Captive Killer Whales Research Paper

Director, writer, and producer, Gabriella Cowperthwaite, in her documentary, Blackfish, describes the shameless hunting and treatment of killer whales. Cowperthwaite’s purpose is to persuade us into opening our eyes to the reality of what we are doing to killer whales by confining them in captivity. She invents an emotionally wrenching tone in order to transmit to the adult viewers that living in captivity may not be acceptable life for the whales. The film effectively showed that the whales should not be kept in captivity by giving the audience examples of their signs of aggression and displays of emotion.

Marine parks in the country like SeaWorld, have orcas in tanks that they live in captivity. They use most of the killer whales for their performances in the pool. We all know that orcas are social, and intelligent creatures, that live in the oceans of the earth. We also know that many scientist are trying to study these animals in captivity where they are in tankes. I think Killer Whales should not be in captivity because, of the injures they can get in their tanks, how they get stressed out and they are better in the wild.

Aside from the otters, dolphins, and seals there are Shamus that are being taken out of their natural habitats. When this happens it causes unnecessary mental stress which can cause deaths of Shamus or trainers. For example, a notorious Shamu named Tilikum just recently died in captivity January 6, 2017. Tilikum was involved in the death of three people: a trainer at the now-defunct Sealand of the Pacific, a man trespassing in SeaWorld Orlando, and a Seaworld Orlando trainer. This is what happens when animals are held in a small confined area. They get heart-broken. So it needs to stop.

I believe whale poaching should be outlawed around the world. Bans have warned people to stop hunting the whales but still over 2,000 whales are killed each year. In 1958, thirty eight thousand whales were killed since then, the amount of whales killed has dropped to thirty six thousand whales from that time. There are almost four whales killed each day. If someone is caught violating the laws it will result in civil penalties up to $11,000 or criminal penalties up to $100,000 plus, one year of prison time. I am against whale poaching and believe it is a major wrongdoing in the world. Two thousand whales die a year for almost no reason. This is why whale poaching should be illegal all around the world.

Animals once worshipped like gods are now abused and used for entertainment. The circus and SeaWorld, two places common for entertaining children, display their animals in grand shows, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg of the truth. Hidden, are the cruel practices, immoral punishments, and unhealthy psychological effects that most of the animals experience. There is a reason why animal rights activists protested. There is a reason why Sea World is ending its world famous Orca whale shows. There is a reason the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is shutting down, after touring the United States for 146 years.

The Sperm Whale looks like a plain whale and it is just like any other whale with some difference. The name of the Sperm Whale is the weirdest thing about it, I think. To discover this you will need to read a bit.

The documentary Blackfish, directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite released in July 2013, explores the mistreatment of killer whales and the relationship between the killer whales and trainers as well as the significant problems of the sea-park industry, with a focus upon SeaWorld. Cowperthwaite positions the audience to feel sympathy towards the killer whales by making deliberate choices in sound, visual, language, and structure through the representation of trainers as unprofessional, and whales as mistreated, also experts as reliable information source.

Killer whales were initially captured in the 1960s, when a female orca was captured and put into a tank. Two days into the female orca's stay she repeatedly bashed her head against her tank wall and perished the following day. Unfortunately, people did not heed or take any precautions from this traumatic incident and since then killer whales all over the world have been captured for entertainment purposes and have been stored in facilities such as SeaWorld. From these types of facilities incidents continue to happen such as killer whales killing their trainers, killing themselves, dying due to medical conditions, and more. Continuous accidents such as these have caused suspicion among the public of whether killer whales live healthy and prosperous lives in captivity and brings up the concern of ethicality.

