Last night I watched Blackfish on Netflix. The movie is a documentary about the Killer Whales at SeaWorld parks and the issues surrounding them. Unfortunately the movie came about because a mother, Gabriela Cowperthwaite, learned of the death of Killer Whale trainer, Dawn Brancheau that had occurred around the time she had taken her children to SeaWorld and something didn't sit right with her. She decided to dive in and find the truth.
Unfortunately she found that this was not an isolated incident, but a big problem within the SeaWorld community. One thing that the movie does not go into is the fact that SeaWorld does do some good, by taking in hurt animals, rehabbing them and getting them back into the wild when possible. The question you must ask yourself is does this then allow them to turn around and steal Killer Whales from their pods, forcing the families into mourning (remember these are very intelligent animals).
According to the movie, these animals tend to live 60-100 years in the wild, only about 35 years in captivity. Since they tend to live with animals from different pods while in captivity, they don't get along like they do with their family. In fact it is believed that Killer Whales taken from different parts of the world, actually speak different languages-kind of like humans. This obviously causes them distress, then add in the fact that these are animals made to roam (up to 100 miles in a day) and they are forced to live in small pens with other whales that they do not know. This often leads to biting and even killing of each other.
SeaWorld had known since they got Tilikum from Sealand, 20 years prior to Dawn's death, that he had killed another trainer. Despite this fact SeaWorld wanted him for his sperm as well as to perform. They knowingly took a problematic animal and put trainers in with him. It was a timebomb waiting to happen. On top of that, 54% of SeaWorld's Killer Whales are descendants of Tilikum, thus creating another potential time bomb(s) for years to come.
SeaWorld has been planning a six week concert package with likes of Willie Nelson, the Barenaked Ladies, Heart, REO Speedwagon and more. All of these bands and others have canceled their gigs and the list seems as if it will continue to grow.
Please watch the movie and educate yourself, then let SeaWorld how you feel about the inhumane treatment of these animals.
