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Shelby Chester
Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1103

Amusement or Abuse-ment: SeaWorlds Mistreatment of Orcas

In 1964, SeaWorld opened its doors to the public for the first time. With a mere twentyone acres of land on the coast of San Diego, hundreds of thousands of visitors came to see the
sea lions, dolphins and fish that lived in the small entertainment park (History). What was once
supposed to be an underwater restaurant grew to become one of the biggest selling attractions in
North America. Today, millions of visitors come to SeaWorld to see the main attraction that is the
famous orcas, or better known as killer whales. SeaWorld is known for its orcas flying through
the air and performing stunning routines with a trainer. Its amazing to see the six ton orca to
interact so gently with its trainer. Yet, the visitors that come to see the said performances do not
know of the cruelty that it takes to get the orcas to perform under the set conditions. SeaWorld
puts its trainers at risk and depletes the overall well-being of the orcas in the name of
conservation and rehabilitation.
In the late 1950s, four fraternity brothers set out on a mission to build an underwater
restaurant in order to get the general public in touch with the ocean. Due to difficulty it would
take to engineer the restaurant, they changed their plans make a marine amusement park. By
doing this, they needed aquatic animals, and therefore, captured many fish, a few sea lions and
two dolphins. They felt that their park needed more in order to bring in more business. So, in
1961, they captured their first orca. Though, it was not until 1965 that SeaWorld performed its
first ever orca show (Oliver).

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This performance was performed by the famous orca, Shamu, who was taken from her
mother when she was just a young pup. Shamu was acquired in 1965 after she was sold from
Griffins Seattle Public Aquarium due to conflicts at the aquarium. Shamu was originally
captured to be a companion for Namu, another orca held at the aquarium. She immediately
showed hostility towards Namu and the trainers, and Griffin decided that it was best for Shamu
to be sold. After Shamus arrival at SeaWorld, she showed no signs of aggression nor presented
any danger to the trainers. The trainers were even allowed to swim with her in the pools
(Shamu). Yet, the exemplary behavior took a traumatic turn when Shamu attacked a trainer one
day during a publicity stunt.
Anne Eckis, a former trainer at SeaWorld was asked to do a photoshoot with Shamu for a
publicity stunt. Eckis was to ride Shamus back around the pool while a photographer took
pictures and videos of her for SeaWorlds latest campaign. She was wearing a bikini, which is
important to note because those that got in the water with the animals usually wore wetsuits that
resemble that of the orcas themselves (Kaplan). During the first ride around the pool, there was
no major problems. Eckis fell of due to imbalance and Shamus unsteady movements. During the
second ride, Shamu showed visible signs of irritation. This became evident when Eckis fell off of
Shamus back for a second time. It was during the third ride that Eckis fell again and was
attacked by Shamu. Her legs and hips were bitten until she was pulled from the pool to safety
(Eckis vs. SeaWorld). Shamu was removed from shows after this incident, which caused some
problems for the whale. She developed pyometra and septicemia, which later on was her official
cause of death (Kaplan). Shamus background provides insight as to the problems that occur at
SeaWorld when an orca is held in captivity.

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Getting to SeaWorld is the first step in having an orca perform in the shows. The first
orcas held in captivity were captured by accidents. Fisherman would get the mammals stuck in
their nets, and decided to sell them to aquariums in order to conserve them. When it was realized
how much money could come from selling captured orcas, it quickly developed into a business.
In order to be able to have their pick of whales, a sein net was used. Since orcas tend to live in
pods, it was easy to capture many orcas at one time. When the sein net surrounded the orcas,
fishermen would select the most favorable orca, preferably the young. When these young whales
are captured, their mothers are not brought along due to monetary reasons such as shipping costs
and food for the animal (Hoyt).
In the process of capturing a whale, there is always some kind of struggle. The animal
weighs six tons, so there is sometimes an injury involving the orca. When this happens, divers
are instructed to cut open the belly of the whale and stuff it full of large rocks. In addition, serval
concrete blocks are tied to the tale to ensure that the whale will stay at the bottom of the ocean.
When SeaWorld was exposed for their inhumane captures off the coast of Oregon, it was ordered
that the company was permanently banned from the waters. The marine cowboys, otherwise
known as fishermen, set off to other parts of the world to find orcas and continue their practices
(Kaplan).
In addition to killing serval orcas in the process of capturing, there are many other
problems that develop when the whales arrive at SeaWorld. The biggest and most noticeable
issue is the overall health of the orcas held at the facilities. Orcas in the ocean travel over one
hundred miles a day (Wild vs Captivity). They should not be placed in a tank where they
would have to swim around it fourteen hundred times in order to achieve this distance
(Shamu). Also, the small, empty pools cause the orcas to show signs of boredom and

