“I can’t believe I’ve got to Isolate!” Perspective from a Killer Whale (Orca) in captivity.

“Self-isolation”, “self-quarantine”, and “social distancing”, these phrases have been in the spotlight ever since the outbreak of COVID-19. Practicing self-isolation/ quarantine has posed to be stressful to many amongst the community in light of being separated from family and loved ones and not being able to go about their daily routine. While this feeling of being trapped and afraid is new to us, the animals held captive at SeaWorld parks have been subject to these feelings for years.

Imagine, being forced to endure isolation in the confines of a concrete fish bowl for the rest of your life. Being forcefully removed from your home, the ocean and not being able to go about your life naturally but to perform for the likes of an entertainment industry.

Our quarantine periods are never permanent, we eventually are allowed to leave our households at the end of 10-14 days. These Killer Whales have been torn away from their families and forced into these tanks and spend over 5 decades being trained to perform.

The captivity industry made its debut in the 1860’s with a pair of belugas held captive in a museum in New York. Following this, the first dolphinarium was opened in Florida in the 1930’s and introduced the concept of the public paying to watch dolphins perform tricks. The Florida Marine Studios made the public open to the idea of dolphins being able to perform if trained in order to gain profits, and marked the beginning of an industry which grew at an immense rate, where to this day there are over 60 dolphinariums spread across the world.

Morgan is a young female Orca (Killer Whale) spotted in the waters of Netherlands in 2010. It was recorded that she was extremely malnourished and swimming alone when captured by Dolfinarium Harderwijk with a “rescue, rehabilitate and release” permit issued under the Dutch Government.

Unfortunately, the ‘release’ terms of the permit were not met and Instead, Morgan was trained to perform tricks and held captive in a concrete tank that restricted her natural movements for 18 months. Dolfinarium Harderwijk and the Dutch Government lacked responsibility and failed to execute transparency while presenting Morgan’s case.

The court also failed to acknowledge evidence and aspects of the law that gave Morgan the right to freedom, leading to the devastating verdict; which had her transferred to another dolphinarium Loro Parque in the Tenerife Islands of Spain.

Loro Parque failed to comply with the terms of Morgan’s CITES transfer certificate which strictly indicates the purpose being for “research”. Since her transfer, Loro Parque had her confined in a pool with captive-born male killer whales being fully aware that she was ovulating which led to her pregnancy in 2017.

Hester Bartels (Vice Chair) of the Free Morgan Foundation (FMF) stated:”For us this news does not come as a surprise, Loro Parque has been busy for years trying to get Morgan pregnant. They have done this despite the ban on breeding and her young age which can be dangerous to both mother and calf. “

Morgan continues to suffer in captivity along-aide her calf Ula and is forced into unnatural behaviour. Due to the restrictions of Covid-19 the park has been temporarily closed and the health and welfare of Morgan in addition to the other animals held at the facility remains unknown.

This article focuses on the case of one specific Orca in one region, further research is required within this field of study in order to gauge the level of negative impact the captivity industry has on other resident marine mammal populations that are subject to being captured.

Having the mammals kept in ocean pens rather than tanks would be a more natural environment and logical method of rescue and rehabilitation. They would have the space for more movement and training in the aspect of foraging for fish to ensure a successful release into the wild. In this case it would be imperative to ensure good water quality by having the pens away from anthropogenic activity and sources of pollution.

From the Morgan case it was evident that management and legislation is controlled by a nation’s government through advice taken from the dolphinariums, thus promoting the notion of captivity. This is due to both parties gaining benefits from increased tourism. This should change in terms of having all stakeholders equally involved in management schemes this includes animal welfare activists and conservation scientists.

These animals are being shuffled amongst various parks and facilities for decades, all the while being miserable and confined to horrid lifeless tanks, unless these facilities heed our call to empty the tanks. You can take the first step of speaking up for these animals by signing the petition directed at Sea World, urging them to transfer the captive whales and dolphins to a more natural, sea-side sanctuary.

“The Black Fish documentary” tells the story of Tilikum, a captive Orca that was known for taking the lives of multiple trainers due to stress and cruel treatment in captivity.

Sources

https://www.freemorgan.org/