Should Cetaceans Be Kept In Captivity?
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Did you know cetaceans that are being held in captivity live shorter lives than the ones that are in the wild? 27 percent of cetaceans being held in captivity
only live to be 15 and in the wild that's 80 percent this means that cetaceans live longer in the wild than in captivity. I believe that cetaceans should not be kept in captivity because of their very small tanks and that they can be separated by being in captivity, but also in some cases they can be rescued
First of all cetaceans should not be kept in captivity because of their tiny tanks. This can bring “physiological changes” according to source https://www.peta.org/teachkind/lesson-plans-activities/debate-kit-marine-mammal-captivity/, “Orca whales in captivity are forced to swim in circles opposed to the 100 miles they swim in the wild .” this means that they don't have any space to swim freely and that they are forced to swim in circles for 100 miles a day. When orcas are in small tanks they urinate almost every time and it is putting a lot of work on the filters so to help the filter people put in chlorine, according to source https://www.peta.org/teachkind/lesson-plans-activities/debate-kit-marine-mammal-captivity/ , “This manufactured water is another adjustment that orca whales have to make in captivity as their bodies are used to natural water.”this is why orcas can't be in small tanks.
Another reason orcas should not be held in captivity is because orcas are sometimes separated by steel gates and they can start chomping on them and according to source six,”The teeth fractures can lead to chronic pain which may result in the whale grinding down the jaw itself.” also when they are in there small pools and when there is cement walls it makes it hard for the orcas to communicate with each other because according to source six,”...their sounds often become distorted bouncing off the walls confusing the whales and making it hard to communicate with each other.” also when people take orcas into captivity they take the calf from their mother! According to source five, “separating calves from their mothers, for instance, it could increase the chance of the calf dying of stress.” this is why we should not keep orcas in captivity because of the separation.
In some cases cetaceans can be held in captivity because if they are hurt or badly injured you can help them by bringing it into captivity or else it would die on it's own, for example if a dolphin is badly hurt then you can bring it to captivity for a while until it recovers then you can release it. Also when they are in captivity then they don't need to hunt which according to source three, “In dolphinariums they receive food that has been previously frozen to kill parasites.” this means that they can't get sick from eating food because they are safe from parasites. Dolphins in captivity could help because if you were sick and you wanted to pet a dolphin you can just go to SeaWorld and you can pet one for example one time a women from canada had six months to live and it was here dream to touch a dolphin so they came to SeaWorld and According to source one, “She touched the dolphin, and her whole family,from that experience, was rejuvenated, it was like a celebration.
In conclusion cetaceans should not be kept in captivity because of their very small tanks and that they are separated from their families and can ruin their teeth and that in some cases they could be rescued.
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