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[PeachFuzz]

The reason they swim so much is food, family, stimulation, and exersize. They have all of that at SeaWorld.

Swimming extremely long distances is a natural part of an orca's life. To deprive them of that is cruel.

[oceanmando]

The reason they swim so much is food, family, stimulation, and exersize. They have all of that at SeaWorld.

Swimming extremely long distances is a natural part of an orca's life. To deprive them of that is cruel.

Thats why SeaWorld uses shows and interactions to stimulate the orcas. And, they're not only expanding but also creating an orca-'treadmill'.

[Grimace]

That isn't sufficient. Captive orcas do not have enough room in -any- setting outside of aqrguably a large sea pen.

Literally the only case that can be made for orcas in captivity is that they bring a ton of public attention to whale conservation in general, and letting the few animals suffer to help the majority is worth it.
(Not my opinion, just saying that the only case that can really be made)

This is coming from someone who is a huge advocate for exotic animals being in captivity. Orcas are one of the very few animals that ACTUALLY can't be kept properly.

[PeachFuzz]

The reason they swim so much is food, family, stimulation, and exersize. They have all of that at SeaWorld.

Swimming extremely long distances is a natural part of an orca's life. To deprive them of that is cruel.

Thats why SeaWorld uses shows and interactions to stimulate the orcas. And, they're not only expanding but also creating an orca-'treadmill'.

There is a huge difference between swimming 100 miles across the ocean and jumping through hoops in a pool.
I think good zoos/sancturies are GREAT. Most animals can be kept perfectly fine in captivity. But orcas can't. They simply don't thrive.

[American Pharoah]

Well, have any of the opposers *been* to SeaWorld? I think not. I have and they take great care and pride in their orcas. They even get entire fish just for doing tricks, sounds like they care about them a lot, right? They love their whales! (Lol orcas are actually members of the dolphin family)

[Lonin]

Well, have any of the opposers *been* to SeaWorld? I think not. I have and they take great care and pride in their orcas. They even get entire fish just for doing tricks, sounds like they care about them a lot, right? They love their whales! (Lol orcas are actually members of the dolphin family)

We have no doubt that the people who actually care for the killer whales do care for them and stuff. But that doesn't mean it's ok to keep massive, intelligent predators in tiny tanks. Because it isn't. The people who provide day to day care aren't the same as the people who decided to put them in small tanks in the first place (probably).
And since killer whales eat everything from fish to seals to rays to whales a fish for doing a trick isn't much c:

Lots of animals can do great in captivity and we have nothing against that. Killer whales aren't one of them. It's true that they don't need to be swimming as much as they would in the wild, but it doesn't seem like a tiny pool to swim in circles and some shows provides all the mental stimulation they'd need. We get bored staying inside for one day nevermind our whole life.

[oceanmando]

Well, have any of the opposers *been* to SeaWorld? I think not. I have and they take great care and pride in their orcas. They even get entire fish just for doing tricks, sounds like they care about them a lot, right? They love their whales! (Lol orcas are actually members of the dolphin family)

I know many of them (not all) have not. And, most of the trainers who have retired are pro-SeaWorld, including my friend, who is pro-SeaWorld and was a trainer.

[Ginger~]

I am not against Seaworld as a whole. I am simply against Cetaceans in captivity. They are too intelligent to be kept properly in small tanks and in a controlled environment. They are deeply emotional and social animals, and in Seaworld, the "pods" they are kept in are artificial. Usually orcas stay with the pods of their birth, but in artificial parks such as Seaworld, they are placed with strange orcas they cannnot bond with. And for the natural family units they DO have, orcas born into captivity? The babies are taken away from their parents much too young. Even if they were kept in the family groups of their birth in Seaworld, they would not be able to bond properly because they don't have space to get away from each other. Imagine if your family lived in a single room of your house. No matter how much you loved them, you'd get irritated and frustrated living with them all the time and having no privacy. Seaworld orcas don't even have the established bonds you'd have with your family. So it's more like living in a single room with a bunch of strangers (from completely different parts of the world, who most likely speak different languages from you) No matter which way you put it, Seaworld orcas are NOT a family or a pod. There is too much documented aggression between them.

Now, for the shows. The shows provide no source of enrichment for the whales. They repeat the same actions over and over again, every single day. They may seem like they're having a blast, and I'm sure when they were first taught those behaviors it was a little fun...though, training often involves some form of punishment. I'm not saying they beat the whales or anything, I would never, EVER say that. But many of the whales you see perform were taught by food deprivation (not enough to starve them, again), or being paired with an experienced whale, who, when the newer whale failed to perform the behavior, would rake them with their teeth. So maybe learning behaviors wasn't fun at all... And as soon as the show is over, they go back to the same tiny, concrete tank.

Seaworld trainers do love the orcas, though. And they aren't bad people. No one at Seaworld is a bad person (as long as they're not an axe murderer or something =P). They just don't understand that the animals are merely surviving in captivity, not thriving as they do in the wild. Plenty of trainers have left Seaworld and gone to criticize it. For example, John Hargrove. And he was one of the best. But I'd expect most Seaworld Trainers to be pro-captivity. I mean, if places like Seaworld were shut down, they'd be out of a job. And I'm sure they formed personal, wonderful relationships with the orcas/dolphins. So of course they'd be supportive of keeping them in tanks.

[ouija.]

mostly posting here to follow the debate, but I must say there are very few valid arguments (if any) that would suggest the orcas in SeaWorld are thriving. Their tanks are practically bathtubs compared to the vastness of the ocean.

[Horologium]

I think that it is cruel to keep animals in captivity! How would they feel if they were locked up in a pool of water ( Or just a cage ) thinking about all their friends who are free in the ocean! I say NO to this because I love animals and if you want to be locked up in a water tank or a cage, go ahead! But these animals deserve a right of freedom! I SAY NO AND THINK TWICE! JUST STOP CAPTURING ANIMALS!

To be fair, animals in the wild at risk of extinction (Amur leopards, elephants, etc), tend to get slaughtered for their pelts/ivory/meat/etc.