Blue Seas Ahead for Incarcerated Orcas!

One after another, in a line winding around the legislative chamber, a procession of people approached the microphone to publicly declare their Support of California Assembly Bill 2140, which would ban orca performances in the state. They came from near and far, some at great cost and inconvenience, to implore legislators to pass the proposal. These people were teachers, clerks, bus drivers, and students, their appeals both selfless and sincere.

Contrast these kind people with SeaWorld’s slick PR marketing and legal teams, out in force to keep orcas in tanks because the problematic, much-criticized, and inarguably cruel theme park’s marketing revolves around its orca inventory.

Since the breathtaking documentary “Blackfish” erupted on CNN and Netflix, millions of people who didn’t know before now know that ocean-roaming orcas lead rich, complex lives. Unlike in captivity, they don’t kill human beings out in the oceans. They are keenly intelligent animals who form multifaceted relationships, cooperate with each other, communicate using distinct dialects, and swim up to 100 miles every day. Neuroscientists have documented that orcas possess intelligence at least on a par with that of humans. And we know that these marine mammals have sophisticated social structures and collaborate to solve problems.

We also know that being crammed into an over-sized fish bowl causes orcas to lose their minds. They destroy their teeth chewing on steel divider bars, they alternate between aggression and depression, they attack each other, and sometimes they decide “No more!” and lash out against their captors — with tragic results.

When Assemblymember Richard Bloom’s bill passes next year — and I’m betting it will — orcas can be carefully and systematically moved to existing protected coastal pens, where they can learn how to be orcas again. The central structure is already in SeaWorld’s backyard: California’s 848-square-mile marine reserve is the largest protected network of undersea sanctuaries in the continental United States. The process would be a careful undertaking, with marine biologists, animal behaviorists, and other marine scientists involved in the orcas’ rehabilitation and ultimate release. Former SeaWorld trainers who have rejected captivity for the orcas will likely be involved, and others still in SeaWorld’s employ could easily make the transition to careers working to rehabilitate the animals they now use.

When this great day comes, for the first time in decades, these orcas will be able to swim for more than a few feet without hitting a wall. There will be no wall and no more interminable laps around a tiny pool. Their sonar will work again, rather than bouncing off the concrete, and they’ll send out their song to their long-lost relatives. They’ll ride the tides and feel the currents and swim in a body of water that is not chlorinated and contaminated with their own diluted urine. Once again, they’ll be able to use their powerful bodies as nature intended, to dive deeply and flex long-dormant muscles, and perhaps their drooping dorsal fins will once again stand upright.

Remember Keiko? Keiko was a wild orca who was captured near Iceland in 1979 and sold to a series of aquariums, where he was forced to perform tricks for food. He became sick and severely depressed. In 1993, after the movie “Free Willy” prompted the call for his release, Keiko was moved to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, where he was rehabilitated, and in September 1998, he was moved to an ocean pen near Iceland. Keiko was able to communicate and interact with nearby whale pods. He didn’t have to perform. He learned to hunt and catch his own food and was eventually released into the open ocean, where he spent days at a time out of sight of his human watchers. Keiko swam for hundreds of miles and was once again living free right up to the end of his life.

Tilikum, Katina, Corky, Kasatka, and Ulises — like Keiko, all torn from their ocean homes and forced to spend their lives in a tank — should all be permitted to experience the same joys and freedom. Every orca at SeaWorld deserves the quality of life that he or she was meant to enjoy.

SeaWorld can keep on seeing its share price and attendance records drop, or it can accept that the tide against keeping orcas captive has permanently turned and get out of the orca-exploitation business. Society is coming to see that animals are not “things” to dominate, but feeling beings with families, intelligence, and emotions. The laws needed to Support this cultural evolution will soon follow.

Image source: Russian Orcas / Facebook