Argumentative Essay On Orca Captivity

Since the opening of SeaWorld on March 21st, 1946, one of the ocean’s most incredible creatures have been constantly suffering unnerving torture. Instead of being able to live freely in their natural habitat, the Orca whales at SeaWorld have been forced to live in captivity. Although there may be scientific benefits to their captivity, SeaWorld should still be closed indefinitely given that the treatment of the Orcas is incredibly inhumane. The only advantage of the Orca’s captivity is to further observe these aquatic creatures. SeaWorld claims that conducting research in the wild is too difficult. The park states to have “contributed to more than 1,000 studies that advance the global scientific community’s understanding of animals” (“SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment”). However, this information cannot be truly credible due to the fact that the research was not performed in the wild. A species natural behaviors cannot be expressed without their natural habitat, hence a behavior performed in a confined tank, is not remotely comparable to a behavior performed in the open ocean.
As SeaWorld views these creatures as entertainers, they always require a set cast. Therefore, Orca’s are constantly being captured from their homes to satisfy the lucrative essence of SeaWorld. Tilikum, an innocent baby Orca, was stripped “away from his family against his will and confined to a small concrete tank” (“10 Things You Didn’t Know About SeaWorld”). Within one year, 10 other Orca’s similar to Tilikum, were abducted from their homes and their families (“10 Things You Didn’t Know About SeaWorld”). Only half of these Orca’s were adequate enough to fit the script that molded what we now know as