Blackfish is a documentary that explores the psychological damage that killer whales face in captivity. What many people do not know, is that killer whales have a larger emotional portion in their brain than any other animal, including humans.
In the 70s, killer whales were captured in the wild by illegal hunters who targeted the young calves as they were easier to train. The baby whales were then taken from their families and transferred to Seaworlds around the world.
Tilikum was kept at Sealand Victoria in the 90s. It shut down after Tilikum attacked his trainer and killed her during one of the shows. At night, Tilikum was kept in a very small enclosure with two other female whales, in which they couldn’t move. Tilikum was abused every night by the females, which resulted in emotional damage to him.
Seaworld purchased Tilikum at a very high price from Sealand. Trainers at Seaworld were not informed about Tilikum’s aggression.
Seaworld’s killer whales die when they are 25-35 years old. They tell customers who come to the parks that whales will die even younger in the wild, when really they live to 80 years old.
In 2008, Tilikum killed a trainer at Seaworld Orlando. The experienced trainer, Dawn was following all procedures correctly, however Seaworld made multiple press releases saying the trainer was performing incorrectly, as Seaworld didn’t want to make themselves look bad, so they blamed the trainer.
What the truth is, is that Tilikum and many other killer whales kept in captivity are emotionally scarred and this leads them to act out aggressively on trainers. Seaworld markets itself as a fun-filled and educational company. But ethically, I believe it is harming these animals who have more emotional capability than humans, and taking risks on employees lives, just to make a profit.