Although, Killer Whales in captivity go under psychological stress which creates psychotic behaviour. “Most small cetaceans are naturally active, playful and have a complex social structures. When tasked with entertaining tourists all day, with nowhere to escape, cetaceans often become bored, frustrated and aggressive” (Wild vs. Captivity). These wild animals are not meant to entertain humans and be locked in a closure. They need free range and not small enclosures. Killer whales have no choice but to perform all day. “In his first home, Sealand in British Columbia, he was trained with other whales using punishment: if he mess up a trick, they’d all have their food withheld” (Lewis Helen). Other killer whales began a strong dislike at this and would scratch them with their teeth so hard he would bleed. They are forced to do tricks for people and they get frustrated because there enclosures are nothing compared to the wild. The unnatural conditions stresses the killer whales out. The attacks on the trainers are due to stress in animals forced into miserable, unnatural conditions. These enclosure are nothing like the wild and the different sounds in the enclosures can affect the whales.”There concrete enclosures also reflect sounds, so a poorly designed enclosure can make artificial noises. Echolocation is rarely used, as a tank offers no novelties or challenges to explore” (Wild vs. Captivity). Killer Whales should swim up to 100 miles a day in the wild. But in their tanks, they would need to swim 1, 208 laps (3,105 lengths back and forth) to get that

In 2013, a documentary called Blackfish was released to the public. This film was produced, written, and directed by a lady named Gabriela Cowperthwaite, as a way to show the world how poorly whales are treated and why they do not belong in captivity. Blackfish also shows how little people really know about the beautiful and highly intelligent orca whale itself. Her film was seen by many, and touched the hearts of a lot people, taking the debate of the topic to a higher level. The movie hits on a lot of main issues about captivity, told by reliable people, along with proven statistics to go along with them. That makes this sources extremely dependable for my final paper due to all the good information it gives.

The breeding of whales in captivity needs to come to an end. It isn’t fair to doom them to a life in captivity.

It 's clear that the living conditions that these animals are forced to live in are just plain unethical, but something even worse is the relationship between animals in captivity and a spike in their stress levels. “It 's irrefutable that many zoos drive animals insane -- and if that isn 't cruel, I don 't know what is” (Masci) For starters, SeaWorld is one of the most notorious places in the world accused of stressing out their animals. Since the tanks are so small the whales tend to get very stressed out, and some former workers even say that the whales seem to go psychotic. “ If you were on a bathtub for 25 years, don 't you think you get a little irritated, aggravated, maybe a little psychotic ” (“Blackfish”)? A clear example is when one of the

Although the orca can be found in both in the open ocean and in the coastal waters, they primarily inhabit the continental shelf’s in the water less than 200 meters deep. In the cold water area is the most distribution limited by the seasonal pack ice. The killer whale is the top carnivore consumer on the food web. Killer whales may be large in size and appetite, but they still act on instinct and have no desire to kill intentionally. The killer whale is also a very playful and intelligent creature like most dolphins are, therefore they do not deserve the name killer whale. There were many instances where the killer whale has been misunderstood based on the weighed out factors of said instances. Stated by an article titled “Killer Whales: A Reputation Deserved?”, in Victoria, Canada 1991 at Sealand, a woman fell into the killer whale pool and was repeatedly tossed around until she drowned. When the killer whales tossed her around it was not their intention to kill her they were only playing. In Orlando, Florida yet another event occurred producing the same results, although the common fact remains killer whales were in captivity when these human being were killed. The whales most likely thought these women were fish not people. It is a common misconception of natural instinct and imaginative onlookers; these whales are not people they are wild marine life. It is no secret that killer whales have a bad reputation, however what earned the reputation was sheer unintentional killings. Orinus Orcas are wild marine life that should not be prosecuted like human beings, and the name “Killer Whales” is the result of false

Imagine you are five years old, someone breaks into your home, kills your aunt and possibly your older brother in the process of kidnapping you. You are separated from your loved ones, leaving your mother in severe pain and grief. You are taken somewhere unknown, imprisoned in a cell where people come watch you for their own entertainment. This is exactly how animals held captive in zoos and sea-parks feel. Zoos generally hold a variety of animals for public display, also known as “zoological parks.” On the other hand, sea-parks, hold fish and amphibians. These parks that exhibit animals are inhumane and barbaric. Vulnerable creatures are being abused daily and few seem to care about this issue. Zoos and sea-parks should be banned and

According to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation, “the whaling industry is in decline and the demand for meat is falling” (WDC, n.d.). Given this statement, I would support the ban of whaling worldwide. In addition, it would be difficult and costly to monitor the whaling activity that is taking place in waters where whales frequent. The separation of non-endangered species will not deter whalers from hunting any whale in sight. These activities are widely documented and filmed for the world to see.