Captivity, an Infinite Quarantine
It has been over a month of social distancing, so I have a couple of questions for you. Has it been hard to pass time? Have you just sat in front of Netflix and finished a series? Do you miss hanging out with your friends? As our quarantines extend, so do boredom, anxiety, and depression. Still, we know sooner or later our Monday blues will be back and life as we know it will resume.
From a closed room let’s dive into the infinite ocean. Somewhere a pod of orcas (killer whales) are going about their business. A boat comes into view, and starts spreading a net. Soon all the young of the pod are taken away. It is not just young orcas that are captured like this, but dolphins and seals and all animals that perform in show business. Humans only see this kidnapping as essential for a million dollar industry. From the young animal’s point of view, it loses its family and home all in one event. Taken from the infinite ocean these wild young are thrown into warm swimming pools. It is hard to understand how they must feel, lonely? Confused? Depressed? Bored? Wait, aren’t we feeling those exact emotions right now! We still have access to online therapy, and entertainment, and we know that quarantine will end. A dolphin doesn’t, so it self harms. Chews on concrete, bangs its head on the concrete wall, even fights with its fellow captives, all while burning in the sun and somersaulting for food. These animals start to show unnatural behavior. If you want proof, here is a statistic: In the wild, there have been no known killer whale attacks, but captive marine mammals have shown aggression and even killed their trainers (reason why SeaWorld does not have orca shows anymore). So, does this animal cruelty still happen? Sadly, yes. Where as change is coming to this industry, it is simply not coming fast enough. SeaWorld being one of the most known company has to keep up with public opinion, but there are other similar parks in many other countries that continue to capture and train wild marine mammals for profits. From the exterior, this industry is like the illustration on top, cute, happy, these animals seem to love their trainers right? But the reality is rather harsh, and right in front of us.
To find out more watch Blackfish, a documentary that will take you deeper in this issue. You can also look up Tilikum, one of the most famous SeaWorld orcas.
