Sea World, along with other zoological institutions, has been under attack over the last couple of years by many animal rights activists. In 2013 the documentary Blackfish was released claiming to show the "dark side" of Sea World's practices. It follows the story of an orca named Tilikum who supposedly suffered greatly in captivity causing him to kill one of his trainers out of aggression in 2010. The death of Dawn Brancheau was a tragic accident, but not something that makes the captivity of all animals immoral.

The film shows heartbreaking footage of young orcas being taken from their family groups in the wild and makes it seem as though this is where all of the orcas at Sea World come from. However, Sea World has not fished for wild orcas in over 35 years, and will never do so in the future. All of the young orcas have been bred in captivity.

Another way that the directors of Blackfish sought to mislead the public is by interviewing people posed as experts but who in fact know nothing about animal behavior. One of the men speaking in the film was a geography professor and made to seem as if he studied orcas for a living.

Basically, Blakfish is propaganda disguised as a documentary, one that is focused on making us feel instead of think. When thinking in terms of animal behavior, it is important not to project human feelings onto an animal, but this is exactly the goal of Blackfish. If they can make Tilikum look sad and depressed through the use of misleading words and music, they can make you want to save him. In reality, we have no idea what animals are feeling and can therefore only study their outward behavior. Tilikum's outward behavior was a willingness to participate in training and enrichment with his trainers the vast majority of the time.

If you want to read about some other ways that this film was misleading and/or simply not true, click here.

If you are interested in hearing what a long time marine mammal trainer thinks of Blackfish, click here

Some great things about Sea World:

1. They rescue and rehabilitate around 23,000 marine animals every year!

This is gold. Every year, a countless amount of animals are harmed by our everyday negligence to take care of the planet. From single-use plastic to fishing nets to oil spills our trash is diminishing sea life rapidly. It is a miracle that Sea World is able to self-fund rescue and release efforts for dolphins, sea turtles, seals, and other marine life every single day.

The animals that are not good candidates for release (ex: can no longer hunt or swim efficiently) are given an excellent home at Sea World where they are cared for during the rest of their lives.

While some people believe Sea World is a money hungry corporation exploiting animals merely for their benefit, Sea World donates millions every year to conservation efforts and research being done in the wild. Sea World understands that to care for their animals correctly they must study their behaviors in the wild and so they do. Sea World has the best trainers, the best shows, and the best animal care plans because they truly do care about their animals.

Without Sea World, there simply is no money to fund these rescue efforts and there is no money given to conservation.

2. They are an AZA Accredited Institution.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the quality of zoological institutions by setting regulations that must be followed. When a zoo or aquarium becomes AZA accredited they gain the status of being a well-respected institution that cares for animals above and beyond the standards set by governmental organizations such as the USDA. This is not a simple title to retain, as the AZA sets high animal care standards and has put many institutions on probation or taken away their accreditation entirely.

The AZA ensures that zoos and aquariums maintain healthy captive populations through Species Survival Plans (SSP), this means zoos cannot simply ship animals wherever they please or breed as many offspring as they want to. SSP's exist to stop inbreeding and ensure that each animal will have a sufficient place to live. They also ensure that animals are provided with the proper enrichment, training, veterinary care, and nutrition daily. To me, that sounds like the farthest thing from animal cruelty.

If the AZA or any of the governmental organizations that Sea World is subject to saw anything wrong with their animal care policies, Sea World would lose these accreditations and/or be forced to shut down, yet no charges have been brought against them.

3. They instill a love and passion for animals in all people.

Nothing compares to watching those magnificent orcas breach the surface, or watching polar bears dive and play with one another. Seeing elephants ace a training session or watching tiger cubs wrestle is why everyone goes to zoos and why people are inclined to help animals! The problem is that people are harming animals without even knowing it.

I know that every great zookeeper would love to see all animals in the wild, and if that were possible, zookeepers would be the biggest advocates to see this happen. Unfortunately, the wild isn't exactly as spacious as it once was thanks to the human population taking over. If we want to keep millions of species from extinction, we have to have animals in zoos that create the revenue to do so. I assure you that animals in zoos live a very low-stress lifestyle. They are given the exact amount of food needed, excellent water quality, and keepers who go above and beyond to make sure they are healthy.

What you can do to save orcas, and other wildlife:

1. Say no to plastic bottles, plastic straws, plastic shopping bags, and any other trash you will only use once.

2. Don't buy any food containing palm oil because palm forests in Southeast Asia are contributing to the loss of forests and habitats for countless species.

3. Support sustainable companies.

4. Use cloth diapers.

5. Donate to conservation efforts.

6. Adopt don't shop! Never buy from puppy mills.

7. Eat less meat and dairy products.

8. Speak out against factory farms and the abuse of farm animals.

9. Go visit your local AZA-accredited zoo, or Sea World itself.

10. Do a lot of research on both sides of any argument before deciding what organizations to support or boycott.