Mauk1

OliviaMauk
Ms.Robillard
Hour7
12March2015
TheCrueltyofKeepingAnimalsinCaptivity

Imagineafreewhaleinthewild.Itswimsandhuntsalldayalongsideitsfamily.Then
onedayaboatcomes,theboatsendsdownanetwhichthewhalefallsinto,confusedandscared.
Theyliftthewhaleawayfromitsownfamilyanditsputintoabathtubsizedpoolinthe
scorchingheatoftheday.Ithasnowheretogo,soitfloatsaroundallday,whilethesun
scorchesitsback.
This
iswhatSeaWorlddoestoanimals,and
this
iswhytheyneedtobe
stopped.SeaWorldisanorganizationthathasaquariumsallaroundtheU.S.toteachkidsabout
marineanimals.Inaddition,theyalsohavearescueteamwhichsavesanimalsallthroughoutthe
world.Whatyoumightnotknowishowtheytreattheiranimalsonsite.Adocumentarycalled
Blackfish
,hascalledattentiontothehorrificeffectsofSeaWorld,thatarenotshowntothe
public.Forexample,theytakeanimalsawayfromtheirfamiliessothattheycanperform,and
theyrelivesincaptivityarentanywherenearthestandardsofthoseinthewild.Keepingmarine
animalsincaptivityiscruelandneedstobestopped.
SeaWorlddoesgoodthingsforanimalsaswell.OneofSeaWorldsgoalsasan
organizationistoeducatethepubliconmarinelife.ManypeoplemakethepointthatSeaWorld
onlyexiststobenefitthepublic.AquotefromSeaWorldstates,ThepeopleofSeaWorldParks
&Entertainmentaredriventrulyanddeeplydriventoinspireonbehalfof,tocelebrateand
connectwith,andtocareforthenaturalworldweallshare.Thismeansthatweactwithinour

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parkstoexpandourguests'understandingofwildlife.
("OurCommitment|SeaWorldParks&
Entertainment").
But,basedoffofaquotebyformertrainer,BrigittePirtle,thisisntalltrue.
ThatwasabattleIfoughtinmylastyearatSeaWorld.Itwasdisappointingtometoseemore
moneyspentonpartsoftheparkthatdidn'tbenefittheanimals.They'dspendmillionsofdollars
renovatingachildren'splayareaorrevampingthesoundsystem.
(Lee).
Insteadoffocusingon
theanimals,andputtingmoneytowardsthingslikeamorerealenvironmentorlargertanksthey
putitintothingsthatdistractfromthelearningexperience.Thetankstheseanimalsliveinare
nothingliketheconditionsoftheocean.So,ifthepurposeofSeaWorldistocreateawareness
andeducatechildrenonmarinespecies,whynotputthemoneyintosomethingthatcouldhelp
buildonthat.SeaWorldsaysthattheytreattheiranimalswithtopnotchcare.Aquotefromtheir
ownwebsiteevensaysso,
Itmeansthatwesendourpeoplefarafieldandclosetohometolend
theirexpertiseinwildlifecareandmanagement.Itmeansthatweacttohelpsavethelivesof
animalsinperil.Itmeanswedoourutmosttoprovideanourishinghomefortheanimalsinour
care.
Theproblemwiththisisthattheanimalstheyhavearentthosethatdowellincaptivity.A
22footlongwhalelivesinatankthatsonly23feetdeep.Whaleswhoswimuptoonehundred
milesadayaretrappedinpoolswheretheydhavetoswimthecircumference1,400timestoget
thatin.Itscommonsensethatdoesntworkout.
KeepinganimalsincaptivityisnotbeneficialbecauseSeaWorldiscapturingmammals
outofthewild.APBSarticlelooksathowdolphinsarecaughtforshows,Youseparate
mothersandbabies.Youtaketheyoung.Wetaketheverybest,incidentally.80%ofthecaptures
areyoungfemalestakenawayfromtheirmothers.(Rose)SeaWorldtearsapartfamiliessothat
theirownaquariumscanbesuccessful.Theytakeawaymothersfromfamiliesfortheirneeds

