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Alexis De Bleecker

Miss Vera

English 101

28 September 2017

Analyzing Animal Captivity

Due to the natural disasters of hurricane Harvey, Irma and Maria that have occurred in

the past month, the issue of animals in captivity has resurfaced. Before hurricane Irma hit

Florida, the residents were told to evacuate, however, in the Miami Seaquarium, an orca named

Lolita along with a couple of dolphins were left uncovered. They were left unable to protect

themselves from falling debris or any other hurricane related problems.

For years now animals have been used in entertainment, through zoos and aquariums.

However, even while used in for entertainment there are some species that are being kept from

going into extinction through aquariums or zoos. Dalia A Conde, states that given current

extinction trends, the number of species requiring conservation breeding programs (CBPs) is

likely to increase dramatically (Dalia Conde et al.). Zoos and aquariums preserve these animals

and keep them from going extinct like the sea turtle. Through all the benefits and disadvantages

of captivating animals this makes me wonder what are the real reasons of keeping sea animals in

captivity.

In this article Michael Hutchins argues the ethical justification for keeping wild animals

in zoos and aquariums. He also described how most people that oppose keeping wild animals in

captivity, tend to generalize zoos and aquariums as a whole and not look deeper into all the

benefits they provide. For example, he stated how zoos and aquariums are the third trusted to

conserve wildlife and environmental issues. This article led me to believe it is trustworthy
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because of how they provide information through statistics and as well confirms with the reader

on how they dont pretend to have all the answers (Michael Hutchins et al.) Hutchins describes

that many species are bound to become extinct and that aquariums and zoos are one of the main

ways to preserve these species. He states that the main goal in these intuitions are to conserve,

educate, research and recreation (Michael Hutchins et al.). In the article, it presents to the reader

that all living organisms are interconnected and cannot function properly without all their

essential parts (Michael Hutchins et al.) Aquariums and zoos provide that functionality by

breeding and releasing those endangered species. For example, the giant panda was an effort to

preserve and keep them out of extinction.

One thing that is worth investigating is physical and emotional prospect of keeping

animals in captivity. Gabriella Cowperthwaite going into that in the movie Blackfish by directly

investigating orcas in SeaWorld. Blackfish is about problems in the sea-park industry and it

shows that through the intelligence of an orca named Tilikum and how he killed several people.

In the film it shows how there is little known about these intelligent mammals. In the past three

years there has been a drop of one million visitors to SeaWorld following the release of the

movie Blackfish by Gabriella Cowperthwaites. Steven Schoes analyzed Blackfish and states

Cowperthwaites point of how in the public eye, orcas have seemed to have a bond with their

human trainers when they performed, but this bond is artificial. That is only what appears on the

surface. He discusses how in the movie Blackfish, the theme park seems to care more about

making money than the wellbeing of its animals and trainers.

In the article Schoen, he highlights the main points the film has against orcas in captivity.

He quotes that based on studies of orca brains these are animals that have highly elaborated
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emotional lives (Schoen). Schoes argues the different reasons why these complex animals thrive

better in their natual habitat rather than one created by the aquarium.

In the article by Robert Anderson, discusses that keeping sea animals is morally

indefensible, given their high intelligence, complex behaviors, and the apparent adverse effects

on orcas of such confinement and use (Anderson et al.). Anderson uses orcas as an example of

how they have a level of intelligence that allows them to test the relationships they have with

their trainer. This includes the orcas pranking them and setting the trainers up.

Anderson describes intelligence as the mental quality that consists of the abilities to

learn from experience, to reason, to plan and solve problems, to understand and handle abstract

concepts, and to broadly comprehend and adapt to ones surroundings (Anderson et al.). The

significance of these findings is to show the audience that sea animals, like the orca, are not so

different than humans.

In this article by Todd R. Robeck, explains how orcas in captivity tend to live shorter

lives. While in captivity, the average lifespan of an orca in SeaWorld is 30-50 years Northern

killer whales (free ranged) live an average of 60-100 years. Robeck also stated that calves tend to

live longer in captivity. (Robeck et al.). This lead me to believe that after having orcas in

captivity for so long, this problem of orcas dying quicker than their free ranged counterparts

should not be an issue. This is only one specific example, but if this much research is known on

orcas and how they do not thrive in captivity in adulthood, this makes me question whether their

purpose is only to entertain humans. It makes me think why we should have animals like the orca

suffer for human entertainment.

This information has lead me to believe that more research needs to be done. The pros

and cons are needed to be reevaluated. Some of these facilities preserve endangered species, such
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as the sea turtles population got out of endangerment due to zoos effort to breed and release

them into the wild. However, animals such as the orca are suffering due to the unnatural

confinement.

The government should set regulations with the help of experts on the captive animals, to

determine the best outcome in favor of the animal. Whether that may be through a natural exhibit

or to be released. These articles have led me to believe that there isnt a straight forward answer

and more attention on this issue is needed.

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Works Cited

Schoen, Steven W. "Blackfish-Ing for Buzz: The Rhetoric of the Real in Theme Parks and

Documentary." Journal of Florida Studies, vol. 1, no. 5, Jan. 2016, pp. 1-14. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=117368586&site=ehost-live.

Robeck, Todd R., et al. "Comparisons of Life-History Parameters between Free-Ranging and

Captive Killer Whale ( Orcinus Orca) Populations for Application toward Species

Management." Journal of Mammalogy, vol. 96, no. 5, Oct. 2015, pp. 1055-1070.

EBSCOhost, doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyv113.

Anderson, Robert, et al. "Orca Behavior and Subsequent Aggression Associated with

Oceanarium Confinement." Animals (2076-2615), vol. 6, no. 8, Aug. 2016, pp. 1-21.

EBSCOhost, doi:10.3390/ani6080049.

Wright, Alexandra, et al. "Neuroanatomy of the Killer Whale (Orcinus Orca): A Magnetic

Resonance Imaging Investigation of Structure with Insights on Function and Evolution."

Brain Structure & Function, vol. 222, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 417-436. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1007/s00429-016-1225-x.

Hutchins, Michael, et al. "In Defense of Zoos and Aquariums: The Ethical Basis for Keeping

Wild Animals in Captivity." Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association,

vol. 223, no. 7, 10/1/2003, pp. 958-966. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=11087137&site=ehost-live.

Cohn, Jeffrey P. "Do Elephants Belong in Zoos?." Bioscience, vol. 56, no. 9, Sept. 2006, pp.

714-717. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=22420810&site=ehost-live.
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Conde, Dalia A., et al. "Zoos through the Lens of the IUCN Red List: A Global Metapopulation

Approach to Support Conservation Breeding Programs." Plos ONE, vol. 8, no. 12, Dec.

2013, pp. 1-9. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0080311.