Orcas, those familiar black-and-white oceanic creatures also known as killer whales, are some of the most beautiful, impressive, and powerful creatures to call the world's oceans their homes. Sadly, however, most people recognize them only as trained performers common to SeaWorld theme parks.
These spectacular water shows capture theme-park visitors' imaginations and interest along with their dollars. But animal activists around the world are increasingly making the case that keeping orcas in captivity is harmful to them, as well as risky for trainers. That argument seemed to be validated in 2010 after the tragic death of orca trainer Dawn Brancheau in SeaWorld Orlando.
Since that awful occurrence, no trainer has been allowed to perform in the water with a killer whale. But while that rule change helps to increase the safety of trainers, the question remains - what about the whales?
John Hargrove, who spent 14 years as an orca trainer, is uniquely positioned to answer such a question. Over the course of his career, he has worked with 20 different whales on two different continents and at two of SeaWorld's US facilities. The man knows the ins and outs of how these places operate, what conditions are like for the whales, and how these magnificent creatures are treated on a daily basis.
Not long after the death of Dawn and two other fellow trainers, Hargrove became disillusioned with SeaWorld's treatment of orcas and ultimately resigned from the company in 2012. Now he advocates on behalf of the whales, explaining that - in his opinion - SeaWorld's programs, while popular, entertaining and mildly educational, are not only dangerous for trainers but also inflict irreversible physical and psychological harm on the whales.
For example, Hargrove stated that SeaWorld regularly separates calves from their mothers - an allegation that the company denies: "We do not separate killer whale moms and calves, and in the rare occurrences that we do move whales among our parks, we do so only in order to maintain a healthy social structure," says a rebuttal on its website seaworldcares.com.
Hargrove is one of the seven former trainers who criticized SeaWorld in the recent and very controversial documentary Blackfish. And in his new book "Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish" (published March 24) he's delved deeper into the ethical issues surrounding orca captivity, convincingly making the case that these intelligent, sentient animals can only be free in the wild.
Note: Nature World News attempted to contact SeaWorld to give them a chance to refute the allegations against them in Hargrove's book. A response was not received before the release of this publication.
Nature World News: You're obviously extremely experienced when it comes to orca training. In your time as a trainer, did you notice any great differences in the way orcas were treated at each facility, especially the ones outside the United States?
John Hargrove: That's a good question because at SeaWorld the whales are treated the same, although each park's management style is different; but its still the same premise of animal training. The takeaway point is, regardless of the park, whether it was France, SeaWorld of Texas, Florida or California, all of the damaging effects of captivity were the same. You saw the same types of issues, it didn't matter which park.
From the whales grinding their teeth - which they basically did out of boredom - to peeling the paint off the pool walls that led to them rubbing down their teeth, to collapsed dorsal fins, to premature deaths and illnesses that would never have occurred in the wild. That was really the takeaway for me. I worked with 20 different killer whales at three different parks, and all the harmful effects of captivity were the same - which tells me it's not just a particular park.
© 2024 NatureWorldNews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
