Orcas In Captivity

SeaWorld sticks with its long-held claims that its orcas – also known as killer whales – thrive in captivity.

09:54 18 April 2016

Last month, SeaWorld has confirmed that it is ending its orca breeding programme saying that the 29 orcas they currently have would be the last. However, the company sticks to its long-held claims that the orcas under their care thrive. 

 

When asked if he can envisage a time when SeaWorld would no longer keep orcas, Dr Chris Dold, the firm’s vice president of veterinary services, said: "I don't imagine that future because we know our killer whales are thriving in the habitats where we keep them now."

 

Joel Manby, CEO of SeaWorld, said they have helped the public to understand orcas since they started displaying them in 1964.

 

"They were feared, hated and even hunted," he says. "Half a century later, orcas are among the most popular marine mammals on the planet. One reason: people came to SeaWorld and learned about orcas up close. Now we need to respond to the attitudinal change that we helped to create."

 

However, another possible reason why the public opinion shifted about SeaWorld’s orcas is the 2013 film Blackfish, which documented the death of Dawn Brancheau, a SeaWorld trainer killed by a bull orca named Tilikum.

 

Responding to the content of the film, Dr Dold said: "There is risk, every day working with animals and those risks are implicit in the size and nature of the animal. Rather than speculate about what happened that day we're focused on putting significant efforts to re-evaluate our approach to safely working with whales."

 

Dr Naomi Rose, a marine mammal scientist at the Animal Welfare Institute in Washington DC believes that orcas do not thrive in captivity. She said: "They cannot be isolated from friends and family because it will in fact cause problems for them. Socially, emotionally, psychologically, physically."