Killer Whales: Is It Ethical To Keep Animals In Captivity For Our Entertainment

“If you lived in a bathtub for 25 years don’t you think you would get a little psychotic” (Shattuck). Wild animals deserve the same freedom that mankind does, and by keeping them in captivity for our entertainment is not ethical. An animal kept in captivity is not living. Making animals perform in captivity for our entertainment is unethical. Animals are mistreated, and it is bad for the animals’ mental and physical health.

Performance animals such as elephants, tigers, monkeys, bears, and killer whales are mistreated from the day they are captured till the day they die just for our selfish needs and for the satisfaction humans crave to see a wild animal perform its “wonderful” tricks. “When going to a circus we see the masks that the performers put on, but as soon as the show ends the masks come off and these animals face bigger problems.” (Rodriguez). Performance animals are taken away from their families and from their natural habitats at a young age and are put into tanks and cages for the rest of their lives. (“Why You Shouldn’t”). How is ripping a baby animal from its mother and from its natural environment ethical? Ripping a child from its mother after birth is the same concept as capturing a baby animal from its mother in the wild. Why is it okay to let an animal suffer for our selfish needs, but if it were to do the same to a human for whatever reason it would be considered wrong and unethical when in reality both situations should be viewed as unethical.

According to Ringling Bros, a baby elephant is ripped away from its mother right after birth leaving the mother and baby devastated and heartbroken. They do this as a process to break the baby elephant of his spirit in order to get him to do its “wonderful” tricks. The saddest part is that the mother isn’t allowed to have any contact with its baby. (Ringling Bros). “PETA contains photographic and testimonial evidence of these procedures and the apparent “correction process,” in which baby elephants are “broken of their spirits” in the brutal process to reduce the craving for their mothers. During birth, the mother is chained by all four legs, as the baby is physically removed from her womb. The videos of this are agonizing, as elephant mothers are supposed to take care of their young for the first decade. In order to “correct” them from wanting their mother, Ringling Bros. tie all four legs with rope to stretch them to the ground, so they can perform faster.” (“why you shouldn’t”). Circus trainers will chain a baby cub by their neck and force the cub to stand on their hind legs for hours and if the animal fails to do so, the baby cub will choke or hang itself. (Why You Shouldn’t). I don’t understand how we let money and greed interfere with the choices we make especially like these. You are trading an animal’s long life of happiness to just be locked up in a cage, be used for profit, and/or left to be broken and miserable for the rest of its life. I don’t understand how we find this ethical. We are so consumed in our own lives that we don’t stop to think of the lives of others whether it is a human or an animal. Furthermore, these animals do not deserve to be mistreated or torchered for our entertainment even if it isn’t your average cuddly pet. All animals have feelings and they should be treated the same way you would treat your pets which is with respect. We should not support zoos, circuses, or marine parks. This just gives people especially children the “right” to believe that what these companies are doing with their animals is okay.

“Circus animals aren’t the only mammals who suffer from mistreatment. Killer whales, dolphins, and seals, just to name a few, are also taken away from their habitats and families and are put in aquatic marine parks like SeaWorld or Marine Land to live there for the rest of their lives.” (Rodriguez). John Hargrove, ex-marine land supervisor quoted, “I had no reason to believe that these whales lived anything less than a perfect existence. It wasn’t until I was in my career, and in my career for years, before you started seeing things, and realizing. Certainly, when we started separating calves from their mothers, and you would see the way the mothers and the calves would react, and the trauma. All the drugs, and premature deaths. I mean all those animals are doped up on so much medication it’s unbelievable.” (“Inside the Tanks”). This is the reason why we should know the truth behind what actually happens behind closed doors. This isn’t living. These orcas and dolphins deserve to live a normal free life. These creatures weren’t put on our planet for our entertainment.

“Circus animals spend 11 months out of the year traveling, which means that these animals spend more than 75% of their time in cages or boxcars, according to “Why You Shouldn’t Go to the Circus”, “That means that the animals are all chained and squished together in one space. Ringling Bros itself even claims that elephants stay chained on an average of 26 hours straight during travel, and sometimes even 60-100 hours in one sitting. This confinement also subjects the animals to extreme weather conditions and many of times without food or water. Every animal cramped together must eat, drink, and excrete waste pretty much on top of each other in the small, filthy boxcars. Some animals, like lions, even freeze to death.” (“Why You Shouldn’t”) (Rodriguez). “These animals don’t get to experience the beauty of nature because they are trapped in confined, small cages and are being tortured just so we can get the “privilege” to go to a circus.” (Rodriguez). In my opinion it isn’t fair that these animals have to live out the rest of their life’s in box carts and in cages not being able to roam freely or having a sense of freedom. These animals should not be used for profit and for our entertainment when it just causes these animals more harm than good. They should be left in their natural homes where they belong.