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only,theydisregardthefeelingtheirfamilies.Theydisturbwildlifesothattheycanforce
mammalstodotricksforthepublic.NaomiRosefromtheHumaneSocietyofAmericaadds,
Theycapture,bringthemintoaconcretechlorinatedbox,reducingthemtocircusclownsand
thensellingthisaseducationaltothepublic.AndIthinkit'sextremelydangerous.
(Rose)
SeaWorldsaysthattheirparksvisionistoinformthepubliconmarinemammals,butif
yougotoashowyoullseetricks,thatareincrediblebutdontsayanythingabouttheanimal.
Thetrickstheydoareunnatural,andnoneducational.ThisisNaomispoint,shessayingthatif
youwanttoteachthepublicabouttheanimalspersonally,youneedtoshowthemwhattheyre
habitatlookslike,andhowtheylive,notwhethertheycanliftatraineroutofthewater.Since
theanimalsarelockedup,theyoftenactout.APETAsponsoredsitesays,
Theparksown
recordscontain600pagesofincidentreportsdocumentingdangerousandunanticipatedorca
behaviorwithtrainers,consistingofmorethan100incidentsinwhichkillerwhalesbit,rammed,
lungedat,pulled,pinned,andswamaggressivelywithSeaWorldtrainers,manyofwhichledto
humaninjuries,
includinganeardeathencounterexperiencedbytrainerKenPeters
.
("30Years
andThreeDeaths:Tilikum'sTragicStorySeaWorldofHurt").
T
heleastofSeaWorldsworries
istokeepafamilytogether,andbecauseofthisanimalscanlashoutfromthestressputonthem.
Thatisnttheonlyreason,butitfactorsin.Thatcouldbeawhalesturningpoint.Whenyou
considerwhattheyarebeingputthrough,itsunderstandablethatthisnewenvironmentis
ruiningthem.Whalesarebeingtakenoutoftheirnaturalhabitatstoperformanditsdisrupting
wildlife.
Thesecondreasonwhykeepinganimalsincaptivityisnotbeneficialisbecausewhales
andothermarineanimalsarentgettingthelivestheydeserve.Astudyonwhalesurvivalsays,

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Thebestknownpeerreviewedstudycomparingannualsurvivalrateswaspublishedin1995.
Theauthorscalculatedanannualsurvivalrateofalittlemorethan93percentforcaptiveorcas.
WhileHissurveyfoundthatapopulationoforcasoffthesouthernAlaskancoasthadannual
survivalratesof97percentto99percent,dependingontheirage.
(Sentinel).
Thismeansthatthe
whalesoutinthewildhavealmostasevenpercentchancemoresurvivalrate.Theconditionsfor
whalesandotheranimalsarestartingtoaffecttheirlifeexpectancies.JohnJett,aenvironmental
scienceprofessorwhoworkedatSeaWorldforfouryearsspeaksofhisexperienceswithOrca
WhaleTilly"Hehasnolife,"hesaysofTilly."Hegetsbeatupandhefloatslikeasloball
dayattackedbymosquitoesbynightandsunburntbyday.(Barkham).Theanimalsat
SeaWorldarebeingtorturedwithboredomwhentheyarentdoingshows.Thepoolsthatthey
liveindontallowtoswimaround,hunt,andbefree,whattheaveragewildwhalewoulddoto
passtime.Theylayaroundalldaydoingnothinguntiltheyhavetodoshows.AnarticleonThe
GuardianvoicetheirexperiencewithSeaWorld,Individualsfromdifferentsocialgroupsare
throwntogetherandfightbadly,rakingeachotherwiththeirteeth.Insmallpools,thereisno
escapefromthefightingand,asabigmale,Tillywascontinuallyattackedbynaturallydominant
females.(Barkham).Sincethepoolsaresosmall,themammalsfightsgetwayoutofhand.Ina
normalsituationthewhaleswouldjustswimawayandcooldownbuttheconditionsat
SeaWorldtakeawaythatoption.Whalesneedspace.
Anotherreasonwhykeepinganimalsincaptivityisnotbeneficialisbecausethecages
usedarentsuitablefortheanimals.RobinBaird,aresearchbiologistwhofocusesonanimals,
states,Killerwhalesareillsuitedforcaptivity,inpart,becausetheyspendmuchoftheirtime
huntingandbelongtolifelongsocialgroupsthere'snofacilityanywhereintheworldthatcomes

