The Weekly Key quotes There is no justification for the continued captive display of orcas for entertainment purposes. These beautiful creatures are much too large and far too intelligent to be confined in small, concrete pens for their entire lives. It is time to end the practice of keeping orcas captive for human amusement. Richard Bloom, member of Californian State Assembly Background NO Assuring the health and well-being of the animals in our zoological parks is a responsibility our skilled professionals take extremely seriously. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment s goal is to inspire guests to care for and protect these amazing creatures. The parks commitment to research and conservation also has led to advances in the care of animals in both zoological facilities and wild populations. SeaWorld statement YES Killer whales, also known as orcas, are large, predatory toothed whales that live in all of the world s oceans. They belong to the oceanic dolphin family, known as cetaceans. Wild orcas are not considered to be a danger to humans, but some of those in captivity have been known, on rare occasions, to attack people in marine parks. As reported on the front page of this week s First News, a major three-day festival in support of whales and other cetacean animals is taking place in March in Brighton on the south coast of England. This comes just a week after a politician in California proposed a new bill that would ban the killer whale shows at SeaWorld parks in the US state. Orcas were first captured and displayed to the public in the 1960s. Ever since, they have been very popular attractions at marine parks and aquariums, bringing in tourists from all over the world to see them perform tricks. Usually, the handlers reward the orcas for their performance with food and snacks. Why are orcas in particular picked for public shows? Killer whales are highly intelligent mammals and can be trained quite easily, making them popular attractions. At the moment, there are thought to be 45 orcas in captivity, of which 15 were taken from the wild. The remaining 30 were born in captivity and have never known a life in the wild. Virgin Holidays, owned by British businessman Sir Richard Branson, has said it will no longer support marine parks that take whales and dolphins from the wild. But is this enough? Do marine parks serve an educational and conservational purpose, or do they humiliate the animals by making them perform tricks for human entertainment? Orca facts Orcas are the largest of dolphins. They have a large diet, including seals, sea lions, fish, squid, seabirds and even whales. Orcas are highly social animals; they live and hunt in pods, which are family groups of up to 40 whales. Whales make a wide variety of sounds in order to communicate. Each pod has its own noises that its members recognise. Mothers give birth every three to ten years, following a 17-month pregnancy. Orcas have never been widely hunted by humans. Marine parks More than 11 million people visit American marine parks every year. In Britain, there are no orcas held in captivity, but the people who attend SeaWorld orca shows in America come from all over the world including several from the UK. Since 1972, it has been illegal to catch orcas in the US, but they are still captured in other parts of the planet, and some of those in SeaWorld parks come from Iceland and the Pacific. In the wild, orcas swim around 100 miles in a day, while in marine parks they live in relatively small pools. The most famous parks in the world are probably the American SeaWorlds, which are located in San Diego, California, San Antonio, Texas, and Orlando, Florida. These parks combine the orca shows with rollercoasters, boat rides and other theme park attractions. Their popularity is without question SeaWorld expects its revenue for 2013 to be a record high of $1.46 billion ( 877.76 million).
The Weekly Force for good? SeaWorld likes to promote its conservation work, claiming it has benefited more than 22,000 animals over the last four decades. They have rescue teams that bring animals into captivity for rehabilitation, and they say that most of these are returned to the wild when they are fit and healthy. The SeaWorld website cites many examples of this, the most recent being a young sea lion rescued in 2012 with a severe bullet wound to her flipper. The sea lion was nursed to recovery by SeaWorld staff before being returned to the ocean. A SeaWorld statement on their website says: We focus our support for conservation in four areas: 1) the rescue of ill, orphaned, and injured animals, 2) funding and other forms of support for research, 3) funding and direct action in conservation and 4) education and interpretation of animals. They go on to say that SeaWorld has spent millions of dollars conserving wild animals and wild places, as well as supporting critical conservation work on every continent. Does SeaWorld s commitment to animal rescues and conservation make any difference to your opinion on the use of killer whales for human entertainment? Are the killer whales born in captivity better off staying in captivity, or should they be cared for but no longer used in shows? Blackfish The feature-length documentary film Blackfish investigates the deaths of three people in marine parks, all of which were connected to Tilikum, a 5,400-kg killer whale. Tilikum was caught, aged two, off the coast of Iceland in 1983. His early life was spent in a Canadian park called Sealand of the Pacific, where he was allegedly denied food if he didn t obey instructions. A part-time marine park trainer slipped into a pool housing Tilikum and two other female orcas in 1991. The three orcas kept her under the water and even dragged her back in as she tried to escape. Tilikum was moved to SeaWorld Orlando about a year later, and in 1999, she was involved in the death of a man who had trespassed and entered Tilikum s tank overnight. Most recently, Tilikum was involved in the death of a trainer in 2010. The orca apparently dragged the 40-year-old trainer into the pool and drowned her. Blackfish features an interview with John Jett, who spent four years at SeaWorld. Mr. Jett says that Tilikum has no life he gets beat up and he floats like a slob all day attacked by mosquitoes by night and sunburnt by day. Blackfish presents the argument that humans shouldn t be keeping these large, intelligent and social animals in such cramped confinement for the purpose of our entertainment. The filmmakers do not blame Tilikum for the deaths, but rather the fact he lives in captivity Blackfish argues that his unnatural surroundings have made him aggressive. In response, SeaWorld described the film as shamefully dishonest, deliberately misleading, and scientifically inaccurate. Education & conservation? Fred Jacobs, vice-president of communications at SeaWorld, told the Guardian newspaper that SeaWorld keeps orcas in captivity for the same reason any zoo or aquarium displays any animal because it serves an invaluable educational purpose, and provides experiences that build not only awareness and appreciation for animals, but a passion to conserve them. SeaWorld is quick to point out that its millions of visitors every year learn about conservation and animal welfare through the exhibits in the parks. A report in this week s First News highlights research that shows that zoos and aquariums help to teach us about wildlife and their habitats. Many people would never get a chance to see certain animals without visiting zoos and aquariums. The Zoological Society of London, which runs London Zoo and Whipsnade Zoo, says its aim is to promote and achieve the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. Are zoos and aquariums useful education and conservation tools that should be cherished, or do they turn animals into exhibits for human enjoyment?