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aggression. Without the freedom to swim those one hundred miles in a vast and abundant ocean,
they develop health issues of those not seen in the wild (Wild vs Captivity).
When looking at data and statistics of orcas held in captivity versus orcas in the ocean,
there are many red flags that come up. It has been shown that the average life span of orcas in the
wild is that of a humans. Orcas have the capability to live up to seventy years old, even as high
as one hundred years old. This is a dramatic contrast from the life spans seen of orcas in
captivity. The orcas at SeaWorld have an average life span of a little less than twenty years (Wild
vs Captivity). There is a record of one dying even as young as a week. When further looking at
the data, it is skewed because two of the older orcas ages were outliers in the calculations.
Causes of death varied from septicemia to stillbirth to influenza.
As previously stated, Shamu is a prime example of what happened to whales when they
arrived at SeaWorld. Her primary cause of death was pyometra and, as a result of this, also
developed septicemia. Pyometra is a disease that causes the uterus to fill up with pus. It is no
known exactly how the disease works, but it is known that the disease is developed from an
outside source of bacteria (Small Animal Talk). Since the pus in Shamus uterus was not
treated, she eventually developed septicemia. When bacteria enters the blood stream from a
single source in the body, it carries the toxins from the source to the rest of the body. This can
cause inflammation throughout the body and organ failure (Levy). This condition is extremely
rare in whales and is commonly found in cats and dogs.
Since the route of Shamus death was linked to a bacterial infection, it is a pondering
question to wonder how such bacteria gets into the orcas orifices. Many of the orcas that passed
away while in the care of SeaWorld died from infections and complications due to bacteria
entering the body (Ridgeway). Talking to former trainers provided a further look into the

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conditions that the whales live in while under their care. Many former trainers stated that the
conditions in the tanks were so unsterile that other species would not even be able to live in them
(Wild vs Captivity). Mucus would stream from the orcas eyes and this mucus would dissolve
into the water, along with the bacteria in it. The response of the orcas immune system has not
been further investigated because this behavior is considered normal at SeaWorld. In the wild,
this is not a normal action for the orcas. Theyre immune system only triggers this response when
the animal is trying to protect their eyes from oncoming dirt and sand. This response is not an
everyday occurrence for these orcas in the wild, which is why this is a major concern regarding
SeaWorlds care for their orcas. The constant flow of mucus in the water and the tanks not being
installed with the proper filtration system results in excess amounts of unhealthy bacteria in the
orcas living area. This bacteria is either ingested or enters the body through other openings in the
body. It is shown that the orcas at SeaWorld do not receive proper care, therefore, develop
diseases that are extremely rare in the wild.
There are other occurrences that could be considered abuse towards the animals. These
problems came to the public eye when Joyce Kuhl spent a day at SeaWorld Orlando. She noticed
that the orcas were being held in eight foot deep holding pools, which is equivalent to putting a
human in a small bathtub. These small pools have no shade over them which leads to an over
exposure of the sunlight. What resulted in a sunburn was visibly noticeable to Kuhl (Kuhl in
Malm). Sunburns on orcas are formed because of an overexposure to sunlight. These mammals
usually spend a majority of their time hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean, which
allows them to escape the harmful ultraviolet lights coming from the surface (AcevedoWhitehouse). It was seen that the orcas are held in the pools for hours while waiting to be placed