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closetoreplicatinganythinglikethat.
(Kumar).
Thisshowsthatifwekeepanimalsincaptivity
wearelimitingtheirlives,takingawaytheirnaturalsettingandalsotheirwildinstinctsatthe
sametime.Nomatterhowmuchmoneyoreffortthatcanbeputintomakingtheirlivesin
captivitybetteritwillnotwork.Theyhavebeentornawayfromtheirfamiliesandmaking
theircageslookmorenaturaldoesntcancelthatout.APBSarticlepointsoutafaultinthecages
atSeaWorld,And,asfarasthecomplexityasIwassayingthere'sjustnocomplexityina
concretetank.Eveninaseapenoratleastthewaterisnaturalseawaterandthere'smaybealittle
fishortwoswimmingthroughthe,thepeny'knowbecauseofthenetthatsurroundsthem,it'snot
concrete,even,eventhere,theyaresorestricted.
(Rose).
Thecagestheyreputinonlymakethe
experiencelesseducationalforthevisitors.Ifyouwantkidstolearnaboutmarinemammals,try
puttingthemintotanksthatrepresenttheirhabitat,childrenlearnnothingfromaconcretecell.A
formertrainergivesimportantdataontheenclosuresizesatSeaWorld,Ithink12feet[3.7
meters]istheminimumdepthrequirement[forthepools].Tilikum[thewhalefeaturedin
Blackfish
thatkilledDawnBrancheau]is22feet[6.7meters]long.Kaiwaspushing20feet[6.1
meters].Theyneedmorespace.
(Lee).
Thesecagesaremuchtoosmallforsuchlargeanimals.
Forexample,Tilikumis23feetlong,and12,000poundssowhyishispoolonly22feetdeep?
Howwouldyoufeelifyouweresupposedtoliveyourlifeinabathtub?Confiningwhaleslike
thisisunbearabletothinkabout,theyhavenowheretogoiftheyneedabreak,whicheven
causesmoreviolence.ThecagesatSeaWorldareconstrictingandunnatural.
Tosumeverythingup,keepinganimalsincaptivityisunnaturalandperilous.The
conditionsarecrueltheyarelivinginconstantsupervisionandalltheyrechoicesaremadefor
themunlikethewildwheretheycanlivethelifetheychoose.Nottomentionthequalityoflifeis

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muchlessthaninthewild.Lastly,theanimalsarebeingseparatedfromtheirfamilies.Nothings
goingtochangeunlesswetakeaction.WeneedtostanduptoSeaWorldbeforetheytakemore
innocentanimalslivesaway.Beforemoreanimalsareseparatedfromtheirfamilies.Beforemore
animalsaredeprivedofalong,joyfilledandfreelife.So,thenexttimesomeonesuggeststogo
toSeaWorld,thinkabouttheevidenceIvesharedwithyouaboutSeaWorld.Isthatwhatyou
reallywanttosupport?

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WorksCited
Barkham,Patrick.Blackfish,SeaWorldandtheBacklashagainstKillerWhaleThemePark
Shows."
TheGuardian
.GuardianNewsandMediaLimited,11Dec.2013.Web.
26Feb.2015.
Kumar,SheilaK."ActivistsStepUpCampaignAgainstSeaWorldOverKillerWhales."
WSJ
.
DowJones&Company,18July2014.Web.10Mar.2015.
Lee,JaneJ."FormerSeaWorldTrainer:StopUsingKillerWhalesforEntertainment."
NationalGeographic
.NationalGeographicSociety,17Jan.2014.Web.10Mar.
2015.
"MarineMammalCaptivity:TheTruthIsintheFactsAnOpenLetterfromtheInformed
AmericanPublic."
MarineMammalCaptivity:TheTruthIsintheFactsAnOpen
LetterfromtheInformedAmericanPublic
(n.d.):n.pag.
OPSociety
.OPS.Web.
19Feb.2015
"OurCommitment|SeaWorldParks&Entertainment."
OurCommitment|SeaWorldParks&
Entertainment
.N.p.,n.d.Web.10Mar.2015.
Rose,Naomi."AWhaleofBusiness."
PBS
.PBS,n.d.Web.10Mar.2015
"SeaWorld:ReleaseAllOrcasinCaptivity!!!"
Change.org
.N.p.,n.d.Web.12Mar.2015.
Sentinel,Orlando."ActivistsandSeaWorldDebatetheLifeSpansofKillerWhales."
Newsela
.
Newsela,10Feb.2014.Web.10Mar.2015.
30YearsandThreeDeaths:Tilikum'sTragicStorySeaWorldofHurt."
SeaWorldofHurt
.
PETA,n.d.Web.06Mar.2015.