Orcas In Captivity Essay
Killer whales need more space to swim than the small captivity tanks allow them. Orcas are stored in small tanks and then they are put into a little bit bigger tank to perform. A study shows, “[c]aptive orcas are kept in pools that hold 00001% of the quantity of water they would normally traverse in one day” (Techmeier, 2015, 1). Placing these massive killer whales in a concrete box the size of a football field is not healthy. In the wild, they have so much more freedom, which causes them to be more happy unlike captivity. According to the film Blackfish, 100% of orcas in captivity have collapsed dorsal fins, but in the wild less than 1% of orcas have collapsed dorsal fins. The small tank does not allow the orcas to be very deep for a long period of time, so they are swimming with their fins above the surface a lot. The gravity acts on their dorsal fins and causes them to look droopy and collapse. In the wild the whales are able to swim a lot deeper and their fins aren’t affected by gravity (Cowperthwaite, 2013). Everyone notices the droopy fins that the orcas have, this shows that orcas kept in captivity is inhumane and unhealthy. Also the orcas never leave these tanks, this is their life and home. It is the same as putting someone in a tennis court and having them live there for the rest of their life. These small tanks don’t only collapse dorsal fins, but they cause mental