ORLANDO, Florida: In a matter of four months, four orcas at SeaWorld Orlanda have died. Animal rights groups have spoken out against the continued confinement and imprisonment of the ocean-going mammals, but the organization remains adamant that the whales captivity is done in a “humane” manner abiding by all regulations on animal captivity. The 25-year-old orca Kalina was found dead last Monday night in the latest death at the SeaWorld facility in Florida. Adam Jones, a US-based animal rights advocate said it forced memories of The Cove activist Ric O'Barry's description of how dolphins sometimes commit suicide after years in captivity. “I remember the scene in the film where Ric is explaining how the dolphin that played Flipper gave him that final look and then pass on,” Jones told Bikya Masr on Monday evening. “Although we don't know the cause of the death, I would not be surprised to learn that the animal just couldn't take it any longer. Can you imagine being forced into a small area without anywhere to go. That is torture.” One week on and marine biologists are attempting to determine why the whale died, but it hasn't stopped animal advocates from speaking out on the horrors of captivity. Many, including Jones, argue that captivity of such large animals such as orcas “is the problem. There is simply no humane way to keep something hold up in a small cell. It is prison. Bryan Wilson, of the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, told NBC News that the conditions under which Kalina was kept undoubtedly contributed to her death. “She has an artificial diet … is living in chemically treated water in an environment that puts tremendous stress on their bodies,” Wilson said. He said wild orcas are used to roaming freely through vast areas of oceans, making even the huge tanks where they are kept at SeaWorld seem comparatively tiny. “They are living in a tank that to you and I would be considered a bathtub.” SeaWorld did respond to activists cries, denying in a statement that the whales died as a result of conditions at theme park . “Animals in our care live and die as do those in the wild … We have no reason to believe their environment was a contributing factor,” the park said. SeaWorld reported that there have been 26 successful births in the last 25 years, and 17 of the 26 killer whales have been born alive in SeaWorld parks. Their oldest orca is Corky, a 43-year-old female at the San Diego SeaWorld. SeaWorld says the four most recent deaths are unrelated, however they have not released necropsy reports into the causes of death. The death of Kalina, the first orca born into captivity at a SeaWorld park, was undoubtedly a blow to the theme park's breeding program. Kalina's life, all in captivity, continue to leave questions to marine biologists on the usefulness and humanity of society in treating mammals the way societies do, said Jones. He argued that “nobody would allow dogs to be in a small cage for 25 years, no matter what. Orcas are even more in need of larger expanses of space, so how is it different. SeaWorld should be ashamed.” BM
