(Issue Exploration Paper) -English 1010-
SeaWorld marine parks
Does the good outweigh the bad?
On
July 19th 2013 a certain documentary, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite titled
Blackfish, brought to the attention
of those who watched it the controversy and animal rights issues that come with
SeaWorld marine parks. The Movie's website ("About
Blackfish") gives a short synopsis about the film, here is a summary: Blackfish follows the life of one
specific orca named Tilikum, who was captured at a young age, taken from his family
pod, and forced to live a life of performing for humans. It touches on the
cruel treatment of orcas kept in captivity from people as well as the aggression
from living in such small enclosures with other whales. The documentary puts an
emphasis on these issues of having orcas in captivity by addressing the biggest
problem at hand, trainers lives' at danger and even some who have lost their
lives to these creatures.
This film has brought about a lot of questions as well as
bringing out in the light a lot of strong viewpoints for and against SeaWorld. Does
the good outweigh the bad when it comes to the captivity of Orcas kept in
SeaWorld Parks? This question has a lot of controversy and a lot of answers
from one opinion to another. The institutions, companies, as well as people
whose opinions are involved in this issue are SeaWorld, PETA, whale &
dolphin conservation groups, various authors from news publications, and a veterinary
specializing in marine life. The focus will be on a few of the main points that
come from these various sources and their response to the question in regards to
the value of these wild animals being kept in such an environment under human
care and jurisdiction.
The main argument of this question has to do with the amount
of knowledge gained by having these animals in captivity and being able to work
up close and study them. Where better to go with this question first than
SeaWorld’s website, where they post their own information regarding the animals
care and research they have done. On SeaWorld's Website titled "SeaWorld Cares", the company
touches on various different areas of research they have been able to conduct,
and the benefits that come from these studies. They begin by stating that SeaWorld
parks provide researches with "unique environments" to study these
creatures. They own the largest amount of Orca whales in a captive setting,
which allows the research to be done in a "controlled setting" and on
more orcas than they would be able to anywhere else. Some research performed would
be nearly impossible to collect from Orcas living in the wild. Specific types
of research explained on "SeaWorld
Cares": the study of a whale’s metabolism, as in how much they need to
eat each day, taking in consideration calories burned while resting. They
perform specific studies around the reproduction, growth, and development of
Orca offspring as well. They pioneered have and used artificial insemination in
the breeding of their Orcas. This became possible after they trained Tilikum to
provide sperm samples, they were able to train other male orcas to do the same
according to Todd Robeck, who is the Vice President of Theriogenology (specialized
veterinary in the study of animal reproduction) at SeaWorld (Robeck). This is
something that would be nearly impossible for field researchers to perform on
wild whales.
The knowledge we now have about Orcas has without a doubt
increased, and the field of Marine Biology has SeaWorld to thank for this
research. But the question needs to be asked again, after reading these facts.
Does the good really outweigh the bad?
More was found from another source that completely speaks
out against what SeaWorld is claiming to be 100% useful and credible. This
source provides a completely opposite view and allows another way to look at
the issue. PETA's website (People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals) address the studies done at these marine
parks with their own knowledge of studies they have performed regarding the
environment these animals live in; that these Orcas are not in a natural
setting, therefore they are not acting 100% naturally like they would in the
wild. This phrase from a section on the PETA website titled "Zoos: Pitiful Prisons" really
makes their point against SeaWorld.
” Most zoo enclosures are very small,... Animals’ normal behavior is
seldom discussed, much less observed, because their natural needs are rarely
met. Birds’ wings may be clipped so that they cannot fly, aquatic animals often
go without adequate water, and many animals who naturally live in large herds
or family groups are kept alone or, at most, in pairs. Natural hunting and
mating behaviors are virtually eliminated by regulated feeding and breeding
regimens. Animals are closely confined, lack privacy, and have little
opportunity for mental stimulation or physical exercise. These conditions often
result in abnormal and self-destructive behavior, known as “zoochosis.”"
Even though this comment is regarding Zoos in general,
the same logic applies. How can SeaWorld claim to be studying the normal
behaviors of these whales when they are not thriving in their natural habitat?
When these Orcas are not having the opportunity to search for their food, find
a mate, breed naturally, how are they to know for certain the results they are
acquiring are just like what they would discover in the wild? How realistic is it
in comparison to wild Orcas?
Taking a look at the average lifespan of an Orca Whale in
captivity verses the wild is an important thing to look at when considering the
benefits for or against Orca captivity. Taking a look at the WDC’s website, an
institution specifically organized for whale and dolphin conservation in the
wild, as well as informing people about capturing of these wild animals to keep
in captivity. On this website, there is a section to click with the heading, The Fate of Captive Orcas, which discusses
the age of Orcas in captivity verses the wild. According to WDC, 92% of the
captive Orca whales that have lived in SeaWorld parks have never lived past 25
years old. WDC shows the statistics of Orcas living in the wild, and they can live
to 30 years for male Orcas and 50 years for females. Females live longer than
Male Orcas, and studies shown by the WDC have evidence that they are capable of
living up to 80 years old. Contradicting to these numbers is that SeaWorld has
one Female Orca Whale who is 48, nearly 50 years old already ("Corky
2").
