LoganEiden

Ms.Robillard
LA8Hour3
3March2015
SeaWorldofHurt
About1,800animalsfrom300differentspeciesresideattheNationalZooinWashington,
D.C.Theirbestknownresidentsaregiantpandas,butthatZooisalsohometogreatapes,big
cats,Asianelephants,birds,reptiles,smallmammals,andmanymore!JustinAmericathereare
about250zoos/aquariums.Thatmeansabout300,000animalshavebeentakenawayfromtheir
homesandputintotheseawfulplaces.
Aquariumsandzoosaren'tdoinganythingrightforthe
animals,especiallyorcas.SeaWorldisacircus/aquariumthatfamiliescanvisittoseewhaleand
dolphinshows,variousseaanimalsondisplay,giftshops,ridesandrestaurants..SeaWorld
shouldbeshutdownbecausetheyarenothelpinganimalstheyarehurtingthem,peopleare
beinghurt,somekilledand,itsnotnaturalfortheorcas.
SomemaysaythatSeaWorldeducatestheaudience.
Withmorethan1,500zoological
expertsdedicatedtotheanimalsinourcare,ourprogramsaresecondtonone.Theyrepresent
pioneeringcontributionstothezoologicalcommunity,includingthebirthofthefirstkillerwhale
inhumancareataSeaWorldpark.Today,with30killerwhales,wecareforthelargestkiller
whalepopulationinazoologicalfacilityworldwide.
(SeaWorld)SeaWorldhasscientistsand
doctorsontheirsightatalltimes.Theanimalsalwayshaveprotectionandtheyshouldneverget
hurt.Butthethingtheydon'tknowisthattheyarehurtingtheanimalsmorebykeepingthemin
theseplaces.Theseorcasreallyneedroom,theirfamily,andagooddietandtheyarenotgetting

Eiden2

anyofthat.Sonomatterhowmuchcaretheseanimalsreceivetheirstillgoingtobeunhealthy
andnothappy.SeaWorldhasthebestrehabilitationcenterintheworld.Savingover24,000
animalsincludingbirds,turtles,whales,etc.
SeaWorldselffundsthelargestmarineanimal
rescueandrehabilitationprogramontheplanet.(SeaWorld)Buttheytakeanimalsawayfrom
theirhomes.LikeTilikumwastakenawayfromhisfamilyatagethreeandhadnothingwrong
withhim,buttakinghiminthesecompactedplacesjusthurthimandmadehimaggressiveand
eventuallyhurtpeople.
SeaWorldshouldbeshutdownbecauseitisn'thealthyforthesesanimals.Orcaslifespan
decreaseswhenputintocaptivity.
Orcasinthewildhaveanaveragelifeexpectancyof30to50
yearstheirestimatedmaximumlifespanis60to70yearsformalesand80toover100for
females.Themedianageoforcasincaptivityisonly9,andorcasatSeaWorldrarelymakeit
eventotheaveragelifeexpectancyoftheirwildcousins.(SeaWorldofhurt)
3080yearsless
thantheiraveragelifespan.Thatwouldbelikeahumandyingatage10andtheseaquariums
thinkitsnormal.Weneedtogetthesewhalesoutoftheseterribleplaces.Orcasincaptivityhave
collapseddorsalfins.
Allcaptiveadultmaleorcashavecollapseddorsalfins,likelybecausethey
havenospaceinwhichtoswimfreelyandarefedanunnaturaldietofthaweddeadfish.
SeaWorldclaimsthattheseconditioniscommonhowever,inthewild,itrarelyeverhappens
andisasignofaninjuredorunhealthyorca.(SeaWorldofhurt)
Thisisasignofanunhealthy
whale.Thesecreaturesneedatonofroomandtherightdiet.Andnotbeinginanaturalhome
doesn'thelpthisatall.ButSeaWorldhasalsoliedaboutthis,sayingitisnormalanditmeans
nothing.Thesestressedorcasaregettingsoboredintheirlittlepools,they'retryingtobreaktheir
wayout.
Orcasincaptivitygnawatironbarsandconcretewallsfromstress,anxiety,and

Eiden3

boredom,sometimesbreakingtheirteethandresultinginpainfuldentaldrillingwithout
anesthesia.("GrowingDebateoverWhalesandDolphinsinCaptivity")
Theseplacesare
causinganimalstohurtthemselves.Thisjustshowshowharditreallyistokeeptheseanimalsin
captivitywithoutkillingthem.Andifyouaren'tgoingtospendthemoneytomakeitanhealthy
environment,justleavethemalone.Whatimtryingtogetacrossisthattheseanimalsare
complex.Theyhavehugebrains,theyaren'tjustbottomfeeders.Soyourlittlepoolandoldfish
justisn'tgoingtocutit.
Mysecondbigreasonis,SeaWorldshouldbeclosedbecauseitsnotonlyhurtingthe
animals,butalsothepeople.ThreeSeaWorldtrainersinthelast30yearswerekilledbyawhale
namedTilikum.
OnFebruary21,1991,Sealand
trainerKeltieByrne
fellintothepool
containingallthreeorcas.ShewaspulledtothebottomoftheenclosurebyTilikum,tossed
aroundamongthethreeorcas,andultimatelydrowned.(SeaWorldsWorst)
Thisisn'tthiswhales
onlykilling.ButImnotsurprisedthatwhenhegotbigenoughweallknewhesgoingtofight.
Beingtakenawayfromhisfamilyatage2togoadowhaleshows.Thisorcarebelledagainst
placeslikethese,andhesuremadehispoint.Tilicumssecondandthirdkillingswerein1999
and2010.Bothofthesekillingswerearesultfromacombinationofstressandloneliness.
The
stressofcaptivityalsocausesTilikumtoexhibitaggressiontowardhumans,whichhascosttwo
morelivesthoseofDanielP.Dukesin1999andDawnBrancheauin2010.Tilikumscalped
anddismemberedDawnaswellasbreakingbonesthroughoutherbodybeforedrowning
her.(SeaWorldofHurt)
Stillevenafterthreekillsthiswhalecreatedthesecompanieswereso
desperateformoneytheydidn'tevencareforthesafetyoftheirownemployees.Thethingthat
keptTilikumtherewashissize.Hewasmassiveandwhenhewasn'thurtingpeople,hewasa

