Animals should not be kept in captivity because it is detrimental to them. Animals shouldn't be treated as slaves and not be kept in captivity.
A lot of people know about animal training cruelty and don't seem to see the big picture of it. Percentages of the whales that are being tortured and killed throughout the years keep going up. There is also a badly misleading and large scale number of whales that are suffering and getting hurt during this. Whales have no right to be treated that way, as to the same thing with humans. Whales haven't done anything to deserve this type of attention.
It is killing them, stressing them and making them go crazy, which leads to them doing crazy things. When killer whales get caught and captured they get into a tank and have very little space to swim and sleep. If they are not captured, they get killed. The whales in there have no life, they don't understand what's going on. When a killer whale is stuck and captured in captivity, they begin to get mental, emotional and physical stress. When that happens, that can weaken their immune system and make them prone to diseases, which they can severely suffer from.
Using whales for "entertainment" and in putting them in tanks is wrong. Whales are highly intelligent animals that want and need to be living in complex social groups. When they are put in captivity, they usually are separated from their families. A lot get captured very young. Some are also often in cruel hunts. In captivity, they have very little space and cannot behave like they do naturally. They usually swim up to 100 miles a day, hunting and playing. Basically, a concrete tank can never replace their ocean home. People shouldn't be trying to replace it for them.
The death rate for infant whales is also higher in captivity. Why? because even though the whales are kept in an environment free of predators, pollution and other threats, they die young. Females have a mean life expectancy of 50.2 years, typically give birth to their first viable calf at 14.9 years of age, produce an average of 5.35 viable calves over a 25.2 year reproductive lifespan and have a maximum longevity of about 80-90 years. Males have a mean life expectancy of 29.2 years, typically attain sexual maturity at 15.0 years and physical maturity at 21.0 years of age, and have a maximum longevity of about 50-60 years.
One author who was an African American slave named Robbyne Kaamil, who wrote "Can A Killer Whale Be A Slave?," describes how her being a slave is very similar to how the killer whales in captivity are acting. Whales are being treated like slaves in a way where they are taken and put into a tank and are held in captivity. A lot of people think it's different for humans and that whales are different and shouldn't be compared to humans, but it's not true because whales have feelings and also shouldn't be treated that way.
Some people say its not bad for animals because it's helping their species and that people won't be able to see these animals anywhere else. However, the main reason for the business is for it to raise money for it to go towards good things. like their business itself. The money can be better served doing a lot of other things. They are held in a public area where people can go and visit, entertainment at SeaWorld for whales because people enjoy watching the live shows with the whales being trained and doing tricks.
Also, a lot of people on the other side feel that animals should be kept in captivity because their research and studies keep them alive longer and preserves the species. However, this can change if the guidelines change or are different.