Even though the odds are in Corky's favor, this one
killer whale doesn't hide the fact that the majority of captive Orcas are in
fact dying earlier than they would in the wild. According to wild Orca research,
written about in an article from The Dodo,
an animal news publication, there is an Orca in the wild known estimated to be 103
years old; "Granny Orca". In the wild, researchers are able to estimate
Orcas age as well as identify them in certain ways. They can tell which whale
is which by their dorsal fins, as well as a grayish spot on their backs that is
specific to each whale (Cronin). Researches associate their ages with data from
the past as well as by the age of their offspring. They have been studying this
pod/family of whales, and studies have shown Granny present with that specific
pod for years. They not only know the amount off offspring she has, but they
know their ages also. According to the facts in Cronin's article from the Dodo,
she quotes a researcher named Ken Balcomb who has been a researcher of Granny Orca's
family pod for a while. Balcomb said "We
have 90% of the population precisely aged now, and the age structure will be
completely known within a decade or so... We have very good photographs of J2
"Granny" since 1967 and do not doubt that she is very old." This
research being conducted on the life span of wild Orcas is not good news for
SeaWorld.
This is an issue that has been
around and questioned long before the film Blackfish,
and long before the media had an even greater outreach to readers through so
many forma of websites and social media. In 1997 Frontline produced a piece titled A Whale of a Business, spotlighting SeaWorld. PBS interviewed two
men, Jim McBain and Brad Andrews, who at the time were the heads of Veterinary
services, as well as the head of Zoological Operations for the SeaWorld marine
parks. They were asked a lot of questions concerning the business, and how they
can justify what they are doing when there are so many people who believe what
SeaWorld is doing is unethical. These men, who were answering on the companies
behalf, shared some very strong points that really contradict yet support what
some of the other sources that were discussed earlier. They stated very true
facts concerning the company, saying that as the population grows, and people
start becoming more "urbanized" they will decrease their face to face
contact with animals living in the wild. McBain and Andrews said "I don't think that it's rational for us to assume that
people are going to be able to get experiences with wild animals by all going
into the wild, there's too many of us, we'll destroy what little habitat is
left by trying to do that." This statement brings about a whole new angel
on the question, is SeaWorld causing more harm than good? From what these two
men are saying, SeaWorld is in fact doing a good thing. They shared a little
calculation in the interview; some people are insisting that SeaWorld releases
their Orca's back into the wild, and have boat tours to go and visit these
whales in their natural habitat. They took the amount of guests that visit
SeaWorld, and calculated how many boat trips a day it would take. His numbers
came up to around 2,000 boat trips every day for a year. This would have a
devastating effect on these habitats. The point these men are trying to get
across this entire interview is this:
"...if want a public that's knowledgeable
about wild animals and has some sensitivity about
them, if we want our children to have a chance to see many of these animals,
it's gonna have to be in places like Sea
World and the rest of the zoos in the world. These are gonna be the places where people are gonna be able to get in
touch with nature without destroying
habitat."
It's interesting, before I looked at
a couple different sides of this issue, I was very much against what SeaWorld
is doing. I agreed a lot with things that PETA had to say about animals being
kept in captivity, and the Blackfish film had me completely convinced of this
cruelty. But as more research was done, I came to find that a lot of what
SeaWorld is doing is a good thing. It's 100% true that not everybody in the
world will be able to have an actual experience with these animals in the wild,
and if they did, it would be worse for their natural habitat than a few whales
being kept in captivity. Research that is being conducted at SeaWorld is
benefiting those wild whales by understanding their needs, as well as having these
creatures up close allow people to feel a connection to them and be a part of
conservation and respect. The animals in captivity now would have no chance if
released into the wild, not being accustomed to the pollution of the ocean or
being able to catch food to eat. Even though these whales in captivity serve a
purpose in helping protect those in the wild, they still deserve more respect
than having to perform in shows, or be kept in such miniscule tanks compared to
where they were born to live.
Citations:
"About Blackfish." Blackfish.
Dogwoof, 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2015. <http://www.blackfishmovie.com/about/>.
"Corky 2." Orca Pod
Wiki. Wikia, 27 June 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
<http://orcapod.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Corky_2>.
Cronin, Melissa. ""Whale
Fingerprints": How We Know Granny The Orca Is 103 Years Old." The
Dodo. The Dodo, 19 May 2014. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
<https://www.thedodo.com/whale-fingerprints-how-we-know-557089098.html>.
"The Fate of Captive
Orcas." WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation. WDC. Web. 12 Nov.
2015. <http://us.whales.org/wdc-in-action/fate-of-captive-orcas>.
"Research Helps Wild
Whales." SeaWorld Cares. SeaWorld. Web. 6 Nov. 2015.
<http://seaworldcares.com/research/research-helps-wild-whales/>.
Robeck, Todd. "You Ask. We Answer." You
Ask We Answer. SeaWorld, 28 Apr. 2015. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
<http://ask.seaworldcares.com/?topic=breeding>.
"A
Whale of A Business." PBS. Ed. Neil Docherty and Renata Simone.
PBS, 11 Nov. 1997. Web. 4 Dec. 2015. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/etc/script.html>.
"Zoos: Pitiful Prisons." PETA.
PETA. Web. 6 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/animals-used-entertainment-factsheets/zoos-pitiful-prisons/>.
