Gabriela Cowperthwaite didn’t anticipate that directing Blackfish would propel orcas … let alone the documentary … into the center of such a huge anti-captivity cyclone. But it did. The 2013 film focuses on the captivity of Tilikum, an orca involved in the deaths of three human individuals, and the consequences of keeping orcas in captivity and forcing them to continue suffering from acute and chronic traumatization. A recent article in The Guardian, shares that since Blackfish became such a hit, SeaWorld’s visitor numbers have fallen, its stock has plummeted, antiquated policy governing orca welfare has started to budge, and reported profits were down 84% from the previous year.

Toni Frohoff and Gabriela Cowperthwaite at San Diego School talking Blackfish with students.

Cowperthwaite writes, “Without evolving alongside public opinion though … I can’t imagine SeaWorld bouncing back. It now risks becoming an artifact; an embarrassing relic from a less informed time. People have stopped going to SeaWorld not simply because of a movie but because, it seems, we’re recalibrating how we feel ethically about animal welfare. Faced with uncomfortable truths about animal welfare, we’re clarifying what it means to be humane.” But she writes, “SeaWorld could almost singlehandedly pioneer a sea sanctuary where it could retire the remaining whales”. “There are sanctuaries for many animals, such as chimpanzees, elephants and tigers. Placing them in a setting that approximates their natural habitat as closely as possible is, in some ways, the best we humans can offer animals that can’t be returned to the wild. But so far, there is no killer whale sanctuary. Such a move by SeaWorld would not only be seminal, it would be culture-shaping.”

IDA’s Cetacean and Elephant Scientist, Dr. Toni Frohoff has been working on cetacean captivity issues for several decades and is one of the many experts collaborating to create sanctuaries for cetaceans. She says, “The release of Blackfish ignited a long-smoldering anti-captivity movement for orcas, and ostensibly for all dolphins – one that will hopefully translate to our treatment of all other animals everywhere. Elephants, in particular, share a surprising degree of psychological, social and physical characteristics with orcas. They are keystone species in the wild but similarly desired for captivity. With their shared similarities, they share many needs: they also epitomize the degree of institutionalized trauma that wild animals suffer in captivity on both land at at sea – or more accurately, in glorified swimming pools.” Frohoff joined with Cowperthwaite in 2013 to talk with youth in several schools after they had watched the film to both answer questions and hear what today’s youth in SeaWorld-dominated San Diego had to say. Cowperthwaite hopes that “this movement grows beyond the SeaWorld discussion.” Today’s kids are increasingly becoming part of the ‘I can’t believe we used to do that’ generation”.

Please stay tuned as IDA works to see all cetaceans and, perhaps, to even see SeaWorld swim itself out of its swamp and into its own salvation.

PHOTO FROM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackfish_(film)