Essay On Whales In Captivity

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Could you imagine being locked up in a cell the size of a bathtub for your entire life? Think about being swept away from your family and your home. Wouldn’t it be terrible to be forced into entertaining people every day? Welcome to the life of a killer whale in captivity. There have been around 150 killer whales taken to live in marine parks since the 1960’s. Today, 127 of them are dead. We need to resolve this issue: should killer whales be left to roam free in their natural habitat,or should they be held captive in marine parks?

First, let’s take this into consideration. When we put orcas into captivity, we are taking a lot more away from them than we think. A killer whale in its natural habitat plays a big role in its life. They learn hunting and survival skills, and get the proper food they need. Not only are we taking them away from their home, but we are taking them away from their families. People will capture the baby whales in nets and take them away from their pods as they desperately try to escape. If that isn’t heartbreaking enough, the babies are then sent to marine parks to live out the rest of their life, and die in captivity.

Since last recorded in October 2015, there are currently a total of 58 orcas living their life in captivity. Some killer whales were even born into parks. Yes, …show more content…

The whales may become ill, depressed, or even suicidal due to boredom and stress. Not only can the whales harm themselves, but they can harm humans too. Sadly, the name killer whale only comes into play when in captivity. They rarely or even never attack humans when they are in the wild. They only attack in captivity because of the anxiety caused by being locked up. A great example would be the attack on February 21 1991. A whale named Tilikum and two other whales pulled a trainer to the bottom of their tank, where she ultimately