BLACKFISH SHINES LIGHT ON DOLPHIN AND WHALE CAPTIVITY

 

 

 

 

A recent independent film has brought to light the cruelty of keeping whales, dolphins, seals, polar bears and other marine creatures in captivity. The film 'Blackfish' was released in 2013 and premiered at the Sundance film festival. The film focuses on Tilikum a killer whale who was involved in the death of three individuals including a trainer at SeaWorld.

 

 

 

 

The film was later released on dvd and shown on tv channels including CNN. The impact of 'Blackfish' was felt immediately with entertainers such as Willie Nelson, Trisha Yearwood, Trace Adkins and Martina McBride cancelling proposed appearances at SeaWorld Orlando. SeaWorld announced that they had suffered a $15.9 million loss. Overall attendance at SeaWorld park and Busch Gardens also declined by 5%. Legislation has since been proposed by New York State Senator Greg Ball to ban keeping orcas in captivity and in March of 2014, Richard Bloom introduced the Orca Welfare and Safety Act, a bill in California that would ban entertainment-driven killer whale captivity and retire all current whales. So what exactly did we learn from 'Blackfish'.

 

 

 

 

Blackfish introduces its audience to the cruel practice of keeping whales, dolphins and other animals in captivity. Even though the film focuses on killer whales, it still brings to light animal captivity in general. At the end of the day. SeaWorld is a business that makes money by selling tickets and merchandise. While there is no doubt that SeaWorld has done amazing things for animals through their rescue and rehabilitation program, does this make the captivity and abuse of animals for entertainment purposes ok. Below are some facts about captivity. 

 

 

 



 

 

SeaWorld claims that it spends millions of dollars a year upgrading their enclosures and tanks to ensure that their captive animals live in a healthy environment. However, this has been disputed by former trainers who claim that the tanks have not been upgraded since the 80's with millions of dollars being spent on lights for the sets and food. The tanks also minimise the amount that these whales can swim with this being equivalent to us spending our lives in a bathtub. Below is one of SeaWorld's holding tanks. As you can see they do not provide nearly enough room for these animals.

 

 



 

 

SeaWorld claims that it does not capture any orcas from the wild and that their breeding program is a ground-breaking success even though they have produced several inbred babies and they have a 50% infant mortality rate. Captive whales also have a shorter life expectancy then those who are swimming and living free, which leads us to believe that eventually, SeaWorld will resort to capturing wild orcas again.

 

 

SeaWorld claims that they do not separate killer whale mums and calves, however, they contradict this by saying that whales are moved in order to "maintain a healthy social structure". Young whales are removed from their families and placed in tanks with other unfamiliar whales. There are several whales still living at SeaWorld which have been separated from their mothers including Taku, Takara, Keet and Keto.

 

SeaWorld also claims that their captive whales have the same lifespan as those living in the wild. However, only two out of countless amount of whales held captive by SeaWorld have lived to or beyond their average non-captive lifespan.

 

 

You can help these whales, dolphins, seals, polar bears, sharks and all other animals which have been imprisoned for no other reason then for the entertainment of humans and to line our greedy pockets with money. Do not attend any event, including circuses, zoos or aquariums. Do not give your money to companies which make their CEO'S rich through the suffering of such beautiful creatures. Take a stand and change the world for the better.