Marine Parks & Aquariums
A life in a tank is no life at all.
Marine animals invoke a sense of awe in almost everyone. We are captivated by the playfulness of dolphins, the curiosity of seals, and the mysteriousness of orcas. Marine parks and aquariums were designed as a place for humans to marvel at marine animals and build a sense of “closeness” to them. But behind the glossy façade lies a dark and heartbreaking reality for the animals who are trapped there. They were taken from their homes, torn away from their families, forced into a tiny tank, and are sometimes even forced to perform tricks for human ‘entertainment’. Let’s dive into these issues.
The Industry
There are thousands of marine parks and aquariums around the world, holding species of all kinds captive in enclosures that are a fraction of the size of the animal’s natural environment.
How do animals end up in marine parks?
Have you ever thought about how a dolphin, orca, seal, or shark ends up in a marine park or aquarium? Maybe not, but learning about their stories is important.
Catching animals from the wild
All methods of capturing live marine animals are traumatising. While few countries still do this, it is still happening in parts of the world and they sell those animals around the globe to popular tourist destinations.
The most common method involves placing a large net vertically into the water. High speed boats drive the animals into the net and the net is closed around them. Slings are then used to haul the individuals onto the boats. Other methods include using loud noises and boats to drive the pod towards shallow water into a net. Once trapped, some animals are selected for captivity, and others are killed for their meat.
After they are captured, they are kept in shallow, cramped temporary holding tanks and transported to different locations. All animals experience fear, panic, and flight while being hunted, chased, trapped, and roughly handled. The violent nature of the chase causes an immense amount of stress in the animals, and many are left injured or dead as a result.
Image: Dolphin pod being captured | Sea Shepherd
Captive breeding programs
Breeding animals in captivity are often promoted as “conservation” programs or as a way to “enrich the lives of animals” already in captivity. This method, however, does not make the animals “domesticated”. They still have the same physiology, genetic traits, and innate needs as their wild-born counterparts. Additionally, some species do not breed well in captivity and many have never produced surviving offspring.
The issues
Marine animals, such as dolphins, whales, and seals, are highly intelligent and social creatures who are designed to thrive in their natural habitats. Their mental and physical health deteriorates rapidly when they are confined to small tanks or enclosures.
Broken families
While the social structure of dolphins, orcas, and sea lions are different, they are all highly social animals who are often observed living in large groups. Many of these animals form lifelong bonds with their relatives and others in their pods or rafts, staying together for their entire lives. These species have also been observed showing severe signs of grieving when members of their pod or raft die. Taking animals from the wild tears these bonds apart, leaving animals reeling for those they will never see again.
Image: Dolphin being captured | Sea Shepherd
Failure to meet their needs
Aquariums and marine parks can never fully mimic the natural habitats of an animal. The animals are also denied any autonomy as their movement, feeding, social relationships, and all other facets of their life are determined by humans. The tanks will always remain artificial environments, providing significantly less room than an animal would have in the wild. Sea animals are known to cover vast distances every day – bottlenose dolphins are said to travel around 130km a day, while orcas can reach 145km! This is important for their health as it is their exercise, diving requirements, and allows them to eat a varied diet. The often barren environments also provide no challenges or stimulation, to keep the animals motivated and thriving.
Marine animals use echolocation to navigate the vast ocean, but inside tanks the sound bounces off the walls and can cause distress. Experts have likened it to a human being blindfolded in a jail cell.
In the case of orcas, most are kept isolated, denying them any form of interaction and much needed connection.
Depression, anxiety, stress, and illness is common and causes shortened life spans
Many marine mammals in captivity suffer from stress, depression, and anxiety, which can lead to various health issues, premature death and even self-harm and suicide. The small enclosures, suppression of their natural instincts, changes to their social groups, and constant unfamiliar noises, such as people visiting the park, underwater pumps, and nearby traffic, all contribute to their stress and anxiety. They develop stereotypies, such as biting, chewing, jaw-popping, circling and repetitive swim patterns.
Dolphins and orcas have reportedly held their breaths, slammed their head against the wall, and beached themselves in order to escape their miserable lives.
Ric O’Barry, ex-dolphin captor and trainer, states it was the suicide of Kathy, a dolphin who played Flipper, who died after she simply 'stopped breathing' in her trainer's arms, that opened their eyes to the cruelty.
“The [animal entertainment] industry doesn’t want people to think dolphins are capable of suicide, but these are self-aware creatures with a brain larger than a human brain. If life becomes so unbearable, they just don’t take the next breath. It’s suicide.”
After 12 years in captivity, Hugo, was so unhappy that he killed himself by slamming his head against a wall causing a brain aneurysm.
Common health problems include lacerations, wounds, eye disease, deformity, infections, and abnormal growths. It is estimated that over 5,000 cetaceans have died in captivity since the 1950s.
Training
Ex-dolphin trainer, Ric O’Barry, has stated that training animals to “perform” for humans often involves food deprivation, which is labelled as “positive reinforcement” or “operant conditioning”. It typically involves keeping dolphins hungry enough so that they will comply with instructions and learn new behaviours in order to receive food.
If we close marine parks, what would happen to the individuals?
Releasing animals who have been held captive into the wild has the potential to be successful, but can also pose risk for the individuals. Years of confinement can reduce their ability to find food, navigate their new homes, avoid dangers such as boats, or even find a pod or others to join. In cases where a release is not possible, the animals should be moved to a sanctuary, preferably in the ocean.
What can you do?
“[W]e have this fundamental responsibility to not take advantage” of animals who have no control over whether or not they live with humans.
Ren Hurst
As consumers, the best way you can help marine animals is by not supporting facilities that hold them captive, and marvel at them from a distance in the wild or through documentaries. You can also help by spreading awareness about the cruelty involved with supporting marine parks and aquariums.