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in the larger stadium pool. An anonymous former trainer stated that the sunburns on the orcas
were covered by zinc-oxide to conceal the damage from the public (Malm).
Yet, there is still more to the abuse that SeaWorld shows to its captive orcas. When it
comes to having new orcas in the stadium, artificial and natural breeding occurs often in the
tanks. In order to reduce costs of capturing and shipping a baby orca to the facility, SeaWorld
trainers use artificial insemination to impregnate their female orcas. In order to do so, these
orcas, both male and female, are trained to flip onto their back. This makes it easy for the trainers
to extract semen from the males and insert it into the females. Although the idea of this is ideal,
SeaWorld is known for breeding its females too early in life and often overbreeding. This
unnatural breeding leads newly born calves and their mothers to develop bad characteristics, both
mental and physical (Patton). Captivity breeding has been shown to increase physical aggression.
Mothers have been observed as rejecting their young by not showing any affection and not
allowing them to feed. As expected, the young calves die and the mothers are bred again. They
also show a hostility towards trainers and other people inside the stadium. This aggression could
be due to the fact that the orcas have limited room to move around, but statistics show a direct
correlation to female orcas and violence. Inbreeding is unnatural in the wild, but is fairly
common in aquarium parks. Just like humans, inbreeding can cause deformities in the genetic
makeup of the orcas. It has been shown that the orcas bred in captivity have weakened immune
systems and are more susceptible to diseases (Batt).
When humans are thrown into the equation of orcas in captivity, things can get pretty
messy. Anne Eckis, a former trainer at SeaWorld in the 1970s, was attacked by Shamu during a
publicity stunt. Her legs and hips were severely injured, which resulted in complications later in
life (Eckis vs SeaWorld). This is not the only incident reported where a bodily injury or fatality

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had occurred due to the orcas feeling provoked. The most recent record of this happened in 2010
when trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by SeaWorlds largest whale, Tillikum. During a show,
Brancheau had turned her back when the whale reached out of the water and grabbed her by the
ponytail. She was then pulled under and thrashed around which resulted in many fractures,
dislocated joints and a broken jaw. Also, the autopsy reported that her official cause of death was
blunt force trauma (Mooney). After this incident, SeaWorld has changed their regulations about
having trainers in the water. Although this change has been made, there are still incidents where
the whales have tried to attack.
There are other reasons as to why SeaWorld is questionable in the care of their orcas. Just
this year, SeaWorld asked to be granted permission to expand their tanks at their San Diego
location. They were allowed to expand under the condition that they do not breed anymore
whales at the facility. This caused an uproar in the animal rights community and several protests
broke out around the courthouse. In a public speaking, SeaWorlds chief veterinarian, Hendrik
Nollens, claimed the following: I speak on behalf of the 150 members on my team. We care for
these animals as if they were our family. We have nothing but the whales' best interests at heart.
He then proceeded to claim that the animals are not stressed or depressed (ONeill). These
statements can be somewhat wary because of all of the evidence that backs up the fact that
SeaWorld needs to be shut down due to the abuse of whales.
In conclusion, SeaWorld has shown in many forms the different ways that they are in
violation of basic animal rights. Keeping an animal the size of a school bus in a small pool for
the duration of their life when, by instinct, they want to swim for hundreds of miles reflects the
lack of concern in the facility. Organizations like PETA and the Humane Society are making
efforts to try and get SeaWorld Corporations nationwide businesses shut down. After movies

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like Blackfish and the death of Dawn Brancheau, there has been a spike in awareness of this
issue. The cruelty that goes on behind the scenes is finally coming to the surface, no pun
intended.

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DigitalJournal, 22 June 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.
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19 Nov. 1976. Justia. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
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in Shallow Pools and PAINTING over Injuries." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 11 Apr.
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14 Mar. 2014. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.

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