SeaWorld has been well known and loved for their one of a kind killer whale performance shows since 1965. These performances have included over one-hundred sixty-four killer whales over the years, and there is currently a total of 61 orcas held in captivity. Twenty-eight wild-captured plus thirty-three captive-born in at least 14 marine parks in 8 different countries.  Killer whales have been hunted, captured, and held in captivity by SeaWorld parks since 1965, and the public has had enough. After the release of Blackfish in March of 2013, SeaWorld has faced battles with the public, animal activists, the media and more. People are realizing captivity has no positive outcome, especially for animals of this size. The health, wellness, and future wellbeing of these animals relies on the tolerance of SeaWorld and their want to help them. After some thought, people may begin to ask, “Why has SeaWorld kept these animals captive for so many years, knowing the whales, and other marine animals, suffer from a variety of ailments ranging from a lack of space to an unstable diet?”

The answer to that question goes hand in hand with the root of all evil: money. SeaWorld is only concerned with the money they are making off of their captive, marine animals. According to William Alden of dealbook.com from the NY Times, “SeaWorld has turned a profit from live shows, thrill rides and other attractions, earning $77.4 million last year, four times what it made in 2011.”(Alden)  Since the release of Blackfish, their yearly earnings have decreased dramatically, and even more so when they announced they would terminate their killer whale breeding program. This announcement made in March of 2016 stated that the SeaWorld parks would no longer be breeding their captive orcas, they would begin to phase out their shows with the remaining captive killer whales.  This was huge news for the public and everyone fighting for the rights of these killer whales. However; for the killer whales still living in captivity, what does their future hold? As for right now, the whales are still for a life of full captivation. 

In every news report or conviction against SeaWorld and its sister parks, and even Blackfish, the main issue the public has with captivity is that these two to three ton marine animals have been sharing tanks around 90 feet wide, if not smaller. Male killer whales typically weigh 8,000 to 12,000 pounds and can grow to be twenty-two feet long. The females typically weigh between three and four thousand pounds, while growing up to around nineteen feet long. When these killer whales were captured as babies, SeaWorld CEO’s didn’t think to put them in tanks big enough to accommodate their size once they were fully grown. As babies where they are much more agile and capable of adapting, putting three whales in one tank didn’t seem like an issue. What they didn’t think to consider would be that certain killer whales might not get along with each other. 

Whales from different ecotypes are not meant to be contained in tiny tanks where they have to fight for dominance. One example of this occurred in 1989, during a live SeaWorld show in San Diego, California, where a dominant female named Kandu rammed Corky, a new member to the tank. This aggression act resulted in Kandu tearing open an artery and bleeding to death. Naomi Rose of the Animal Welfare Institute in Washington, DC says, “That degree of aggression has never been observed in the wild. The two whales involved were from different oceans. They would have never encountered each other in the wild.” (Rose)

Studies have shown that killer whales travel very long distances throughout the day with distinct units called ecotypes, each with different habits. These ecotypes include mothers and calves, some fathers, and sometimes multiple families that swim together. Each ecotype has their own language or vocals they use to communicate with each other, which is very important because killer whales are known as the most social mammals on the planet, including humans. As well as their separate "languages" they hunt different prey. One group eats a specific salmon species, one preys on seals, and another occasionally targets humpback whale calves. Living in captivity does not measure up to the lifestyle these animals are accustomed to in the wild. A recent study on the ecotypes of killer whales was conducted using an UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) to photograph killer whales from above, allowing scientists to monitor killer whale health in an entirely new way. This study allowed scientists to take straight-down photos of the Northern resident killer whales that are listed as threatened under Canada's Species At Risk Act. 

