US report indicates killer whales experience stress in captivity

Update: March 5 2007 - Producers of the report retract the report and apologise to SeaWorld

A report released by the Californian state department recommended that trainers at SeaWorld try to reduce the stress which killer whales experience in captivity. However, this report has now been retracted by the state Division of Occupational Health (Cal/OSHA).

Cal/OSHA has stated that the report contained "expressions of opinion and other statements" about animal behavior that Cal/OSHA does not have the expertise to determine, the agency said in a statement late Friday. "This error is being addressed and Cal/OSHA regrets the difficulties it may have caused SeaWorld, its staff, and its patrons," the statement said. Read the Cal/OSHA report here

The investigation, which was undertaken after a trainer was dragged and held underwater in November 2006 (click here for the full story), gave a series of recommendations for SeaWorld and stated that it was “only a matter of time” before a trainer is killed by one of the park’s killer whales.

Among the recommendations issued by CAL/OSHA were:

• Employer should consider lethal force against the killer whale.
• Allow trainers sufficient time to focus on the care and training of the killer whales.
• Have more orcas within the population.
• Eliminate the stress within the performing population of orcas.
• Investigate portable breathing devices that could be worn by trainers whenever they enter the pool with a killer whale.
• Improve communication methods in the stadium.

Organisations, including Marine Connection, have been working worldwide to raise awareness regarding the stress which dolphins (killer whales are dolphins, part of the Delphinus family) and whales experience within captivity and applaud this report for recognizing it. According to the LA Times, “SeaWorld officials branded the report's findings "highly speculative and not supported by scientific fact" and met on 1st March 2007 with the Cal/OSHA district manager to ask him to withdraw or modify the report”. For an unbiased report to state that there is a need to “Eliminate the stress within the performing population of orcas” is a worry for SeaWorld which makes money from training killer whales in captivity for the entertainment of humans.

Although Marine Connection is pleased that this reports acknowledges captive killer whales experience damaging stress, we are also concerned by other aspects of the report such as recommending the “Employer should consider lethal force against the killer whale” and that there should be “More orcas within the population”.

Marine Connection believes that we should not be concentrating on a report on how to “control” these captive animals’ behaviour, rather we should be addressing whether, in this day and age, they should be kept in captivity at all.

Please click here to read the letter we have written in response to newspaper coverage of this matter.