There are two large views on captivity: pro-captivity or anti-captivity. There is a neutral stance, but it is very few and far between. Animal captivity is defined as animals living in human care, whether that be in a zoo, an aquarium, SeaWorld, any facility of that nature.
A documentary was released in 2013 titled "Blackfish." It is directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, and it had a severe impact on not only SeaWorld’s attendance, but their support as well. There is a major flaw in the documentary though; it is almost all non-credible with their facts, their evidence, and their sources.
The “documentary” focuses heavily on the popularized orca at SeaWorld Orlando, named Tilikum. The plot line of the movie Tilikum, his capture, his life at SeaLand of the Pacific (SLoP), moving him to SeaWorld, and his involvement with senior trainer Dawn Brancheau. Though the movie does depict his life in the correct chronological order, there are many missing facts and details that do have a significant impact on the way the information is conveyed. Also, the cover is not Tilikum. One would assume it is Tilikum. It is actually Keiko. Who is that? The whale who played Free Willy. That’s not even the only time he is shown in the movie.
For starters, the beginning phone call to the sheriff’s office is so unbelievably non-factual. The caller is stating that there is a trainer in the water with a whale you’re not supposed to be in the water with. It never states Dawn Brancheau or Tilikum, you have to assume that, but it truly could be anyone.
Second, throughout the film, you see many interviews from former SeaWorld trainers. Without doing any research, you would have no idea that the trainers being interviewed were all fired for breaking protocol in some form of way.
The first trainer interviewed is John Hargrove. He is a former trainer who worked at the San Antonio and San Diego branch from 1991-2012, that’s 14 years in the industry. He was demoted to Sea Lion & Otter Stadium, and he quit shortly. He didn’t mention that did he? He never worked in Orlando where Tilikum lived.
Samantha Berg is the next trainer interviewed; she worked in Orlando from February 1990 to August 1993. She worked very shortly with killer whales, spending the large majority of her time employed there with Dolphins and Sea Lions.
Jeffrey Ventre worked at the Orlando park from 1987-1995 and was fired for breaking safety protocol for sticking his head inside a known dangerous killer whales head.
Mark Simmons, a former SeaWorld trainer who was not fired and is interviewed in this film said on multiple occasions that Ventre was so “anti-management” it was hard for anyone to work with him.
Carol Ray is next on the list she worked in the Orlando park from 1987 to 1990.
John Jett worked at SeaWorld Orlando from 1992-1996, he was however assigned to Tilikum’s team with a large amount of supervision for a short period of time. He was then demoted to Sea Lion and Otter Stadium for being a weak swimmer and not being compatible with the whales.
Mark Simmons is shown next, a former trainer who worked at the Orlando park from 1987-1996, now regrets his involvement in the film due to the interview being three hours and not having anything to show his stance actually in the film, the idea and focus of the film, and quoted from an interview he did for SeaWorld shortly after the film’s release, “it was told to him that it would be a balanced piece and that it was going to represent both sides, and if you’ve seen the movie, you don’t even need to know the issue to know their agenda in the film, it's one-sided completely.”
Dean Gommersall is the last trainer interviewed, he worked in Orlando but never worked with killer whales.
Later in the film, during an interview with Detective Revere and Thomas Tobin, Orange County Sheriff’s office, case number 10-16715, it is stated that Dawn Brancheau’s arm was completely torn from the body during the encounter and was no longer attached. A few minutes later, Dawn’s autopsy report is shown quickly, not giving enough time to actually read any important details. If you research her autopsy file, you will read, she had multiple lacerations. A laceration is not a detachment of a limb; a laceration is a deep cut or wound.
The film then implies, through David Duffus “it’s not a singular event” and Howard Garrett “Without missing a beat they went from Washington to Iceland and began capturing there,” that SeaWorld continues to capture whales in the wild and has actually captured Tilikum and all their whales that have not been born there. SeaWorld has not even captured since 1979, so that’s not possible.
It is actually illegal to release a captive born orca into the wild, by law of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA. A list of all the captive whales at SeaWorld is listed below. The whales with parenthesis after their name are the whales that are legally eligible for release. That’s all. The activists who attack SeaWorld for them to release their whales have obviously not done their research. It is illegal for them to do so. That is a NOAA issue, not a SeaWorld issue.
There is an unrealistic image of how not only Tilikum was captured, but who exactly was responsible for the capture of the largest orca in captivity. SeaLand of the Pacific was actually responsible for the capture of Tilikum when he was only estimated to be about two years of age in November 1983 off of the coast of Iceland. He then lived in an extremely and horrifyingly accurate description depicted in Blackfish at SLoP. He had an awful life there. SeaLand of the Pacific. Oh and the whale they show moving while the dramatic, dark music plays? That’s Free Willy again, Keiko.
Next, the death of Keltie Byrne at SLoP. The sisters who witnessed Tilikum pull Byrne in the water stated that the whale that pulled her in had a “floppy fin." All three whales had floppy fins, Haida, Nootka IV, and Tilikum.
Steve Huxter states in the film, “To this day, there is no record of an orca doing any harm to a human in the wild.” What about 1910, June 15, 1972, September 9, 1972, August 2005? What? No account?
Howard Garret states, “They have lifespans very similar to human life spans. The females can live to about 100, maybe more – males to about 50 or 60.” There is no research to completely prove this assertion. The most recent research being done has states that females can live between 30-46 years and males 19-31 years. Humans live on average to 73 years of age for females and 68 years of age for males.
Samantha Berg’s accusation about management about the trainer being close up to Tilikum is dramatized. Caution was taken around Tilikum for multiple reasons. The largest being he was a new whale, not knowing much about him and knowing that he was recently involved in a death at SLoP.
Ventre says he was videoing Tilikum and Liz Morris, when Tilikum lunged at Morris during a show. He was advised to get rid of the tape. This happened in 1980. Tilikum was not even at SeaWorld yet.
Tamarie Tollison broke protocol interacting with Orkid, one –– without a spotter, and two –– putting her foot on Orkid’s rostrum repeatedly. Orkid grabbed her foot. This is 100% avoidable with the safety protocols put in place by the employer if the trainer would follow the rules.
The former employee riding a killer whale in a bikini shown took place in 1972, over 40 years ago. This was in the early stages of the business and when very little safety protocol existed. This is only in the film to show aggression, which is not necessarily taking place.
The next scene is John Hargrove smiling with a bloody face. It is an assumption that it is due to a killer whale interaction, but it is not. He slipped on a slide out and cut his face on the stage.
There are so many false claims that I could continue going on for hours just going fact by fact in this film. It’s not a documentary. It’s a movie. If you haven’t seen the film, I do recommend watching it, but with an open mind. Keep in mind how many lies in this film there are and you will be just as frustrated as I am, someone who has put in the research, and knows exactly how many wonderful things SeaWorld does and will continue to do. Do your research. Do not turn against SeaWorld based on this film. Feel free to dislike captivity, but dislike it on facts. Not the Blackfish facts they make up in the film. For the entire film’s breakdown with facts and explanation, check this out.