By looking at these photos, scientists can take precise measurements of each whale determining whether the whales are getting enough to eat or not. John Durban, a marine mammal ecologist with NOAA Fisheries says, "We can't put a whale on a scale, but we can use aerial images to analyze their body condition--basically, how fat or skinny they are."(Durban) This is important because these whales feed mainly on Chinook salmon, and low Chinook numbers may be limiting the growth of the whale population. At Sealand of the Pacific, three killer whales from different ecotypes were living in a dingy, little tank. At night, the killer whales were moved from their regular enclosure to a holding tank about thirty feet wide. The whales knew when it got dark they would be forced to go in the tank, and none of them ever went voluntarily. This is when trainers were told to start the food deprivation technique. Trainers would refrain from giving the whales food until they went into the holding tank, where they would then be fed, and they would stay until someone let them out around 6:00 am the next morning. These killer whales did not get along very well all together and there were reports that the male, Tilikum would come out of the holding tank each morning with lacerations and rakes from where the two female killer whales would bully him throughout the night. 

The very well-known killer whale named Tilikum was responsible for multiple aggression attacks and also took the lives of three people within 19 years. Tilikum got his start at Sealand of the pacific, a public aquarium in South Oak Bay in the city of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Tilikum’s first victim was trainer Keltie Byrne of Sealand on February 21, 1991. Byrne fell into the pool containing Tilikum and two other killer whales and was pulled to the bottom of the pool by Tilikum, tossed around among the three orcas, and ultimately drowned. Shortly after the death of Byrnes, Sealand closed its doors for good and put all three of the captive killer whales up for sale. SeaWorld quickly purchased Tilikum for its breeding program knowing this 12,000-lb. bull, the largest orca in captivity, had a reputation for killing and aggression. Tilikum’s sperm was used to build up a collection of killer whales, and now, 54 percent of SeaWorld’s orcas have his genes. “Aggression toward humans and among orcas is nearly non-existent in nature, but the constant stress of living in incompatible social groupings inside minuscule tanks at SeaWorld causes them to lash out, posing a danger both to other whales and to employees alike.” (Rose)

SeaWorld was founded by George Millay, Milt Shedd, Ken Norris and David DeMott and first opened their doors in 1964. Shamu was captured in October of 1965. She was the fourth killer whale to be held in captivity at SeaWorld, but she was SeaWorld’s first killer whale to perform shows, and the title of the performances have since been named after her. She unfortunately died after six years of living in captivity, known as the second captive female ever at SeaWorld parks. The “original baby Shamu” also known as Kalina, was the first killer whale born and raised in captivity at SeaWorld parks in 1985. Kalina just recently passed away in October of 2010 after experiencing Bacterial Septicemia or in other words, blood poisoning. She was one of many captive killer whales that attacked trainers over the years. 

Many other whales in the captivity of SeaWorld parks have been involved in aggression acts that SeaWorld attempted to hide from the public, or change the story of what actually happened in order to keep a good reputation for their parks. The public’s opinion of these issues are not the only ones that matter. In an interview conducted by Jane Lee of National Geographic, former SeaWorld trainer Bridgette Pirtle spoke out about her previous experiences as an employee of this multi-million-dollar company. Lee asked Pirtle about her day-to-day experiences with the whales, the routine they followed, the relationship between accommodations and behavior, and other things like the common misconceptions about trainers. Pirtle responded to Lee’s question about the common misconception of trainers by saying, “I think one of the most common ones that I came across is that you're just the jock of the career world. Most people think that trainers are just about being cowboys, and that's not it at all. I'd say that at least 90 percent of the trainers I worked with—most of them are still there now—most of them got into it for their love of the animals. To understand the behavior of a killer whale, to know that each session is different, it takes a lot of depth and understanding of operant conditioning. Was it a thrill to do the shows? Of course. But I loved teaching the animals. I loved figuring out how to communicate with the animals, and I loved what they gave back to me.” (Pirtle)

Killer whales in the wild have never been known to attack or present acts of aggression toward humans. The stress of their surroundings, sharing tanks with multiple other incompatible killer whales, food deprivation, depression, and separation anxiety all take a toll on these animals and ultimately cause them to act aggressively along with having been proven to have shorter life spans than wild orcas. Naomi Rose writes, “SeaWorld has experienced roughly one orca death per year since its breeding program began – 25 orcas in 26 years, evenly spaced over that time, all but three of whom were younger than 25 years of age when they died and six of whom were 12 or younger. Given the fact that the animals have access to 24/7 veterinary care and “restaurant-quality” food, this is a poor mortality record, particularly when considering the ages of the animals at death.” (Rose) This statement speaks measures about how much SeaWorld actually cares for their animals. If SeaWorld had the best interest of the killer whales as their first priority, they would have been working for years now to provide a better life for them. While there are currently no options for the whales to be released or moved to a sanctuary, SeaWorld could do many things to better the lives of these animals.   

