Let my Orcas go!

Hey people of the interwebs. Today instead of continuing my adventures in marine biology I thought I would take a minute to talk about some current events, specifically the much applauded changes to Seaworld's orca policies. As you may or may not be aware Seaworld recently announced that it would be ending theatrical orca shows at its parks. This move, in the wake of the public outcry following the release of the Blackfish film which documented the inhumane practices and unhealthy conditions used to capture and hold these animals, was seen as a belated but happy step in the right direction. However, while it is true that Seaworld does plan to end its theatrical orca shows in the "near" future this is not the entire story. The planed changes will only affect the San Diego park, which has seen the greatest reduction in attendance following the release of the documentary, additionally the change is not permanent. The theatrical orca shows are set to be phased out at San Diego sometime in the next year following which Seaworld plans to renovate and enlarge the whales' enclosure in time for the introduction of a new set of orca shows in 2017. These new shows will focus on the orcas' natural environment with the new tanks apparently designed to more accurately simulate the whale's natural environment. Seaworld has stated that the new shows will present a message of conservation. According to Joel Manby, Seaworld's chief executive, the changes are a direct response to customers who want to see the whales in a more natural setting.

Don't get me wrong this is definitely a step in the right direction; the use of whales and dolphins for entertainment purposes should be stopped, it is both cruel and inhumane. The idea of using these intelligent, and majestic creatures like they were your personal toys is disgusting. Zoos and aquariums are much better places for captive animals, assuming they are well regulated and conform to proper health and wellness standards for the animals. If they cannot be reintroduced into the wild then they should be allowed to live in peace in a setting as close to their natural habitat as possible. However, for creatures like killer whales this is still not sufficient. Studies on wild and captive orcas have suggested that the problem with Seaworld is not that it exploits these magnificent creatures for profit, but that they are held captive at all. Killer whales are highly social creatures with deep familial bonds who are cruelly targeted and captured while young, or if born in captivity often separated from their mother and placed in tanks with unknown whales. This leads to aggression and psychological issues as discussed in Blackfish. Orcas in captivity also display increased rates of scarring and physiological issues such as dorsal fin collapse, both of which have been suggested to result from increased stress, compared with wild animals. This suggests that whales in captivity are under greater stress or more constant stress than those in the wild, undoubtedly as a result of their confinement and the destruction of their social groups. This may help to explain why captive whales also display truncated lifespans, with 92% of Seaworld's killer whales dying by the age of 25 while the average lifespan for a wild male orca is 30 yrs, and for a female 50 yrs (the maximum lifespans are close to 100 yrs). If Seaworld values these animals' health and well-being over profits, and is focused on conservation as they say then they should release the orcas into coastal sanctuaries, or attempt to return those captured to their pods. That way these whales could finally experience a natural setting.

Sources:
http://www.theguardian.com/usews/2015/nov/09/seaworld-end-orca-whale-shows-san-diego
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mms.12225/abstract
http://us.whales.org/wdc-in-action/captivity
http://www.freemorgan.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/visser_1999_bodyscars_on_nz_orca.pdf

Sorry for the long post/rant, but this issue really irritates me. Anyway here is a video of some orcas in the wild (where they belong) enjoy :)

link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slhmzzqv21A