Free the Orcas
Imagine an infant ripped from its family, sent millions of miles away to an unfamiliar prison and forced to work for the rest of its life, never to be free again. This is a reality for many Orca whales captured from the wild, and sold into the entertainment business. There are currently 56 Orca whales in captivity around the world (The Fate of Captive Orcas). These animals are used solely for human entertainment. Orca whales are meant to be in the ocean, not in a concrete swimming pool. The captivity of Orcas must be terminated due to the danger the whales pose to trainers, and fellow whales, lack of proper care, and emotional suffering of the animals. In the wild Orca whales are not seen as violent or aggressive towards humans, but when in captivity it is a different story. There are zero recorded cases of a wild Orca killing a human, however four humans have been killed by Orcas held in captivity (Hogenboom). A particular Orca named Tilikum, who was taken from the ocean at age two has killed three humans alone, and is still used in shows at SeaWorld to this day (Over 30 Years and Three Deaths). While in captivity the whales are put under a lot of stress. The whales are kept in cement holding tanks, withheld from food as training …show more content…
Orcas are profoundly social, in fact they are the most social mammal on earth, including humans (Hogenboom). Then whales live in multi-generational units, that they live with for their entire lives. A male Orca will never leave its mothers side, even after mating he will always return to the pod (Hogenboom) Each unique pod of Orcas develops their own culture, and even their own language. When a whale is removed from its pod, it is completely lost. Separate pods do not interact with each other in the wild, so when whales from different backgrounds are forced together it causes problems (Hogenboom). Captivity cannot offer what Orcas need and experience in the
Imagine an infant ripped from its family, sent millions of miles away to an unfamiliar prison and forced to work for the rest of its life, never to be free again. This is a reality for many Orca whales captured from the wild, and sold into the entertainment business. There are currently 56 Orca whales in captivity around the world (The Fate of Captive Orcas). These animals are used solely for human entertainment. Orca whales are meant to be in the ocean, not in a concrete swimming pool. The captivity of Orcas must be terminated due to the danger the whales pose to trainers, and fellow whales, lack of proper care, and emotional suffering of the animals. In the wild Orca whales are not seen as violent or aggressive towards humans, but when in captivity it is a different story. There are zero recorded cases of a wild Orca killing a human, however four humans have been killed by Orcas held in captivity (Hogenboom). A particular Orca named Tilikum, who was taken from the ocean at age two has killed three humans alone, and is still used in shows at SeaWorld to this day (Over 30 Years and Three Deaths). While in captivity the whales are put under a lot of stress. The whales are kept in cement holding tanks, withheld from food as training …show more content…
Orcas are profoundly social, in fact they are the most social mammal on earth, including humans (Hogenboom). Then whales live in multi-generational units, that they live with for their entire lives. A male Orca will never leave its mothers side, even after mating he will always return to the pod (Hogenboom) Each unique pod of Orcas develops their own culture, and even their own language. When a whale is removed from its pod, it is completely lost. Separate pods do not interact with each other in the wild, so when whales from different backgrounds are forced together it causes problems (Hogenboom). Captivity cannot offer what Orcas need and experience in the