Pros And Cons Of Animals In Captivity

When families go to SeaWorld they are surrounded by sea creatures; some of the main attractions include dolphin shows and sensational performances of the Killer Whales. Audiences view the shows and enjoy tricks that trainers and animals perform. However, they can be dangerous but can still have a playful personality with a lot of intelligence (Kirby, 3). Unfortunately, these large animals are in tanks that keep them restricted from returning to the ocean, thus placing themselves and their trainers in danger. Orcas have been known for attacking their trainers, like Dawn Brancheau in 2010. She was pulled into the water by a Killer Whale named Tilikum, who has been linked to two other human deaths, and was brutally attacked by him. She died of …show more content…
They cannot survive in those conditions, they are large mammals who need to be surrounded by their own kind. A solution to this can be ending the public displays of orcas, it is manageable and the economic impact would be meager. With the remaining forty two orcas they can be put in retirement in sea pens, or be in rehabilitation and someday return to the wild. These Orcas can have a chance to live longer, and trainers would no longer have to risk their lives training them. If oceanarias are worried about losing profit they could try redesigning orca enclosures to satisfy a Killer Whales’ needs better (Rose, 10). However, for change to happen it needs to bring attention to the media and public. Raising awareness of the dangers of captivity is surfacing more, documentaries like The Cove and Blackfish showed the public what really is going on to these creatures. Due to those films SeaWorld’s profits have dropped and more companies have broken ties with them. Slowly it is becoming accepted that Orcas cannot live in their current tanks, in the future they could have a better living condition whether in a marine theme park or in the