“Killer whales cannot thrive in the tanks they live in because they are way too small. Dr Ingrid N. Visser is a marine biologist who studied the behaviors and conditions of an orca held captive at Marine Land know as Lolita. Lolita’s tank measures 80 feet in length and the width measured 35 feet across, Dr. Visser stated.” (Rodriguez). “The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) states that a tank for an orca the size of Lolita must be 48ft in each direction, with a straight line of travel down the middle.” And “Lolita’s tank is 35 feet wide.” (Visser). An average orca can grow up to be 23-32 feet in length (Bradford). Killer whales can travel approximately 50 kilometers or more daily in the wild, so in all reality the tank that Lolita was in was way too small. Lolita has spent over 48 years in that tank. (Visser). The sad part is that these animals cannot be released back into the wild or put in a special sanctuary, unlike a monkey, a tiger, or bear because these animals won’t know how to survive on their own and would most likely die. (Masunaga). “These animals will never get the privilege to live up to their full potential because they are stuck in a tank for the rest of their lives.” (Rodriguez). This situation is similar to the setting we are all facing which is the covid-19 pandemic. Most of us have been stressed and bored because we aren’t able to go out and enjoy our daily life’s due to this pandemic. We are forced to isolate away from those we love for our safety, but it almost feels like we aren’t living our life to the fullest because in reality we are not. This pandemic has stripped so much of our life away, we have all been forced to change our routines just like these animals were. These animals were ripped away from their families and will never be given a normal life again. This is what these mammals have to face for the rest of their life. If we don’t like isolation what makes you think that these magnificent creatures do?

Captive animals face bigger issues in captivity than just mistreatment. Captivity goes beyond that; captivity causes mental and health issues. Captive animals even struggle with depression due to boredom and isolation. (“Inside The Tanks”). Did you know that orcas, elephants, and dolphins are known to be some of the most intelligent and social animals on this planet? They require the same amount of attention and love just as humans do, and by keeping them in captivity it doesn’t allow them to experience that same feeling, as they would in the wild. (Bligh). “Marine biologist, Dr Ingrid Visser witnessed the behavior of a captive orca named Kasatka that was too depressed to feed her calf. Kasatka had a bruise on her belly from where her calf was trying to bump into her mother to try and initiate feeding, but the mom was too depressed to even take care and feed her own calf”. (Whitten) (Rodriguez).

Why do we continue to support these organizations knowing that it can cause these animals this much harm? It’s so sad that we have let this behavior come this far. The mother isn’t capable to feed her own baby because we are too focused on using these animals for our entertainment instead of leaving them in the wild where they belong. Furthermore, killer whales do a lot of stereotypical behaviors in captivity such as staying in one place, chew on concrete walls to relieve stress, and swim in circles. (“Inside The Tank”). Isn’t it clear that we shouldn’t support these behaviors from these companies? These animals are miserable and bored. It’s like living in your room for the rest of your life not being able to experience what life feels like. Along with the stress and anxiety captivity causes these animals it has even caused them to commit suicide. A dolphin at SeaWorld was found dead after she swam from one end to the pool into the concreate wall until she killed herself. (“Orcas at SeaWorld are suffering”). These animals don’t belong in captivity they deserve to be in their natural habitats with their families. It is extremely upsetting that these animals have to come to these lengths because they’re so miserable and bored.

It is unethical to keep using these animals for our selfish needs. These wonderful creatures deserve the right to be free in their natural habitats with their families. These animals should not be used for our entertainment, this later leads to physical and mental health issues. “Next time you go to an aquatic park or a circus think about the pain that these animals go through just, so we can watch their “beautiful” shows.” (Rodriguez).

Works Cited

1. Bligh, Cherry. Last Chance for Animals – Factory Farming, www.lcanimal.org/index.php/campaigns/animals-in-entertainment/circuses
2. Bradford, Alina. “Orcas: Facts About Killer Whales.” LiveScience, Purch, 20 Nov. 2014, www.livescience.com/27431-orcas-killer-whales.html.
3. “Captive Orcas Destroy Their Own Teeth from Depression.” Geek.com, 15 Oct. 2017, www.geek.com/science/captive-orcas-destroy-their-own-teeth-from-depression-1719678/.
4. Masunaga, Samantha. “Here’s Why SeaWorld Probably Won’t Release Its Whales into the Wild.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2016, www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-seaworld-sea-pens-20160317-htmlstory.html.
5. patcuvie. “Ringling Bros. -Elephant Child Abusers-Breaking A Baby Elephant.” YouTube, YouTube, 31 Jan. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDMyEHY6ELs&t=135s.
6. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). “Animals in the Circus Hit, Bullied, Chained, and Deprived.” YouTube, YouTube, 18 July 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NyjZMIj6tM&t=54s.
7. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). “Orcas at SeaWorld Are Suffering Both Mentally and Physically.” YouTube, YouTube, 2 May 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDZWubO5Jyg.
8. Rodriguez, Saria. Performance Animals in Captivity Face Bigger Problems than Animals in the Wild. 27 Nov.2018.
9. Shattuck, Kathryn. “Killer Whale, Captive Whale.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/arts/television/killer-whale-captive-whale.html.
10. Tanks, Inside The. “Inside The Tanks (Full Documentary).” YouTube, YouTube, 15 June 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy9gt-f3I6Q&t=624s.
11. Visser, Dr Ingrid N. “Dr Visser Speaks about Lolita the Orca.” YouTube, YouTube, 23 Oct. 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvYc2o__uz0.
12. Whitten, Sarah. “Marine Specialists: SeaWorld Whale Is Depressed.” CNBC, CNBC, 23 Oct. 2015, www.cnbc.com/2015/10/22/marine-biologist-claims-seaworld-whale-is-too-depressed-to-nurse-calf.html.
13. “Why You Shouldn’t Go to the Circus-Savannah Thomas and Danielle Brown.” Savannah Thomas, savannahnicolethomas.weebly.com/articles/why-you-shouldnt-go-to-the-circus-savannah-thomas-and.