Eiden4

greatperformer.Buthisaggressiondidgetoutofhand.
WhenSeaWorldheardthata12,000lb.
bull,thelargestorcaincaptivitywasavailable,theyquicklypurchasedhimfortheirbreeding
program.Apparentlygivinglittlethoughttohisreputationforkillingandbeingoverly
aggressive.Tilikumsspermwasusedtobuildupacollectionoforcas,andnow54percentof
SeaWorldsorcashavehisgenes.(SeaWorldWorst)
ThismeansthatTilikum'snotgoneandever
willbe.Allthesewhalesaregoingtobeaggressive.Itsreallysadknowingthathalfofthese
whalesaregoingtodiewithoutevenknowingwhatthewildislike.Allthestressthatthis
animalsdealwith,plusTilikum'sgenestokillandhurtwhenputunderstress.Thisjustdoesn't
seemright.
Lastly,SeaWorldshouldbeclosedbecauseitsnotnaturalforthesewhales.Whilein
captivity,whalesdonothaveenoughroomcomparedtowhattheygetinthewild.
Theycan
travel50to100milesintheday.(NaomiRose)Thesemassiveanimalsneedatonofroom.
Theytravelalot..100milesadayislikeswimmingfromMilwaukeetoGreenBayeveryday.Not
beingabletotravelfreelybuildsupalotofstress.
Whalesusuallytravelinpacksorwiththeir
familyandbeingtornawayfromtheirfamilycancauseanoverwhelmingamountofboredom
andstress.
Theyliveinfamilygroups,theyhaveawholeocean,andavery,veryrich
environmentthattheoceanprovides.(NaomiRose)
Cementwallsandmaybesomemetalbarsis
nothingliketheocean.Someniceandcoldsaltwater,sandybottomandotherorcasandother
animalstotalkto.Thatswheretheseanimalsshouldbe.Thepoolstheseanimalsareputinisn't
onebitnatural.Thesebrilliantorcashaveaverydifferentsensethatwehumansdon'thave.
Echolocation.
There'snothinginthetank,there'snofish,there'snoalgae,there'snoanything
andso,it'snotthattheycan'tusetheirecholocationinaconcretetank,sowhyuseit?They

Eiden5

knowexactlythelimitsoftheirenvironmentsothere'snopointtoitandIthinkit'saterrible
thingtotakeawayfromthem.(Rose)
Losingtheirbiggestsense.Usingtheirecholocationtells
themhowlongthey'repoolis,wellwhatelsecantheyuseitfor.Andthisistheirmainsourceof
communication.Soputtingthembackinthewildwithoutthiscancausehardsurvivalinthe
wild.Andtakingthatawayisaterriblething.
Overall,PlaceslikeSeaWorldshouldbeshutdownbecause,theyarenthelpinganimals
theyarejusthurtingthem,peoplearealsobeinghurtandsomekilledand,itsnotnaturalforthe
orcas.Thisisimportantbecauseorcasarenotbeingtreatedright.Theydon'tcareaboutthe
animalsbutmoreforthemoney.Theseplacesneedtobeputtoanend.
About1,800animals
from300differentspeciesresideattheNationalZooinWashington,D.C.JustinAmerica
there'sabout250zoos/aquariums.Thatmeansabout450,000animalshavebeentakenaway
fromtheirhomesandputintotheseawfulplaces.Havethiserabethelastoftheseplaces.

Eiden6

WorkCited
"ActivistsandSeaWorldDebatetheLifeSpansofKillerWhales."
Newsela
.Newsela,10Feb.
2014.Web.25Feb.2015.
Rose,Naomi,andRicO'Barry."AWhaleofaBusiness:AntiCaptivityViews."
PBS
.PBS,n.d.
Web.24Feb.2015.
"30YearsandThreeDeaths:Tilikum'sTragicStorySeaWorldofHurt."
SeaWorldofHurt
.
Peta,6Mar.2015.Web.06Mar.2015.
Wallace,Kelly."'Blackfish'SparksDebateoverTakingKidstoAnimalParks."
CNN
.Cable
NewsNetwork,28Oct.2013.Web.26Feb.2015.