacksontrainersanddeathshaveoccurredduetoorcasbeingincaptivityaswellasthe
poordecliningmentalstateoftheseanimals.SeaWorldneedstomoveonandfindawaytomake
aprofitwithoutputtingpeopleandanimalsindanger.SeaWorldshouldjustgetonwithitand
becomeanadventurepark,becausethey'renevergoingtowinthisgame,"saidLogan
(Wang)
.


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WorksCited

Gibson,Caitlin."WhythePublicApplaudstheDwindlingAttractionofAnimalActs."
Washington
Post
.10Nov.2015:n.p.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.11Feb.2016.

Kaplan,Sarah."TheFateofSeaWorld's'Shamu'ShowWasForecastbytheVeryFirst..."
WashingtonPostBlogs
.11Nov.2015:n.p.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.11Feb.2016.

Martin,Hugo."SeaWorldOrcasAreSaferinEnclosures,ParkSays."
LosAngelesTimes
.03Jan.
2016:A.1.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.11

Wang,Yanan."ThreeWhalesHaveDiedatSeaWorldSanAntoniointheLastSixMonths."
WashingtonPostBlogs
.23Dec.2015:n.p.
SIRSIssuesResearcher.
Web.11Feb.2016.