SeaWorld, a well-known aquatic zoo, has announced plans to expand the tanks of their captive orcas. They would increase the size of the pools from 5.8 million gallons to 9.6 million gallons. More free space is a good thing, right?
Not according to people who oppose SeaWorld, such as actress Pamela Anderson, former-trainer John Hargrove and seven-year-old Zoey Lambe-Hommel. The plan to expand the orca tanks has caused limitless controversy among SeaWorld advocates and SeaWorld adversaries. SeaWorld’s intentions, the care and health of the orcas have been questioned and doubted since the 2013 documentary “Blackfish” aired. SeaWorld denied many accusations from “Blackfish” and claimed to “give the orcas personal care and love.” Various SeaWorld trainers claim to have special bonds with the orcas they train and therefore the whales are not lonely or miserable.
The Coastal Commission has to approve SeaWorld’s expansion motion. This announcement, the crowd contained over 600 spectators, both for and against SeaWorld’s motion. The commission received a variety of opinions at the meeting, especially once they announced that SeaWorld would be able to expand if they also agreed to stop using genetics from wild orcas to breed. SeaWorld, of course, denied not being able to breed; for how will SeaWorld continue if they cannot breed orcas? Instead, they suggested allowing up to 15 orcas maximum. Currently SeaWorld’s tanks hold 11.
The expansion of SeaWorld’s tanks by almost 4 million gallons should be a necessity. The whales are cramped, eleven, 32-foot long mammals stuffed together and presumably unhappy. By expanding the tanks by 3.8 million gallons, the whales would be granted almost 60 percent more space in the tank per whale. SeaWorld has way too many fans and far too big of a profit to be closed down by request of PETA and other low-budget activist groups.
With that in mind, why not expand the tanks to give the whales a little more space until it is possible to solve this issue completely? That being said, SeaWorld also wants to add four more orcas eventually, allowing a 15 orca maximum. By adding four more orcas to the expanded tanks, the expansion is practically nullified. Instead of giving the orcas more room, they’re receiving less personal space with more bodies to occupy the incredibly small pools they are forced to live in. SeaWorld has been negatively publicized for years, increasing with the airing of “Blackfish,” and they make it harder on themselves to lift that negativity by arguing with the points in “Blackfish” and proceeding to require the ability to add four more orcas to the possible maximum number along with their expensive expansion.
SeaWorld should be allowed to expand their tanks. At least the orcas currently inhabiting them would be granted more space and freedom, possibly leading to less frustration among them. The case behind whether SeaWorld is ethical or not and whether it should be shut down or not, should be taken care of separate from the expansion of tanks. If animal activists are so worried about the orcas’ health and safety, shouldn’t they be for the expansion? Expanding the tanks would be a quicker construction than that of closing down Sea World for good. SeaWorld should be granted permission to expand the tanks with the agreement of no more orcas added or bred into the tanks until further notice.
