Krueger 1

Kylie Krueger

Emily Litle

ENG 121-001

17 April 2017

Save the Whales: Annotated Bibliography

In the past couple years there has been a very controversial topic concerning the Orca

Whales at SeaWorld. Many people feel strongly that the breeding program should be ended and

the whales returned to their natural habitat. While they have some good points, I feel that this

would not be a wise decision. I believe that the breeding program is important and that ending it

could put the Orca Whales in jeopardy. While there is not enough information to know that this

species is endangered, it is known that they are at risk. Having the Orca Whale exhibit at

SeaWorld not only educates people on this species, but it also gives a chunk of them a place to

reside where they will not be killed by predators. I believe that keeping the breeding program

will ultimately save the species of the Orca Whales.

People didnt know much about this species before they had them at SeaWorld. People

assumed that they were dangerous killers, hence the name Killer Whale. It wasnt until they were

brought to SeaWorld that people saw them in a new light. People now see the true beauty of

them, and know that though they are predators they are also majestic creatures. Having them at

SeaWorld has educated so many people on them, that it would be so sad to see that era die.

There are reliable sources that argue why the breeding program should be ended and then

some why it should not be ended. I believe that by doing this, I am able to get a more broad

spectrum of the opinions of different people. This also gives me more points to argue, because

though they have some good points, there are reasons to contradict them. The sources that believe
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that the breeding program should be ended generally say that it is inhumane for people to keep

whales in captivity.

Kirby, David. "Watch What Happens When You Free a Killer Whale." TakePart. 14 June 2016.

Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

David Kirby strongly believes that it is unethical and inhumane to keep whales in

captivity. They are, afterall, very large creatures. He believes that they need the freedom to swim

for miles, rather than having to swim around a tank all day. They are following a specific whale,

Corky, very closely. She was removed from her pod at a young age and taken to captivity.

Whales generally stay with their pod for life, so the fact that she was removed from this is sad. In

this article it talks about how he is fighting for this whale to be released back into the wild to

reunite with her pod. I feel it would be miraculous for this whale to survive in the wild, having

been raised in captivity for most of her life. However, most of the time the whales removed from

their habitat are injured ad would not survive without assistance from humans. By the time they

are better they would not know how to survive in the wilderness. I believe that while Kirby has

some good points his argument is flawed because SeaWorld has never taken an Orca Whale from

the wild that was healthy and thriving there. This source will be beneficial to me because it gives

me opposing views from someone who has a background in this field that I can argue against.

Entertainment, SeaWorld Parks &. "Breaking News: The Last Generation of Orcas at SeaWorld."

Breaking News: The Last Generation of Orcas at SeaWorld. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

I found an article that was recently posted on the SeaWorld website. They were

announcing that this will be the last generation of Orca Whales they have due to the fact that they

will be ending their breeding program. However, they will not be releasing the whales they

currently have into the wilderness, despite requests from people. If they did release them it is
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highly unlikely they would survive because of the fact that they were born and raised in captivity.

It is also stated in this article that they do not take the whales from their homes, they have just

bred them from whales they already have. They have expert caretakers and veterinarians on hand

to care for them.

I believe that that the decision SeaWorld made was not a good one. I plan to use this

article to provide proof that they do not remove the whales from the wilderness and despite what

people say they do have the resources and staff to care for them. I know that this article is reliable

because it comes from the company itself. This article backs up my case, because even though

they have agreed to end their breeding program, they prove that it really isnt necessary because it

is a successful program.
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Save the Whales

Almost everyone has heard of Shamu, even if they have never actually seen him in real

life. Shamu is a widely loved Orca Whale located at none other than SeaWorld. Before the first

Orca show in 1965, not many people were educated on this species(SeaWorld). Like most things

people dont understand, they were feared and given the common nickname, killer whales. It

wasnt until SeaWorld began to breed this species that people began to learn more about them.

They came to realize that they are truly beautiful creatures that are only killing in order to survive,

which is no different from any other predator. More recently there has been some controversy

regarding the Orca Whales mostly due to the recent documentary about the species came out.

Some people do not believe it is ethical to hold them in captivity and that they should be released

to the wild. SeaWorld has answered this conflict by declaring the end of their breeding program.

I believe that there will be many repercussions from doing this, and the Orca Whale population

will continue to decline as a result.