The Weekly Ban? Tricky solutions Whales in the wild The Californian politician who is seeking a ban on using killer whales for performance or entertainment purposes wants to see all orcas whether born in captivity or not freed from marine parks. Richard Bloom wants the 10 orcas at SeaWorld in San Diego rehabilitated and returned to the wild where possible. If that isn t possible due to the animals health or because they were born in captivity, Mr. Bloom has called for the whales to be kept in a sea pen that is open to the public but not used for entertainment purposes. If this bill were to become law in California it would have a major effect on SeaWorld San Diego s business, and could lead to other US states passing similar laws prohibiting the use of orcas for entertainment. It is already illegal to keep cetaceans captive in countries including India, Croatia, Hungary, Chile and Costa Rica. Dr. Naomi Rose, a marine mammal scientist at the Animal Welfare Institute in the USA, said Mr. Bloom s bill was inspired by the documentary Blackfish. She told the Take Part website, The Blackfish effect has never been in greater evidence [this is] the first serious proposal to prohibit the captive display of this highly intelligent and social species. The publicity event in Brighton, in which a life-size model of a killer whale has been released into the sea, raises the question of what exactly could be done to all those orcas in captivity if a ban was to be put into place. It is not as easy as simply releasing them into the ocean. For example, if Mr. Bloom s proposed ban comes into play, SeaWorld San Diego would have to free its 10 orcas, but seven of them were bred in captivity, and they would not survive if released into the open sea. They would, therefore, spend the rest of their lives in sea pens, which offer them more space than the SeaWorld pools, and in which they could still be watched by park visitors (but without any performances) and fed by animal carers. Of the remaining three orcas, which were brought to SeaWorld after being caught around the world, only one looks like it would survive in the ocean after a period of rehabilitation. The first problem that freeing killer whales poses is their diet: the orcas will have forgotten how to hunt for their pray. Another major difficulty for the orcas from the wild would be that they have been separated from their families for years, and it would not be easy to locate their pod. They are social creatures and would not fare well if left alone to fend for themselves in the sea. According to campaign groups such as Seaworld of Hurt, which wants to see killer whales removed from captivity, life in the wild is far healthier and happier for orcas than life in marine parks. 1. Orcas live longer in the wild, on average between 30 and 50 years. Some females reach 100 or more, while males can get to 70 years of age. Orcas in captivity have a median age of just 9. 2. There have been no confirmed cases of orcas attacking human beings in the wild, but in addition to the three deaths profiled in Blackfish, numerous people have been injured by orcas in marine parks. 3. Captive male adult orcas have collapsed dorsal fins. Animal rights campaigners say this is a sign of injury or health problems, and is rarely seen in the wild. SeaWorld says it s a common condition. 4. The confined spaces in captivity can cause orcas to be aggressive and fight with one another, which they wouldn t ordinarily do in the wild. 5. Orcas are well-known for being extremely social animals that enjoy living and hunting in groups. Some children have been known to stay with their mothers for their entire lives. In captivity, on the other hand, orcas live with other orcas from completely different families who communicate using a different language. Some are housed in solitary pools, and most of them are moved around for breeding and performance.
The Weekly The first SeaWorld was opened in San Diego in 1964. In its first year, it attracted 400,000 visitors. By 2012, this number was 4.4 million. Questions Californian politician Richard Bloom is trying to implement a ban on killer whales being held captive for human entertainment. Members of SeaWorld s zoological team watch a newborn orca at SeaWorld San Diego. Tilikum, the orca at the centre of the film Blackfish, who has been involved in three human deaths. 1. Have you visited a marine park such as SeaWorld and seen performing orcas? 2. Is it right that killer whales should be made to perform for human enjoyment? 3. What are the positives of marine parks do they educate and inform? 4. Should any animals be held in zoos and aquariums? If not, why not? 5. If an orca is bred in captivity, and has never lived in the wild, is it more acceptable for it to be used for entertainment purposes? 6. Would you attend a marine park and watch a performing orca? SeaWorld undertakes considerable conservation work with other species, such as penguins. The sign at the entrance to SeaWorld Orlando. Orcas in the wild.
The Weekly Reasons why it is acceptable for killer whales to be kept in marine parks. Reasons why it is not acceptable for killer whales to be kept in marine parks. 1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3. My reasoned opinion I think it is/is not right for killer whales to be kept in marine parks and to perform for audiences because...