When marine animals are in captivity, they are put together with other animals that they don’t know. That sometimes causes them to hurt each other. They also sometimes hurt people. The documentary Blackfish talked about Tilikum, an orca who has killed three people while in captivity. Another thing that can happen to orcas in captivity is fin collapse. Fin collapse is when the dorsal fin flops over. It happens to all male orcas and lots of female orcas in captivity, but only about 1 percent of orcas in the wild.
I don’t agree with most of John’s arguments. I agree that people should connect with nature more often, but I don’t think that they should do it by going to an aquarium. Technically, an aquarium isn’t nature. Some better ways to connect with nature would be going to a forest or taking a boat ride in the ocean or going snorkeling. Animals in the wild are real nature. I also don’t agree that going to zoos or aquariums makes people want to protect animals and nature. Animals in aquariums or zoos are there to entertain people. I’ve been to a zoo many times, and I haven’t done anything different to protect animals and nature because of it. I think people go to zoos and aquariums to be entertained and see the animals. I do agree that it’s good to rescue, rehabilitate, and release animals to the wild, but I don’t agree with keeping them in captivity unless they cannot survive in the wild.
I think that animals should only be kept in captivity if they are injured, and should be released if possible. They should not be kept just for entertainment. One thing that frustrated me about the documentary Blackfish was that after Tilikum killed all those people, and they knew he wanted to come out, they still kept him because he was worth a lot of money. I read that Sea World only spends .0006 percent of its money on rescue and rehabilitation! If you buy a ticket to an aquarium that keeps animals for entertainment, the money goes to more capturing. Instead, you should go to places that only take in hurt animals and release them if they can survive in the wild. Even better, you can see them in the wild if you take a boat ride in the ocean!
http://grist.org/list/seaworld-only-spends-0-0006-percent-of-revenue-on-animal-rescue-and-rehabilitation/
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/02/Nightingale.vancouver.whale/index.html
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/captive_marine/facts/marine_captivity.html
http://www.worldanimalprotection.us.org/our-work/animals-wild/marine-animals-captivity
http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?p=2688&more=1
Blackfish documentary