by Mark J Palmer / Earth Island Journal
Phot Credit: Jesse Means
A new bill has just been introduced in California that would phase out orcas captivity in the state. Assembly Bill 2140 (pdf), introduced by Assemblymember Richard Bloom last week, seeks a ban on keeping killer whales in captivity for human entertainment and retire all captive orcas to sea pens.
While the proposed legislation, dubbed the Orca Welfare and Safety Act, doesn’t specifically name SeaWorld, the marine park’s San Diego facility is the only one in the state that currently has 10 captive orcas that are used in performances. The company has, unsurprisingly, reacted harshly to the proposal.
The draft bill is quite comprehensive and would:
- Prohibit holding or use of a wild-caught or captive-bred orca for performances or entertainment purposes. (“Performances and entertainment purposes” are defined as any exhibition associated with music or other sound effects, choreographed display, or training for such display, or unprotected contact between humans and orcas. This applies to trainers, too, except for veterinary care.)
- Prohibit import or capture in state waters of any orcas for entertainment purposes.
- Prohibit breeding or impregnating captive orcas.
- Prohibit import and collection of any sperm, gametes or embryos for artificial insemination.
These provisions would not apply to any orca held for rehabilitation or stranding, or for research purposes. However, any orcas held for rehabilitation or research would have to be released eventually or kept in a sea pen. Similarly, orcas held for entertainment purposes would be retired to a sea pen and released if possible. Until an appropriate sea pen is available for retirement, orcas could be held for exhibition only in existing tanks.
“There is no justification for the continued captive display of orcas for entertainment purposes. These beautiful creatures are much too large and far too intelligent to be confined in small, concrete tanks for their entire lives,” Bloom, a Democrat from Santa Monica, said in a statement.
Bloom was accompanied by Blackfish director Gabriella Cowperthwaite and two former orca trainers at a press conference announcing the bill at the Santa Monica pier on Friday. The lawmaker said the harrowing documentary, that reveals the dangers to orcas and their trainers at SeaWorld, was what inspired him to take action.
SeaWorld objected strenuously to the proposed legislation, attacking the messenger: According to a CNN report, SeaWorld spokesperson Becca Bides claimed that the participants joining Bloom were well-known “extreme animal rights activists, many of whom regularly campaign against SeaWorld and other accredited marine mammal parks and institutions.” The company rejects the claims in Blackfish about dangers to orcas and trainers. However, most of the claims in Blackfish come from former SeaWorld trainers themselves.
As this Wired article notes: “Bloom’s proposed law isn’t the first of its kind: South Carolina banned the public display of dolphins in 1992, as did Maui County, Hawaii in 2002. In February of this year, New York state senator Greg Ball introduced a bill that would ban orca confinement in sea parks and aquariums.” Clearly, public awareness about this issue is growing.
Earth Island’s International Marine Mammal Project has endorsed the legislation and will work to see it passed by the California legislature. It should prove to be an interesting fight over the ethics of keeping intelligent orcas in captivity.
[Earth First! Journal editor's note: The Earth First! Journal recognizes that there is a lot you can do beyond the following suggestion made in this article.]
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
We will have more information shortly on how you can help this legislation pass in California. For now, you can contact Assemblymember Richard Bloom and express your support for the bill.
Assemblymember Richard Bloom
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0050
Fax: (916) 319-2150
Click here to send an email:
If you live in California, you can also contact your own assemblymember and state senator, urging them to support the Orca Welfare and Safety Act. They can sign on as co-sponsors, and of course can vote in favor of the bill when it comes to them. Find your legislator here.