Ethical Issues In Seaworld

When a whaler is brought to tears from separating an Orca from its mother, it is clear the act is unjust and amoral. John Crowe one of the whalers that day, recalls the event in an interview comparing the experience to “kidnapping a little kid in front of his mother’s eyes.” He, like many others, learned through this tragedy that Orca whales deserve to remain with their families in the wild. Within a company that makes billions each year, its top salesperson is enslaved into a tiny glass bowl. After the release of the movie Blackfish in 2012, it revealed the abhorrent business behind the treatment and captivity of Orca whales in Seaworld. This company came under fire when the documentary delved into the inner workings of the keeping of Orca …show more content…
Since Keltie’s death, over one hundred people have reported being hurt or killed while training the whales. After Tilikum had taken the life of Keltie, he later acted out again killing an experienced trainer by the name of Dawn Brancheau. This news sent a sense of shock throughout Seaworld and especially their employees. Samantha Berg, a former SeaWorld trainer even stated in the documentary that she knew, “what happened to Dawn could have happened to anyone.” So why did some of these trainers stay after so many years? Most of whom were asked this question believed it was because they felt bad for the orca whales. The deaths of Dawn and Keltie happened nearly twenty years apart having no explanation, except that the whale was acting out of aggression. Instead of coming to the logical conclusion that orca whales act out when their environment is insatiable, SeaWorld decided to place the blame on the trainer calling it a “wardrobe malfunction and not the whale’s fault.” By covering up the death of a trainer, SeaWorld saved their corporation millions and also avoided a lawsuit for the time …show more content…
Orca whales in captivity have very limited swim space and are even held in smaller pools when not performing. In fact, their only stimulation comes during extremely restricted times leading to boredom for the majority of the day causing them to turn to aggression. A trainer at SeaWorld even noted that, “often times the whales would refuse to enter their overnight tanks due to the lack of swim space and engagement they would receive over the course of the night.” This helps to prove that the reason as to why the whales were acting out aggressively is because they were in desperate need of better