The topic of orca whales in captivity, specifically at SeaWorld, has recently become a very controversial topic in the media after the release of the 2013 film Blackfish posing the question: how does the captivity of orca whales affects the species as a whole as well as the environment. It is interesting that something once brought people so much joy and entertainment is now being recognized as something extremely negative. Personally, I have always loved animals and I believe that they deserve to live in their natural habitat. The thought of an animal as magnificent as an orca whale being forced into a confined space is heartbreaking and unfair to the giant creatures. I spent the majority of my childhood growing up around the ocean and from a very young age, I have always taken a great interest in the well-being of animals, specifically marine animals. To me, whales are the most interesting of all of the creatures in the ocean because of their massive size and the contribution that they make to the rest of the ocean. I have spent much time researching the affects of captivity of whales and what it will not only do to the whales specifically, but also to the environment as a whole, by reading multiple articles concerning the topic and also by watching the film Blackfish which focuses specifically on the negative affects of captivity. 

The first source that I found, "The Fate of Captive Orca's", takes a stand against the captivity of orca whales by describing the consequences that orca whales face while in captivity by giving the facts of how they are treated. It also discusses how keeping these creatures in captivity affects the entire species. "The Fate of Captive Orca's" article is partially presented, only showing the negative effects of captivity. "The Fate of Captive Orca's" was written in December of 2015, giving the most recent and updated facts. There is no author mentioned but it is published on us.whales.org, a credible organization with the reputation of collecting proper facts about conserving marine life. us.whales.org is an organization that works towards preserving marine life, specifically dolphins and whales. Since they work so hard to fix this issue, they are clearly biased against the captivity of these killer whales. 

For the second article that I found, I was searching for a less opinionated view, and by searching "the negative effects of whales in captivity" I was led to the article, "SeaWorld San Diego Ending Controversial Killer Whale Shows". Coming in the following year, there will no longer be orca whale shows as a result of SeaWorld's attempt to send a message based on conservation. "SeaWorld San Diego Ending Controversial Killer Whale Shows", discusses how the company has struggled to attract visitors since the release of the film Blackfish and how they plan to try and get back on track. "SeaWorld San Diego Ending Controversial Killer Whale Shows" is an informative piece that shows the complete focus of the situation at hand for SeaWorld. The "SeaWorld San Diego Ending Controversial Killer Whale Shows" article, written in November of 2015, gives recent facts but since the killer whale shows were not supposed to end until 2016, it does not give a realistic view of what SeaWorld is actually doing to improve their situation or the situation of their animals. Natasha Geiling is the author and since she has been selected by thinkprogress.org, a reliable source itself, she becomes credible due to association with the organization. thinkprogress.org is strictly an informative website that just puts the facts in front of the reader with little to no bias.

My third source, "SeaWorld Barred from Breeding Whales in Captivity", talks about the ruling in California stating that SeaWorld may not breed animals in captivity. Representatives from SeaWorld discuss how the park will be affected in the future due to this decision. The main claim of this article is that it is unfair that these animals in captivity cannot breed because it is natural for them to do so. "SeaWorld Barred from Breeding Whales in Captivity" was written in October of 2015 which gives recent facts about the new policy being implemented by the state of California and SeaWorld but since the orca whale breeding policy had not been put into effect when the article was written, it does not give a realistic view of what SeaWorld is actually doing to about their breeding situation. Although SeaWorld claims that they are discontinuing the breeding of captive whales, there is little to no proof of the affects due to the timing of the article so while they make these claims of what they predict to happen, there is no way to prove them. 

Based on my research and prior opinions of this topic, I have come to the conclusion that there are no positive affects that come from the captivity of whales. However, through further research I was able to recognize SeaWorld's effort to decrease the deaths of orca whales held in captivity. If I were to change this project, I would collect more information that fuels both sides of the argument, such as an article from another organization that works to preserve captive whales lives or find an article that gives an example where a whale in a show died only hours later. 

