Things aren’t always what they seem behind closed doors. Seaworld puts on shows for viewers that glamorizes the lives of the orcas, however, there is a lot more going on than you think.

Seaworld is not what you think it is. Take a second to think about what you know or heard about Seaworld; whether you’ve been there or not. Advertisement does a good job making it seem like it is a place for fish to swim and orcas to play. You could probably picture the orcas jumping out of the water and dancing for the crowd and getting bombarded with treats as a reward. However, it’s not all bubbles and rays of sunshine. To be more specific, it’s more of a jail cell to these poor orcas.

What most people do not know about the beloved Seaworld is that it is not a sanctuary, but in fact almost the complete opposite. The orcas (Killer Whales) are left in tiny pools of water for hours on end throughout the day. Lonely and left with nothing but their own thoughts, the orcas become agitated and tend to show signs of aggression once let out.

There have been numerous cases where orcas have attacked and even killed their own trainers; people who have been with them for years. The most famous attack being on long-time trainer Dawn Brancheau. Brancheau was known to be beyond careful when handling and training the orcas. She was one of the best trainers at the park yet she was killed by the infamous Tilikum. Until this day people still do not know what made Tilikum snap and attack Brancheau. According to the documentary film “Blackfish” Seaworld’s reaction to Brancheau’s death was to put all the blame on her and off of the orcas. For years, they have been covering up the deaths and attacks on trainers by putting the blame on the trainers themselves so that the orcas would not be deemed dangerous and would be able to stay at the park. Contrary to popular belief however, Tilikum is dangerous. 

Have there been times where trainers have made mistakes that have led to incidents with the orcas? Of course. However, when dealing with something as serious as a death, Seaworld tends to put the blame on the trainer rather than the culprit; the orcas. If the whales were in anyway found a “danger” to anyone, then Seaworld would not be able to have them in the show. Tilikum being the biggest orca in the exhibit is a crowd favorite; and so making it almost a mission to keep him in the act.

Tilikum is not only the star of the show, but he is also a strong contributor to sperm distribution in the park. On businessinsider.com it talks about how former trainers have confirmed that Tilikum is used for his sperm. “His semen is worth a lot of money.” says former trainer Jeffrey Ventre. The number one rule in breeding animals in captivity is to never breed an animal that has shown any acts of aggression. The fact that they are using Tilikum’s sperm is almost laughable in the sense that he might actually be the most dangerous orca of them all.  

What some people may not realize is that once an orca attacks, there is a high chance that it will attack again. They are amongst the smartest of sea animals and so they are completely aware of what it is that they are doing. Because they are so intelligent, they are easy to train and why would an animal act out when they know that if they do so and so right they will be rewarded? It is because their mindset is not where it is supposed to be. When they are secluded in that small pool by themselves all they can think about is how they want to get out. Orcas are majestic, wild, animals that deserve to be out in the open ocean and free, rather than wreaking havoc and killing people.

Seaworld has since then placed barriers that forbid trainers to be the in the water with the orcas, however, there was no hesitation to bring it to court to get it appealed. According to an article on takepart.com, Seaworld claims that “the government was essentially picking on Seaworld and overlooking other companies whose employees are put at risk, such as the NFL and NASCAR.” Trying to insinuate that playing football or racing a car is the same as putting yourself in a tank with an already irritated orca that has killed multiple trainers.

Seaworld and it’s advertising team does a good job glamorizing the lives of the animals that live there.  If you were to type “Seaworld” in your search bar the full automatic link is seaworldcares.com giving off the idea that they do care about the animals and that they are chaning their ways.  They have been changing a lot throughout the years in hopes to make a more safe environment, and have announced that this will be the last generation of orcas to live in the parks. They’ve also tried to create more of a “natural” habitat for the orcas to live in. Although Seaworld has created new improvements to the parks and will no longer breed new orcas, there has been a tremendous amount of physical and mental damage done to the existing orcas. Those poor orcas will be living in that small pool until they prematurely die. We cannot let the younger generation think that it is OK to keep wild animals locked up for our amusement, and rather have them be informed that they are in fact wild and deserve to live in the wild.