SeaWorld currently has 18 captive orcas in its U.S. locations. Keeping whales in captivity is unethical, unfair, and wrong. Orcas are highly intelligent animals, and each pod even speaks their own dialect. Whales can become very stressed and miserable in small tanks, and it is cruel to keep them for entertainment. SeaWorld has the most captive orcas of any marine park or aquarium. This is because the other marine parks have realized how cruel and unacceptable it is to keep whales and dolphins. 

There are other aquariums and marine parks that have stopped capturing whales for entertainment and instead rescue smaller animals that are injured and help them. While the animals are recovering, they put them on display for people to watch them. These marine parks and aquariums still have a very profitable business.

100% of male captive orcas have collapsed dorsal fins. This is from spending too much time at the surface of their tanks. They spend a lot of time at the surface because their tanks aren’t much more than two times their length. In the wild, however, they can dive more than 100 m. They also have collapsed dorsal fins from swimming endlessly in circles. They rarely swim in circles in the wild and they don’t have much room to swim in when their in a tank. If you take an average orcas weight and the average size of a SeaWorld tank, it’s like a human swimming in a pool that’s 14.5 ft x 14.5 ft x 14.5 ft for their whole lives. 

When I was younger I went to an aquarium that kept belugas and orcas. Then one day I went again and the orcas were gone. Then I came back a few years later and the belugas were gone. At the time I was very young and I didn't know that keeping whales was so cruel, so I was sad because I had always thought it was so cool to see them. Now I am deeply ashamed that I ever supported a place that kept whales by going there, and I hope that other people are ashamed too. however, I do think that the people who went to SeaWorld and who now regret supporting a marine park like SeaWorld could have just made a mistake and I definitely think they can make things better for captive whales by signing this petition and other petitions similar to this one, writing letters, and not going to SeaWorld for a second time. 

So please stop keeping whales at SeaWorld because it is inhumane and uncaring, and set the whales you currently have free. Whales have the right to be free and to look after themselves. They are highly intelligent beings who deserve to live their best lives completely free, with their family and friends, and independent of humans.

*Image courtesy of Whale and Dolphin Conservation