Orca in captivity are kept in tiny tanks. This adult male, known as Kshamenk, is held at Mundo Marino, Argentina.
The damaged teeth of a captive orca at SeaWorld Orlando, USA. The captivity industry tries to claim this damage is due to the way the orca feed, but you can see in this image that the food doesn’t touch their teeth. Instead, the damage is due to the orca gnawing on the concrete tanks, as well as other destructive behaviours.
Captivity is very stressful for orca
The Orca Research Trust policy is that orca should not be kept in captivity for entertainment or profit. For those orca who are kept in captivity, an authentic and genuine seaside sanctuary is a solution that would allow them to live out the remainder of their lives in a natural ocean environment. One example of this is The Whale Sanctuary Project, for which Dr Visser is an advisor.
We acknowledge that at times it may be appropriate to house orca temporarily if they are injured or require help, but this should only be done with the ultimate goal of return to the wild. Springer the orca is a perfect example of how such a project can work – In 2002 she was held in a seapen and released after her recovery. She has since successfully raised two calves and in 2021 was confirmed to be pregnant again.
Dr Ingrid Visser advocates for all orca who are held in captivity. She was part of the team, along with Jean-Michel Cousteau, that helped document the notorious Whale Jail in Russia. The efforts of the team resulted in those orca being returned to the wild, instead of being shipped to entertainment theme parks in China.
The reports and testimonies of Dr Visser have been used in a number of court cases, legislative reviews and ongoing efforts to help captive orca. As part of that work she is the co-founder of Dolphinaria-Free Europe and the Free Morgan Foundation.
Research into, and raising the profiles of, the issues for captive orca is a vital part of the advocacy work that Dr Visser conducts as she has the perspective of what is ‘normal’, from her work with free-ranging, wild orca.
The scientific papers, conference posters, submissions and reports she has authored and co-authored have been used around the world to raise awareness of the issues that captive orca face.
Also, check out the video links for talks by Dr Visser about orca in captivity.
Captive orca suffer a range of mental and health issues when kept in captivity. Some of the issues include damaged teeth, self-mutilation, injuries and early death. A range of reports, papers, conference posters and submissions by Dr Visser and her co-authors can be downloaded using the buttons below.
