Did you know orcas can live 80 or even 100 years? Or that a dolphin or whale might travel 100 miles in a day or that they are extremely social animals, forming bonds that last their entire lives? Try as we may, we cannot replace the entire ocean with a pool, no matter how big it is.
For dolphins and whales used to traveling hundreds of miles, being captive, forced to preform tricks and endure endless boredom in these concrete prisons is pure TORTURE. We deny them the right to participate in natural behaviors including diving, exploring, mating, and communicating with others like themselves.
Kiska, a lone female orca, swims in a tank at Marineland as visitors watch her through the glass. Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, 2011. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Are you aware that when you visit places like Sea World, Seaquarium, Marineland and other roadside aquariums you are supporting the cruel practice of imprisoning these animals for the rest of their lives? Is this truly something you want to support?
Imagine yourself in their situation–would you want to be stolen from the ocean, ripped away from your family, only to spend the entire rest of your life swimming around a tiny prison, forced to perform tricks for visitors?
According to Peta, “Frequently housed with incompatible tankmates, dolphins, whales, and other marine mammals are often drugged in order to manage stress-induced aggressive behavior and relieve the endless monotony of swimming in circles. They break their teeth chewing on the metal bars and concrete sides of their tanks and are forced to perform tricks for tourists in exchange for food—all in the name of entertainment.
While wild female orcas can live to be 80 years old, orcas at SeaWorld often die by the time they reach their teens and rarely approach even the average life expectancy of wild orcas. More than 40 orcas have died at SeaWorld from causes such as bacterial infections and fractured skulls. More than 500 other dolphins and whales along with approximately 400 pinnipeds have also died at the parks.”
Wild-caught shark at Ripley’s Aquarium. Ripley’s Aquarium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2016. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals Ripley’s Aquarium in downtown Toronto opened to the public in October 2013. It houses over 20,000 aquatic animals, some of which were wild caught.
Does it seem fair that we subject our fellow earthlings to this cruel fate? How can you justify this? What gives us the right to exploit these intelligent animals for our entertainment?
Please refuse to visit these places and speak out against this cruelty. For more information check out the following:
Why Marine Mammals Should Never be held Captive Based on the report The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity, authored by Naomi A. Rose, PhD, A.S. Soller, PhD, and E.C.M. Parsons, PhD, “The report expands on the “conservation fallacy,” exposing how marine parks’ captive breeding programs focus on non-endangered species, perpetuating captivity rather than contributing to wild populations. As scientific understanding of marine mammals grows, the evidence increasingly supports the view that captivity is fundamentally at odds with their physical and psychological needs. The report highlights the industry’s continued lack of substantial conservation impact, emphasizing that breeding programs often result in surplus animals with no viable role in conservation.
