Free The SeaWorld Whales

            Imagine living in a world where you are held in captivity and are limited to a small amount of space. Well, this is actually happening to many animals around the world, including the intelligent, social, ocean animals, the killer whales. These killer whales are kept in small pools in SeaWorld which is nothing compared to where they are normally swimming in the ocean. If they deny doing tricks for human entertainment food is withheld from eating as well as any social interaction with other whales. Even being taken away from their own families is a problem that the killer whales face. The killer whales need to be freed from their SeaWorld prison so they can live their life in the ocean with other whales and swim their lives freely instead of being held in a small pool. Be these killer whales’ voice and help free them since they do not have the same interactions that humans do.

            Humans are so lucky that they can express emotions such as happiness, disgust, sadness, and anger. Whenever they are in a situation they are uncomfortable with they can either make a facial command, change the tone of their voice and their body language. Animals, on the other hand, do not have that luxury where they can do what we humans can do. We can never really know when these killer whales are indeed happy as the trainers at SeaWorld say. We also cannot tell when they are disgusted, saddened or angry in the situation they are in. Sure, we can see anger if the killer whales throw a tantrum, but they cannot speak for themselves and tell us why. If they could speak they would probably tell us things like, “I want to go back home,” “Please have a heart and release me,” “I miss my family” and even a simple “I’m hungry.” Hunger does not even explain how these killer whales feel while being imprisoned at SeaWorld.

            Hunger is a universal problem that everyone faces whether you are an animal or a human. However, making someone starve for not doing something you are told to do is just horrible. Jeff Ventre, a former trainer from SeaWorld, says that these killer whales are denied food if they do not obey the commands from the trainers as well as missing a single trick that they were told to do. The killer whales are being kept from eating just because they did not comply with a command. This is saddening because it is not the killer whales fault. The trainers probably did not speak clearly enough or the killer whales did not hear right. According to Deborah Giles, a marine biogeographer at the University of California, Davis, with 20 years of experience observing wild killer whales, killer whales are highly social animals that have evolved to swim in the open ocean and catch live prey. Killer whales are used to hunting for their prey when they are hungry and enjoy it rather than easily being fed and that is if they even get fed. If the killer whales were out in the ocean they could simply go eat whenever they are hungry or just want a little snack, but that is not possible with SeaWorld since the killer whales are confined in a small pool.

            The killer whales are kept in such a small pool where they cannot do much but swim back and forth. Their space is even smaller because there are other whales in the pool with them. Imagine if you were a killer whale and swam in the same environment over and over. According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), killer whales are known to swim up to more than 100 miles a day in the open ocean and do not like staying in one area. How is it possible for the killer whales that are trapped in SeaWorld to swim this many miles in such a tiny little pool? If I was a killer whale I know I would not want to be limited to a small environment where I cannot swim my 100 miles. Although this is another problem that killer whales face at SeaWorld, being taken from their own family is the worst.

            There is nothing more tragic than being taken away from your own family. That is actually happening to these killer whales. In order for SeaWorld to have killer whales to entertain people for a day they are being taken away from their own family. These killer whales lose a chance to grow up with their own family just so they can be placed for entertainment purposes and suffer in a small pool where they are limited in food, interaction with other killer whales and swimming freely in the open ocean where they belong. If you really want to be entertained there are plenty of things to do rather than watch a miserable killer whale that is held captive in a small pool. There are things like reading a book, hanging out with friends, spending time with your family, going on a hike and even helping clean the beach to help marine life animals.

            In essence, please put yourself in these killer whales’ position. Would you want to spend your whole life in a small pool where you are limited to a small number of space rather than your usual 100 miles and see the same environment over and over? How about having food withheld just because you did not follow a command where it probably was not even your fault? What about being taken away from your own family and never, ever seeing them again in your life just so you can be trapped in a small pool to entertain people you do not even know, let alone care about your feelings? Be these killer whales’ voice and help free them since they do not have the same interactions that humans do. Have a heart and please sign this petition and spread awareness about the issues these killer whales are facing at SeaWorld. If you want more answers, please read some articles, news on killer whales or even watch the film Blackfish, which can be found on Netflix. Thank You!