This presents the question, “Why hasn’t SeaWorld released their captive killer whales if they are ending the breeding program?” Although SeaWorld agreed to end their breeding program, the solution to this problem is not releasing the animals into the ocean.  Once born in captivity, killer whales cannot be released to the wild because they would still be reliant on humans for food and attention. This was shown after the 1993 film Free Willy, the story of a boy trying to free a captive orca. The orca was "played" by a captive orca named Keiko. After the film, Keiko was returned to the wild, but he did not reintegrate into orca society. Melissa Hogenboom states in her BBC report, “In a 2009 account of the reintroduction, researchers stated: "Keiko's release to the wild was not successful, though physically unrestricted and free to leave, he kept returning to his caretakers for food and company." Keiko eventually died from pneumonia just a year after he was released.” (Hogenboom)  "That's the other problem with captivity, you've taken these ecotypes away from everything they know culturally and given them something barren in return." (Rose)

The public was informed that Tilikum sadly passed away January 6, 2017 from SeaWorld’s announcement claiming, “The necropsy performed following Tilikum’s death confirmed his cause of death as bacterial pneumonia, consistent with his diagnosis and treatment.” Killer whales are not meant to live in a tank that’s barely bigger than them with multiple others. They shouldn’t be deprived of food at night because they don’t want to go in a holding enclosure where they can’t move. Their lifespan shouldn’t be cut nearly in half because of stress, inadequate diet, and sickness. SeaWorld should be held responsible for all of the lives of killer whales they have taken because they wanted to make money showing them off to millions of people. Captivity should be illegal and should have always been illegal! The whales remaining in the captivity of SeaWorld parks should have a private sanctuary built for them where they can live out the rest of their lives free from concrete enclosures, and free to swim around as much as they want without having to perform throughout the day. Until such sanctuary can be built, the whales should receive extraordinary care, a very well rounded diet, and should at least be put in bigger pools with other whales they are compatible with. Animal rights should be equivalent to human rights. If SeaWorld would have considered the big picture consequences from the beginning, would these marvelous marine animals be endangered? (SeaWorld Cares) 

The only plausible solution to this issue would be for SeaWorld to pay for a sanctuary to be built and kept up by people that do not work directly work for SeaWorld. There are no sanctuaries for marine animals of this size at this time, so the killer whales that are still being held captive currently have no outlook options. The best option would be multiple sanctuaries, but as for right now there are no further options and SeaWorld should move further and try harder to make the remaining lives of these whales worthwhile. The sad part of this entire situation is that if the whales were able to be moved to a sanctuary, the ones born into captivity wouldn’t know the amount of joy they should be feeling to swim in ocean water not trapped in a tiny pool. The problem with sanctuaries is that no matter how big they are, or how much better of an environment it may seem compared to the tanks they currently live in, SeaWorld would still be getting away with neglect, animal cruelty, and so many other things regarding the captivity of these animals. 

It seems to the public that there is no hope for these animals. They will never know a life outside a man-made tank, and they will never be able to swim hundreds of miles each day with their natural ecotypes. Instead, they swim in circles, bob up and down unnaturally, try to eat their way out of the tanks, do everything they are asked of, and in return they still get deprived of food, human and other whale interaction, and are forced to perform as if that’s what they were born to do. While the health, wellness, and future wellbeing of these currently captive animals relies on SeaWorld, the most that can be done to help is to get the word out there so that no other animals in marine parks, circuses, zoos, or any unnatural habitat have to live a life of neglect and unhappiness. 