Not everyone shares my beliefs about the breeding program. For example, David Kirby, a

nature activist, feels very strongly about this issue. He recently published an article in TakePart

regarding the issue. In this his main point is that it is inhumane to corral Orca Whales born in the

wild and transfer them to a life of captivity(Kirby). However, it is pointed out in the SeaWorld

article that, After all, we havent collected an orca from the wild in almost 40 years, and the

orcas at SeaWorld were either born there or have spent almost their entire lives in human

care(SeaWorld). While I agree that it would not be morally right to remove Orca Whales from

their natural habitat and place them into captivity, SeaWorld claims this is not the case. The Orca
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Whales that are there are in fact in their natural habitat. Since they were born in captivity, that is

all they know. Throwing them out into the wild would ensure their death, as they would not know

how to fend for themselves against predators.

While Kirby has arguments backing up why the breeding of Orca Whales should be ended,

he does not understand the benefits breeding brings the species. In an article "Seaworld Ends

Orca Breeding Program: Rise of the 'Humane Economy'?." it talks about how SeaWorld ending

their breeding program was the beginning of a new era. The Humane Economy has the goal of

changing other parks as well. In the article it talks about their reaction to the announcement of

SeaWorld ending their breeding program. A specific example from the article is Dr. Bekoff says

it is important to congratulate SeaWorld for its decision but to "still argue for more," with the

ultimate goal being for theme parks and zoos to become more like sanctuaries(Mendoza). They

claim that they want the whales released to different sanctuaries, which is ultimately putting them

back in the wild. There are too many toxins from human waste in the ocean that the Orca whales

who haved lived in captivity would not be used to. SeaWorld also makes a very strong argument

when they say, They will continue to receive the highest-quality care based on the latest

advances in marine veterinary medicine, science and zoological best practices(SeaWorld). This

proves that they are more than capable of keeping the Orca Whales healthy and happy. They say

it is inhumane to keep them in captivity, I think it inhumane to set the ones who already live there

free.

The research on the population of Orca Whales in inconclusive in determining whether

they belong on the endangered list or not. As claimed in the article "Seaworld Ends Orca

Breeding Program: Rise of the 'Humane Economy'?." they do however have enough information

to know that they belong on the at risk list(Kenworthy). This means that they could become
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endangered very soon if action is not taken. Keeping some of the Orca Whale population in

captivity contributes to keeping them off the endangered list in more ways than one. The first is

pointed out in an online article entitled "Why some Marine Scientists Lament the End of

Seaworld's Orca Breeding." by Josh Kenworthy. In this article it claims, The oceanic park will

only see one more live birth from an already-pregnant orca. While the remaining orcas will be

open to researchers for decades to come, many say the wind-down means the gradual loss of vital

opportunities to gain insights that could help killer whales in the wild(Kenworthy). This proves

that by forcing SeaWorld to end the breeding program they are doing more harm than good,

because we as humans cannot give the wild Orca Whales the assistance they need without

research gathered from the captive ones. Having the Orca Whale exhibit at SeaWorld benefits

researchers as well as the community. They can easily learn more about their mannerisms when

they have easy access to them.

As stated above, Orca Whales were not fully appreciated before SeaWorld showed them in

a new light. For generations now people have been educated on the behaviors of this magnificent

species, and have learned not to fear them. In my opinion, I believe that once the remaining Orca

Whales at SeaWorld have died people will become less and less educated, and one day they will

be feared again. The more people fear them, the more likely it is that they will kill them for the

challenge it produces. This will eventually lead to the extinction of this majestic species, and

that breaks my heart. Keeping the breeding program would not only ensure that some of the

species remains alive, but also educate the generations following mine.

In conclusion, I feel that the removal of the breeding program could possibly threaten the

species as a whole. Not only does SeaWorld have the resources to care for them, but the Orca

Whales they do have were bred and raised in captivity, so they are accustomed to the
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environment, or in other words are domesticated animals. Setting these particular whales free

would be the equivalent to taking a dog you have raised and dropping him in the wilderness.

Having Orca Whales in captivity is both beneficial to the community, because they are taught

about the species, and researchers who can use data they collect here to help the species as a

whole(Kenworthy). For these reasons it is important that the breeding program live on.
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Works Cited
Entertainment, SeaWorld Parks &. "Breaking News: The Last Generation of Orcas at SeaWorld."

Breaking News: The Last Generation of Orcas at SeaWorld. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

Kenworthy, Josh. "Why some Marine Scientists Lament the End of Seaworld's Orca Breeding."

The Christian Science Monitor, 2016. EBSCOhost, libdb.ojc.edu/login?

url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=edsgov&AN=edsgcl.448428988&site=eds-live.

Kirby, David. "Watch What Happens When You Free a Killer Whale." TakePart. 14 June 2016.

Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

Mendoza, Jessica and Josh Kenworthy. "Seaworld Ends Orca Breeding Program: Rise of the

'Humane Economy'?." The Christian Science Monitor, 2016. EBSCOhost,

libdb.ojc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=edsgov&AN=edsgcl.446616563&site=eds-live.