The Importance Of The Breeding Program At Seaworld

What is the breeding program at SeaWorld? The breeding program is where scientists breed orcas through natural ways or artificial insemination. Artificial insemination is where female orcas are impregnated without having to come in contact with a male orca. When scientists do this, they take the male orca’s reproductive cells and inject it inside the female orca, so her eggs will be fertilized. Occasionally, the scientists have to breed them this way because orcas will sometimes refuse to mate in captivity. It is also safer for both the orcas and scientists, and it has a higher pregnancy rate. The breeding program is used by the scientists for important research. During the past several years, the breeding program has been an extremely controversial
At SeaWorld, they are forced to live with orcas that they do not know in small tanks that they are accustomed too (“Aquariums and Marine Parks”). These things can cause stress and conflicts between the orcas. The stress and other byproducts of captivity can lead to life-threatening health problems. Many of the orcas in captivity hurt themselves due to the stress of their surroundings. An orca named Kiska harms herself by lethargically scratching her body against the sharp sides of the grates in her tank. Orcas do not get injured just from stress but from the conflicts with the other orcas, too. Nakai suffered an enormous injury on the lower part of his jaw. It was so bad the size was compared to a ‘dinner plate-sized chunk’ (“Aquariums and Marine Parks”). When the orcas are forced together, they fight each other for dominance. This can result in severe wounds due to the fact that the tanks are too small. The small size or the tank makes it to where the orcas cannot retreat from each other. The wounds sustained from fights can get infected and cause the orcas to become ill, and if the orcas are not treated quickly and properly, it could cause them to die. The people who try to treat the injured orcas are also at risk. An injured orca could attack the person trying to help them because they are scared and in pain. Orcas are not hurt just physically by captivity, they are also hurt psychologically. “Orcas and other dolphins navigate by echolocation, but in pools, the reverberations from their own sonar bounce off the walls, which can drive them insane” (“Aquariums and Marine Parks”). This is cruel to the orcas and can pose a threat to the scientists, trainers, and onlookers at the parks. If the orcas go insane, they would not have any control over themselves and could fatally attack someone, like Tilikum (Jamieson). This would psychologically and