I have always loved whales and dolphins since I was younger I just think they are so cute and look so beautiful when they are swimming and playing doing tricks jumping in the air. At the time when I pictured dolphins like this I didn’t picture them in a tank with an auditorium filled with people and flashing cameras and being forced to do it.
Until the past couple of years though this was considered the norm with the majority of society, obviously everyone knows that they belong in the ocean but hardly anyone questioned it being unfair or the treatment carried out by the people ‘looking after’ these animals.
SeaWorld announced that it will phase out it’s orca shows at their San Diego park and that the orcas in their care will be the last generation as thankfully breeding has been stopped.
While this is a step in the right direction, what about all the others?
In 2013 an American documentary named ‘Blackfish’ was released which highlighted Tilikum the captive orca being at SeaWorld, Orlando Florida and killer whales being in captivity.
Tilikum stands out because since he was captured off the coast of Iceland in 1983 he has killed 3 people while in captivity and yet SeaWorld still hold him in these conditions.
In 1991 at Sealand of the Pacific in Canada, Tilikum along with two other orcas submerged a trainer who slipped into their pool leading to her brutal death from drowning.
It’s not hard to believe that shortly after this terrible incident Sealand closed and the harder part of the story to believe is that it sold all 3 orcas to SeaWorld. The two other orcas have since died however Tilikum is still held in captivity at SeaWorld Orlando.
Only 8 years later another terrible incident occurred when a 27 year old man was found dead on Tilikum’s back after he had avoided security to enter the orca tank.
What could be argued as the death that made people think ok this can’t be right, was in 2010 when Tilikum killed his trainer just after performing a show and she also sadly drowned.
You only have to look at the facts and wonder how is this allowed and still Tilikum returned to performing in 2011.
The thing is SeaWorld has criticised Blackfish saying it’s false and there are exaggerated claims, which is probably true about some parts of the film however regardless of the film’s agenda there is actual video footage and evidence to show the conditions the whales have to live in and of the deaths which I honestly don’t know how anyone could even begin to justify.
The important thing about the film is that it brought this horrendous tragedy and Tilikum’s story to the world’s attention.
To me I really struggle to see how they are allowed to get away with it these are such horrific incidents and there has been other occasions where the orcas have behaved in a worrying way causing danger to others who are lucky to have survived. Finally there has been a change in the right direction but no where near close to being the right solution.
SeaWorld reported this year that Tilikum’s health is deteriorating and then stated he had improved but keeping most details under wraps and he is being kept out of the publics way unfortunately meaning he is probably in one of the smallest tanks.
Campaigns to boycott SeaWorld have been huge with their shares and income decreasing rapidly including high profile people such as sponsors pulling out. The hashtags #BoycottSeaWorld #FreeTilly and #EmptyTheTanks are all used on social media to highlight the goings on there and encouraging people to get behind the campaign to stop this awful ordeal and finally give Tilikum the care he needs and a happier end to what’s left of his life.
Here is a link to a website dedicated specifically to Tilikum and pushing for his release: http://www.freetillynow.org/
Here is also a link to the film Blackfish and the movement behind it, which I think is definitely a watch as it is a truly eye opening documentary: http://www.blackfishmovie.com/
SeaWorld didn’t want any part of the documentary Blackfish but Here is a link to an interview with the vice president of communications of SeaWorld in 2013 with CNN about the claims made by blackfish: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/21/us/seaworld-blackfish-qa/
Photo Credits: Tilikum performing at SeaWorld: http://savedolphins.net/2016/03/15/tilikum-update/ (found through google images) – I do not own any rights to this photo
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