Every year, millions of people come from all over the world to see Shamu and other whales perform at Sea World. However, most of these people don’t see the horrible conditions that the whales live in. However, Sea World may be coming to an end.

After CNN aired the documentary Blackfish, a California legislator decided to take action in favor of freeing the orcas in captivity. Assemblyman Richard Bloom introduced a draft of the Orca Welfare and Safety Act, which would ban performances that utilize orcas. While it would allow existing orcas to be displayed for educational purposes, the many breeding programs would be shut down. The whales already in performance stadiums would be transferred to open ocean enclosures due to the fact that they cannot survive in the wild after spending most of their lives in captivity. These enclosures would be large enough to allow the whales to live out the rest of their days in peace.

“There is no justification for the continued captive display of orcas for entertainment purposes,” Bloom said in a pubic statement. “These beautiful creatures are much too large and far too intelligent to be confined in small, concrete tanks for their entire lives. It is time to end the practice of keeping orcas captive for human amusement.”

The documentary Blackfish focuses on the origins fo Sea World, as well as their treatment of the killers whales. Many former employees were contacted by the producers of the documentary and asked to explain how the whales were treated. They all spoke of one whale in particular: Tilikum. Abnormally large for a male orca, he was often attacked by the females. As a result, employees separated him, forcing him into an isolation for his own protection.

However, this backfired when he became increasingly violent towards the other whales as well as the trainers. The documentary places the blame for the multiple attacks by Tilikum on the trainers at Sea World, claiming captivity made these large animals more violent due to their small living spaces.

However, the lawyers at Sea World are attacking the film’s accuracy in an attempt to prevent the bill from being passed. They claim that certain statistics, including the film’s claim that there are no records of a wild killer whale attack, are fabricated or manipulated. Another statistic that has received special attention is the claim that Sea World trainers informed park visitor that the orcas live longer in captivity than in the wild. According to the documentary, kilers whales can live to be over fifty years old, while the whales at Sea World only live to about thirty years old.

Regardless of the accuracy, Sea World lawyers have had a difficult time arguing that the whales are actually better off in captivity versus in the wild. This leaves the public with a dilemma. Should we support Sea World so we can enjoy the performances, or should we allow these beautiful creatures to live out their natural lives without being kept in metal boxes?