Keep Calm and Hear the Truth

In the aftermath of Blackfish, SeaWorld launched a campaign to discredit much of what they were accused of in the documentary. In their advertisements like the one shown here, SeaWorld used the opportunity to try and convince people that they have only ever been involved in the 'collecting' of orcas as oppose to the 'capturing' - which is the correct term for the brutality these animals experienced at being separated from their pods and taken from their natural habitat.

SeaWorld separates mothers and their offspring. Orca calves are taken away from their mother at as young as four years old. In the wild, an orca never leaves its mother side. The entire process is extremely distressing for both mother and calf. In the aftermath of this separation, some orcas in captivity have been recorded making vocalisations that have never been heard before in the wild.

It has been proved on multiple occasions that SeaWorld has been responsible for an inadequate standard of care for orcas. One of the main causes of premature orca death in captivity is poor nutrition and bacterial infection. SeaWorld is in charge of both of these factors and therefore they are responsible for the sickness of these animals that leads to their deaths. Humans can not provide the healthy lifestyle that these orcas would experience in their natural habitat.

Despite being an old advertisement, SeaWorld still uses human interaction with orcas as a unique selling point for their marine parks. However, this 'come talk to the animals' slogan encourages people to view orcas as an animal that humans can explicitly talk to and engage with as oppose to the reality which is that orcas are not meant for human interaction.