Currently there are 42 known Orcas in captivity and with the recent death of trainer Dawn Brancheau at the Sea World in Orlando, Florida; the debate continues as to whether or not it is a good idea to keep these animals in captivity and use them to make big bucks at a SeaWorld near you.
Killer Whale Shows After Another Death
A few days after the most recent tragedy- in late February of 2010- Jim Atchison, president and CEO of SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment announced that they will restart killer whale shows.
After this most recent tragedy, park officials initially stated that Tilikum -a.k.a. Tilly - would remain part of the show and dismissed suggestions that the killer whale be released back into the wild or put down. However, within the past few days, these same park officials are now reconsidering whether to keep the six-ton killer whale which drowned its trainer in front of horrified tourists.
While the killer whale shows have continued, Tilly has not been involved. And the back-and-forth regarding whether or not the park officials are comfortable in allowing this whale to participate with humans remains debatable. After all, this particular whale has been involved with the death of three human beings.
The Cons of Orcas in Captivity
- In the wild, the average life expectancy for a male is about 30 years for males and 50 years for females; while marine park officials continue to publicly declare that orcas don't live much longer than 20 years in captivity.
- Although the average life span of an orca in captivity has improved steadily over the years, it's still very low.
- Out of 194 killer whales kept in captivity since 1964, two-thirds didn't live past 10 years and less than 30 made it past 20 years. With all the medical treatment and observation these whales receive while in captivity, their early deaths tend to point to captivity itself as a contributing factor.
The Pros of Orcas in Captivity
- There are a lot of animal rights groups that exploit tragedies such as these in order to promote their extremist agendas in order to get their name in the headlines and further their cause.
- An online poll by Harris Interactive in 2005 showed that 97 percent of respondents agreed that marine parks play an important role in educating the public, while 96 percent agreed that they provide valuable information about waters, oceans, and the animals that live in them.
- SeaWorld contributes an incalculable amount of funds to contribute to conservation and marine life worldwide; all of which has rescued more than 15,000 large marine mammals -not fish but seals, manatees, dolphins, sea lions, and whales; and SeaWorld also provides worldwide grants to rescue efforts.
Video Footage of the Tragedy
While the debate continues, the family of trainer Dawn Brancheau grieves their loss. The family is also seeking to prevent the release of video footage of SeaWorld surveillance cameras that captured the tragedy.
A spokesman for SeaWorld said that the park has "offered to assist them (Brancheau's family) in any way we can, including helping them prevent the release of these images".
However, the legal battle attempting to block the release of the video footage is opposed by news organizations and public-records advocates who argue that it is important not to turn a blind eye to mistakes that might have been made at SeaWorld.
Michael Ashworth - I grew up expressing myself mostly on the soccer field and ended up playing Division 1 in College. In College I found joy in my English ...
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