Despite there being marine parks worldwide that are responsible for the captivity of orca whales - SeaWorld positions itself as the leading culprit for the mistreatment of these majestic animals with 23 orcas currently being housed at their parks across America. In addition to this, SeaWorld has 6 of its orcas being held at Lorca Parque marine park in Spain which is said to be a 'loan' by SeaWorld representatives.
Everything about how orcas came to perform at SeaWorld is diabolical. These beautiful animals endured relentless chasing by those instructed to capture baby orcas off the coast of Iceland. The process of capturing these orcas included separating the mothers from their calves by using ships, boats and even air crafts to locate and seal off any route of escape. This is an example of an anthropocentric activity in which humans believe they have the right to invade a habitat that is not their own.
The case against orca captivity is obvious - these animals are too big, too intelligent and too socially complex to survive in such a confined space. In the wild, orcas swim up to 100 miles a day and they are renowned for their social behaviours that allow them travel in large groups - known as pods. Each pod has its own set of vocalisations that are used for long and short range communication with one another. In addition to this, each pod has their own unique hunting tactics and methods of feeding. Therefore, it is and has been proven to be disastrous to put these animals in pools with orcas not from their pods. This type of forced interaction is damaging and dangerous for orcas as it is completely unnatural in the wild.
The display of orca's at marine parks is animal exploitation in its cruelest form. SeaWorld claims that the inclusion of orca's at their parks serves an educational purpose. But what is educational about manipulating visitors into thinking that this is the way we should observe and treat these creatures? Of course, the educational claim is not the reason SeaWorld chooses to hold these orcas captive. The real reason is the huge financial benefits these corporations gain by charging admission tickets to their parks.
The financial aspect is how you can differentiate between good and evil in this battle for orca's freedom. Campaigns such as 'Free Tilly' are not for profit organisations that only have one agenda - to ensure that these orcas have the opportunity to live out the duration of their lives in a sea pen that is far away from the damaging confinements of marine parks. In light of this, it becomes abundantly clear that those working selflessly and tiresomely to demand justice for non human beings are the people who should be trusted, not SeaWorld.
Boycott SeaWorld and make this the last generation of orca captivity.
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