Every year, millions of people flock from all around the world to experience the wonder and awe of the magnificent creatures at SeaWorld’s well-publicized killer whale shows.  The experience is nothing short of breathtaking as you witness these massive animals bring excitement and joy right in front of your eyes.  It only takes a brief moment, however, for the killer whales, or orcas, to show their true wild nature and desperate want to get out of captivity.  Rather often, killer whales have been seen lashing out and in turn, hurting themselves and/or others in the process.  So, with the inherent risk to these animals out weighing the rewards gained by keeping them in captivity, why does SeaWorld insist on keeping these animals and what can be done to stop this massive company?  It is true that SeaWorld is moving towards a platform that no longer involves the theatrics of their original shows; instead they are focusing on educational shows that do not involve as high a demand for these animals to perform, however this does not solve the problem of orcas being held in captivity.  This promotional move simply removes the interaction between orca and trainer, thus providing safety for those who work at SeaWorld but not for the killer whales themselves.  In deciding what should be done to solve the problem of keeping killer whales in captivity, one must look in depth at the questionable motives of SeaWorld phasing out the killer whale exhibit, the truths about how captivity effects killer whales, and the solutions to this never-ending torture for these whales that will not be implemented by SeaWorld. 

SeaWorld has been around for many years and has profited off of the human-animal interactions that are unmatched and that they are known around the world.  SeaWorld has always been able to do what ever they want simply because they are the first to do it, so rules and regulations were never put into place beforehand.  Once some rules and regulations are set, SeaWorld can somehow always manage to change their operations or ideas about what they are accomplishing slightly while still benefitting greatly off of animals that they have taken out of the wild.  They make claims such that their goal is not to provide entertainment but instead to provide a unique circumstance to do “crucial research” that cannot be done outside of captivity (Raja).  This claim simply redirects away from SeaWorld’s true purpose of making money of the entertainment that they provide by making it seem as though their shows are necessary to the understanding of this orca species.  As, orca researcher and founder of the Center for Whale Research, Ken Balcomb stated, “It’s a bit like having Walt Disney tell us about mouse biology” (Raja).  This statement is rather over the top but not to far off the mark. To understand where he is coming from, you must understand that orcas do not perform in the wild the way that they are trained to perform for SeaWorld shows, just as a mouse does not talk and walk upright in the wild as Mickey Mouse does at Disney World.  Now, SeaWorld is making a new change, a change for the betterment of both the animals in their tanks and the conservation of orcas worldwide… or so they claim.  SeaWorld has promised that they are “phasing out the…orca act” in order to bring a new type of show that provides a more natural and informative viewing of these animals without all the bells and whistles that their shows used to utilize (Howard).  According to Brian Howard, a journalist for National Geographic, the decision to end the theatric killer whale shows was decided upon by SeaWorld in light of a substantial decrease in attendance and share prices (Howard).  The decision to make this change once profits started to drop shows that they are changing their operations simply to make more money.  A company, who is as driven to make money and keep shareholders happy as SeaWorld is, does not make decisions based on the best interests of the animals that they are using to make a profit.  One could argue that SeaWorld spends massive amounts of money on adequate care for these animals every year so they are looking out for the health and well-being of the killer whales.  This counterargument validated as SeaWorld accounts that they spend “millions of dollars in habitat maintenance and improvement” to provide the best conditions for these animals (“Health”).  This idea of spending a lot of money to take care of the killer whales is in SeaWorld’s favor and that is exactly why they brag about how much they spend on the caretaking of the killer whales in their parks.  With millions of dollars spent every year on taking care of killer whales in captivity, no one can argue that they do not take care of the animals, but ask yourself this question: if you had something that you were using in order to make money, whether it be an animal or even a machine, would you spend money to take care of this thing so that it could continue to work properly in order to make you more money?  
