Orcas should be free, not in captivity

Famous marine scientist Jacques Yves Cousteau once said, “No aquarium, no tank in a marine land, however spacious it may be, can begin to duplicate the conditions of the sea. And no dolphin who inhabits one of those aquariums or one of those marine lands can be considered normal." How ironic is it that we don't even follow one of the most prestigious scientist’s rules for animals in captivity!? One of the animals that most people say that should not be in captivity is Orcinus orca , or just orca for short. Some marine parks have these majestic creatures in captivity, which has led to some major concern for the care of these animals in captivity. Now a new law may finally begin to empty the tanks. Like Cousteau, I believe that no sea creature, orca whale or other, should be held in captivity.

The first reason why orcas should be free is because the fact that they are designed to swim hundreds of miles a day to search for food . In captivity they would have to circle the deepest part of the tank 29,000 times to equal the distance. A side effect of this is that the dorsal fin collapses. In the wild this would rarely occur but in captivity it is common . According to MarineLife.about.com, "Wild orcas often travel far, and quickly, in deep water. The water provides pressure to the fin, keeping the tissues inside healthy and straight, and encouraging the dorsal fin to remain straight.” This would explain why the fin collapses on many orcas kept in captivity.

The second reason is that by breeding them you are not only causing problems for the soon to be mother but you are also causing problems for the young orca calf . Most young orcas in captivity die at a very young age and even the ones so survive infancy grow up to lead dangerous lives if they are separated from their mothers. Meanwhile in the wild orca calves live natural lives alongside their mothers until adulthood. According to info found on one the NMFS pages at NOAA.com, the birth rate for killer whales is not well understood, but, in some populations, is estimated as every 5 years for an average period of 25 years.” In sea world young females are being bred with DNA of distant relatives. One of the orca males, Tilikum, has fathered over 20 calves and the bad news is that most of them were interbreed with family relatives .

Finally, they should be free in the ocean living normal healthy lives. They should have their right to freedom. Would you like it if you were stuck in a bathtub for 25 ? I certainly wouldn't. The conditions that they live in captivity are not natural . In the ocean acidic and salinity levels rise and decrease over time . In captivity they live in chlorine salt water. It's just not natural.

Opponents to my argument would like to say that seaworld is saving orcas from the wild by rescuing them and giving them new lives in captivity However, to them I respond that most of the adult orcas were captured from the wild at a young age and that by containing them in a small area may cause stress and attacks . Overall at sea world there has been over 70 attacks and three human deaths. Most of the attacks resulted in broken bones and bruises. One of the deaths was of dawn brancheau , a trainer at seaworld. So if a professional trainer who had years of experience was killed by the very animals that she worked with then something is very wrong.

In conclusion, having orcas in seaworld is not a good thing . How many more lives will be lost before people realize that this is wrong. We need people to be aware that this cruelty is going on. Take action people! Go find more information about this issue!