So this is my own opinion about the programme, Blackfish. I would just like to mention that this film is meant to show the bad side of SeaWorld and is very biased, I am not saying that any of this is acceptable but this is very biased, so any positives that come from SeaWorld having killer whales are not shown. Just to let you know I am writing this blog as I am watching the programme on catch up services.
Capturing Killer Whales
These scenes are very distressing to see young Orcas taken away from there families, these are intelligent animals and the stress that both the pod and the individual young must have been dreadful.
I would like to mention that all animals in zoo collections start off as wild animals and this was a regular practice in zoos, which is used a lot. Several animals have been taken out of their wild habitat and away from families. There is no other way to begin to keep exotic animals. So don't think this a new practice which only SeaWorld does. The whole zoo culture is like this, for example, David Attenbourgh's first series was called Zoo Quest, in which he went around the world and collected animals for zoos. This would vary from insects, lizards and mammals. With captive breeding programs improving though, this is far less common than it used to be.
Keeping the whales captivity
Killer Whales are large animals, it is going to be difficult to have a large enough enclosure for this animal, nothing will be able to compare to its natural habitat. Hence, this I would have thought will cause a lot of tension and anxiety to an animal. There is no way of knowing an Killer Whales minimum needed space but I can guarantee that it isn't going to be a size that can be achieved by zoos.
Separation of Mother and Child
For me this is heartbreaking to watch. Again this is a common practice in zoos to move across the animals and mothers and daughters are separated regularly. But for an animal with such intelligence and emotional sense, it is just horrible. I so feel sorry for the keepers cause it is out of their hands and their is nothing they can do.
Different facts
They have footage of keepers telling facts which just aren't true but this is told to them. Even if they know that it isn't true they would not want to risk their jobs. And they do it for the love of the job and because they are thinking that they are helping the animals by being there. I do not think that the keepers are to blame for any of this.
Attacks on Keepers
Some of the attacks are shocking and it amazes me that many keepers had no idea about previous attacks before signing on. I think all employees should be fully aware of the risks that come with the job. Again, this doesn't just happen with Killer whales, there has been many reports around the world this summer of keepers dying because of the animals. One fairly close to home happened this summer, at South Lakes Zoo, a keeper had been attacked by a tiger and unfortnately couldn't be saved. They say it was down to keeper error, but this program shows that you may not actually know what the cause was. I think some people forget that these are wild animals, even if they born in captivity. Those behaviours are innate, no amount of training will be able to get rid of these behaviours. No one will understand these behaviours or what causes these behaviours to occur in captivity. The incidents could have several contributing factors that caused the outcome
Loro Parque
I think it was a poor choice for SeaWorld to move the whales to Loro Parque, with them having an poor reputation and with them possibly knowing that things weren't ready for them. However, once the whales are there it is totally Loro Parques responsibility for the training of whales, trainers and the actions of the whales!
The Attack
I can't believe the way that PR handled this situation. It was dreadful. It is appalling to blame an expert trainer with many years of experience, for her own death, which it is clearly not. The whole situation is just not a nice thing.
Conclusions
If this was a case with any other animal they would have been put down. An animal, like a tiger, would have been put down after maybe two incidents but for the whale to have 7 to his name and nothing be done to either release him or in the worse case put him down, just seemes odd to me. I do think he should be released into the wild back where he was caught, how successful he would be I am not sure but I really think this is the right thing to be done.
I don't think places like SeaWorld and other zoos are bad places, I know that they raise a lot of money and do a lot of work for conservation and raising awareness for animals, which people may not realise are in trouble. I certainly have no problem with the keepers, they are there to do good and generally do a really good job and the bonds between the animals and keepers have shown to reduce stress of the animal. I think the main problem lies with PR and the owners, many owners are just in it for the money rather than the principles of the zoo. Zoo's wouldn't do this if it wasn't for public demand, SeaWorld will continue to keep Killer Whales until there is absolutley no public demand for them. Money is where the problem lies, they will take an animal on even if they are not fully prepared for it, like the example of Loro Parque, just because they will gain a lot from it. Being in their position, a lot of people will do the same, even if you don't think you would. They are trying to run a business and keep it profitable, this is their livelihood after all.
I do feel that keeping large animals in zoos is a very pressing issue. It will have an effect on the animal, I think the same of any species. Some individuals do very well, whereas others don't take to captivity and display aggressive behaviours which can results in themselves, other animals or people to get hurt.
There was a quote from the show saying something along the lines of "in 50 years we will look back and see brutal this is". I do think this true, as if you look back 50 years from now animal welfare was shocking, very little thought or research went into how animals reacted to captivity and what they wanted, it was there just to attract the public. Zoos will only continue to improve the way they run things and this should have a positive effect on the animals and reduce risk of injury to keepers.
I would recommend people to watch Blackfish, which is currently on iPlayer. But please remember that there are positives to what SeaWorld do. I think the heart of all zoos lies with the keepers not with PR or the people who own them (I know there are exceptions, for example Durrell in Jersey). I also know that we will never fully understand animals behaviours and the causes for them, but as more research is done on this area and if establishments like SeaWorld, collaberate fully with them, then there are going to be a lot of improvements for animals in terms of enrichment and welfare.
I would just like to give my condolences to the families that were effected by this.
Thank you for reading.
