The Orca Responsibility and Care Advancement (ORCA) Act, sponsored by congressman Adam Schiff of California, aims to phase out orca whales being held in captivity. This includes prevention of capturing orcas in the wild as well as breeding orcas in captivity. The bill makes claims that captive orcas as opposed to wild orcas have a shorter lifespan, 1/10,000th of swimming space, higher rate of collapsed fins, less opportunity for socializing and worse behavior.
Though Schiff's bill would first impact SeaWorld San Diego, there are three parks in the US that currently hold twenty-four orcas in total. A total of thirty-seven killer whales have died at these SeaWorld locations combined. In addition to death of the whales, three humans have been killed by one orca at SeaWorld Orlando. Tilikum killed a marine biology student in 1991, a man who snuck into SeaWorld in 1999, and one of his trainers in 2010. Dawn Brancheau's autopsy report lists drowning and traumatic injuries as her cause of death, and goes on to further explain the blunt force trauma Tilikum caused.
While the whale shows do bring in very large amounts of money at all SeaWorld locations, it may be time to end orca captivity. Not only is it bad for the wellbeing of the killer whales, but can be dangerous to humans.There have been many moves towards ending whale captivity in the past, including the "Blackfish" documentary and the book "Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity." Both the book and documentary share the story of Tilikum's killing of humans. Schiff's bill, if passed, will fulfill the mission of many to end the captivity of orcas.
Above, the trailer for Blackfish briefly shows how Tilikum and many other whales were captured. This capturing and breeding in a habitat unfit for the whales is part of what Schiff desires to take away. Schiff's bill is supported by PETA, the Humane Society, and the Animal Welfare Insititute. There has been another similar bill out of California in the recent past. In 2014, Richard Bloom introduced the Orca Welfare and Safety Act, which died in committee and therefore was never voted on. Only time will tell if Schiff's bill will have the same fate.
It's not just orcas, either. The Georgia Aquarium, as well as other aquariums, were recently denied requests for a total of eighteen beluga whales captured in Russia shortly before the sudden death of Maris, a beluga at the Georgia Aquarium.
We may soon have to say goodbye to the marine animals held at aquariums, because Adam Schiff's bill "...would phase out captive orcas so that their display ends with this generation." If this bill is passed, its enforcement may lead to similar legislation surrounding other marine animals held in captivity.
