Captive Orcas 'Dying to Entertain You' - Whale and Dolphin ...

Section 5Marine Park Myths.'Are sources of entertainment so scarce, we may ask, that they can be justified even atthe cost of animal misery?' (Professor Andrew Linzey 1987) 55Introduction:Marine parks evolved from the same tradition as circuses, zoos and fun-fairs: in otherwords, to entertain the paying public and make a tidy profit for the operators. Eventoday, most marine parks feature a great variety of mechanical rides as well as animalsperforming circus-type routines. In fact, many parks - including all four Sea World parks;Miami Seaquarium; Marineland Cote D'Azur (France); Ocean Park (Hong Kong) andAdventure World (Japan) reflect their true colours by their membership of theInternational Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA). Only a handfulof American facilities - Sea World, Vancouver Aquarium and Marine World, Africa UDA- are members of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA).Whilst entertainment is still very much the name of the game, in recent years, attemptshave been made by marine parks to redefine their purpose. Increasingly, marine parksbegan to feel the need to justify their existence to the wider world beyond the turnstiles.Despite the industry's attempts to present an unvaryingly rosy image, news ofunacceptably high mortalities, accidents and injuries had gradually leaked out. Detailsof these incidents were supported in recent years by amateur videos, which undeniablyshowed cramped and featureless conditions, mindless circus tricks and, most disturbingof all, occasionally captured aggressive incidents or bizarre, repetitive behaviour.Suddenly, public entertainment was no longer adequate justification for keeping orcasin captivity. Growing public interest in environmental and animal welfare issues madethe marine parks increasingly nervous. As the arguments against captivity became moreand more persuasive, the marine park industry realised that it must adapt in order tosurvive.The parks responded quite cynically and moved swiftly to improve their credibility.Suddenly marine parks were being marketed not merely as places of familyentertainment, but as centres of excellence in the fields of education, research andconservation.Sea World's 'Pledge and a Promise' is typical of the new 'respectable' facade. The 1995visitor guide to Sea World's Ohio park promises that 'although entertainment is SeaWorld of Ohio's most visible facet, education, conservation and research are still ourprimary commitments and embody Anheuser-Busch's A Pledge and A Promise to aquality environment. This ... establishes breeding and research programs andunderscores the need for environmental sensitivity through our local educationprograms.'This section will look at the four great 'myths' namely: education, conservation, captivebreeding and research, put forward by many marine parks in an attempt to justify theirexistence.Education:'Education is a very vital part of any attempt to help people understand an animal. But Ithink the best way to do that is to help them learn about the animal in its ownenvironment. Displaying captive marine mammals teaches a negative rather than apositive [attitude], because people never get to witness the mammals' natural behavior.'(Jim Phillips, Educational Specialist, 1990) 56Not everyone in the marine park industry was an immediate convert to the new crusade.George Millay, father of Sea World, angrily exclaimed in 1989 that 'Sea World wascreated strictly as entertainment. We didn't try to wear this false facade of educationalsignificance.' But this new focus upon education was not merely a public relationsexercise. It was driven in part by the 1988 amendments to the Marine MammalProtection Act, which required that all American parks displaying marine mammalsmust provide an educational component as part of their public programme.49