Take a minute and ask yourself, “Could I spend my entire life in a bathtub?” Humans keep animals in captivity are denying creatures everything that gives their life meaning. However, some argue that the bathtub is the only reason you can stay alive; you can drink from it, you can get your nutrients while sitting in it, even a reward if you’re good.
Whales can feel emotions, like humans, and have nuclear families, like humans. They’re pack animals, adapt each other’s mannerisms, nurse their young, have their own language and are very social in nature. When observed in the wild, they are affectionate by hugging and kissing. Humans are their only natural predators due to their large size. Whales problems derive from fishing boats, water pollution, whale hunting and attempts to capture. There is currently no record of any whale doing harm to a human in the wild in history. In 2017, Tilikum, the subject of the documentary, Blackfish. He was approximately 36 years old, which is young considering males can live up to 60 years old. He was most famous, as talked about previously, for his aggressive behavior, killing his trainer, and two others. He bred around 20 calves in captivity, until SeaWorld got so much backlash they “decided” to stop breeding. The narrative of the story was always that he was a “bad” whale, until blackfish came out in 2013 to tell the true story. The film interviews trainers, from SeaWorld, who talk about their relationships to the whales. They compare them to siblings, “growing up together”, and forming a trusting relationship to perform the water tricks along with comforting them after births and traumatic events. The United States is the lead capturer of orca whales from the wild.
In 1970, in Washington, speedboats and air teams stalked a pack of whales to capture the babies. After the capture took place, the family stayed in place screaming and crying over their babies that were lost. After transit, 3 babies had died from stress. The state of Washington then told SeaWorld they were not allowed back. Sealand, where Tilikum started his life in captivity, was a glorified caged-in marina. The watershed they would keep the 3 killer whales was 20 by 30 feet, smaller than the average persons living space. The two female whales would gang up on him until his body was raked with teeth marks and large cuts. At night eventually, the whales would protest going into the shed, so the trainers would resort to food deprivation. This caused Tilikum to go into a deep psychosis, causing his top fin to flop and eventually, kill his feeder. After the incident, Sealand was forced to shut down, and Tilikum was sold to SeaWorld at a large profit margin of a couple billion dollars. Katina, one of Tilikum’s partners grieved, and screamed, did not eat for days, and did not move for almost a month after they removed her baby from her. When they brought in the senior research partner to analyze never heard before sounds, they realized after intensive research that it was her sobbing, for hours on end. It is proven that over 56% of whales in captivity have relation to Tilikum. With the mean number internationally being, 40 whales, the USA leads at 255. 91% of whales that are put into captivity are now dead, confirming how poor conditions and stress are. However, the filmmaker doesn’t think that SeaWorld should be shut down. He calls for the owners to make it a “saltwater sanctuary.”
Something a lot of people aren’t aware of is the dissection of zoo animals in foreign countries. According to NPR, between 3,000 and 5,000 healthy animals are killed in Europe each year. Not only do they just dissect them for scientific purposes, but it’s often done infront of groups of people, including school children. In 2014, the Copenhagen zoo killed a healthy giraffe and dissected the body in front of a group of elementary school students. After it was dissecting, it’s body was fed to the lions. This practice has been done for over 20 years, and although it’s appalling to us Americans, the European association of Zoos and Aquaria supports its practice stating, “culling of animals is one of a range of scientifically valid solutions to the long term genetic and demographic sustainability of animal populations in human care.” That statement itself says that it’s our fault this is happening. We must control our human-made population of zoo animals, so they kill them. Let that sink in.
Furthermore, zoos offer a safe environment for animals. Zoos around the world are known to work together to preserve endangered species. The connections make it possible to breed more endangered species. Some well-known animals to be saved from extinction by zoos include, the Arabian Oryx, Golden Lion Tamarin, Puerto Rican Parrot, and Freshwater mussels. Often these protections are brought to you by people of privilege. Currently there are 39 species which are extinct in the wild. If it weren’t for places of captivity, these animals wouldn’t have been wiped out years ago. Ellen DeGeneres, a talk show host and comedian, has a wildlife fund established to support global conservation efforts for endangered species. Her first project is to help the Gorillas in Rwanda find permanent care. Also, philanthropist, Jane Goodall, has institutes all over the world protecting chimpanzees and inspiring people to conserve the world.
In conclusion, animal captivity has been debated longer than lifespans. Keeping animals in controlled environments may looks inhumane but there’s more than meets the eye. The animals are being taken care of. The concept that animals get mistreated in such places are understandable, which is why having animals in the wild sometimes makes more sense. It takes trial and error to make sure that the animals are well thought of. Unfortunately, execution of such businesses is not always pleasant, and the animals are extorted.