Free the Blackfish
In summer of 2013 the documentary Blackfish premiered in select theaters and on CNN. This film highlights the unbearable reality of SeaWorld -- behind closed doors. It focuses on Tilikum, a 12,500 pound bull Orca (Cowperthwaite). Tilikum’s tragic story became the inspiration for the documentary. This highly controversial film has been the root cause of numerous protests. Just one year after Blackfish SeaWorld went down 48% in the stock market and lost 7% of their annual profit (Rooney, 1). The debate to free Orcas and large, captive marine mammals has created a movement. Captive Orcas should be released into the wild due to unnatural living space, increase in aggressive behavior, and insufficient conditions for the intelligent …show more content…
Orcas biological history entails high endurance for hunting expeditions. Traveling hundreds of miles a day is necessary to their survival in the wild. Occurring to SeaWorldofHurt.com, “An orca at SeaWorld would have to swim the circumference of the main pool 1,900 times in one day to swim that same distance.” SeaWorld claims at Orcas are not abused physically in their tanks. SeaWorld is a top contributor to marine mammal research, and they don’t directly harm their Orcas. Although, keeping a large Orca in a tank can result in emotional abuse, and lead to self harm inflicted by the whale. World renowned animal rights activist, Jane Goodall, explained that, “whales and dolphins communicate with sonar-like sound waves. Keeping them confined in tanks means those sound waves bounce off of the walls and echo back, creating...an "acoustical hell" for the animals” (Rooney, 1). The lack of ocean current and deep depths can also create a collapsed dorsal fin-- a rare condition for wild Orcas. Although, almost all of captive Orcas display collapsed dorsal fins. Due to inadequacy space and surroundings Orcas should be released into the wild or an ocean …show more content…
Kevin Spear explained in How smart are killer whales? that, “Killer whales, or orcas, have the second-biggest brains among all ocean mammals, weighing as much as 15 pounds.” They display complex emotions and memories in their everyday lives. In 1990 an Orca at SeaWorld, named Kalina, was removed from her mom at only four years old. After Kalina was gone, her mother displayed emotions similar to a human losing their baby. Retired SeaWorld trainer, Carol Ray, experienced the event first hand, saying, “This is one of the worst memories I have from my time there” (Todd, 1) . Ray explained
In summer of 2013 the documentary Blackfish premiered in select theaters and on CNN. This film highlights the unbearable reality of SeaWorld -- behind closed doors. It focuses on Tilikum, a 12,500 pound bull Orca (Cowperthwaite). Tilikum’s tragic story became the inspiration for the documentary. This highly controversial film has been the root cause of numerous protests. Just one year after Blackfish SeaWorld went down 48% in the stock market and lost 7% of their annual profit (Rooney, 1). The debate to free Orcas and large, captive marine mammals has created a movement. Captive Orcas should be released into the wild due to unnatural living space, increase in aggressive behavior, and insufficient conditions for the intelligent …show more content…
Orcas biological history entails high endurance for hunting expeditions. Traveling hundreds of miles a day is necessary to their survival in the wild. Occurring to SeaWorldofHurt.com, “An orca at SeaWorld would have to swim the circumference of the main pool 1,900 times in one day to swim that same distance.” SeaWorld claims at Orcas are not abused physically in their tanks. SeaWorld is a top contributor to marine mammal research, and they don’t directly harm their Orcas. Although, keeping a large Orca in a tank can result in emotional abuse, and lead to self harm inflicted by the whale. World renowned animal rights activist, Jane Goodall, explained that, “whales and dolphins communicate with sonar-like sound waves. Keeping them confined in tanks means those sound waves bounce off of the walls and echo back, creating...an "acoustical hell" for the animals” (Rooney, 1). The lack of ocean current and deep depths can also create a collapsed dorsal fin-- a rare condition for wild Orcas. Although, almost all of captive Orcas display collapsed dorsal fins. Due to inadequacy space and surroundings Orcas should be released into the wild or an ocean …show more content…
Kevin Spear explained in How smart are killer whales? that, “Killer whales, or orcas, have the second-biggest brains among all ocean mammals, weighing as much as 15 pounds.” They display complex emotions and memories in their everyday lives. In 1990 an Orca at SeaWorld, named Kalina, was removed from her mom at only four years old. After Kalina was gone, her mother displayed emotions similar to a human losing their baby. Retired SeaWorld trainer, Carol Ray, experienced the event first hand, saying, “This is one of the worst memories I have from my time there” (Todd, 1) . Ray explained