Despite what the famous orca whale shows advertise about the wellbeing and comfort/happiness of the whales, it is plain to see that their ecological needs are not only not met, but are disregarded as a cause for any of the incidents that occur with trainers and other whales. They need more space than they are given and in the wild their territories are thousands of miles long. In captivity the minimum space for an orca tank is only 48 ft. across and 12 ft. deep. That's nothing compared to their natural habitat. The average life span in the wild for a female orca is close to 100 yrs. of age, for a male it would be about 50-60 yrs. of age, while in captivity all orcas live to be about 25-35 yrs. of age.
In the wild all the orca whales have their pods and strong relationships with one another and when something comes between them they have thousand of miles to go and get away from the situation. But in captivity they are in one pool altogether. When one tries to prove his dominance to another the non-dominant has nowhere to run. This can lead to stress, discomfort and injuries. Captive orcas are dying faster than they are being born(Miami Seaquarium,2002).
Those whales should be set free. The whales that are young and healthy enough should be set free and the ones that are old and sick should be put in an open ocean pen so that they can live out the rest of their lives with the rhythm of the ocean.
Help stop these horrible things from hapening!
