Whales & Dogs
A year after the tragic death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau at SeaWorld Orlando, two former trainers have published a report detailing what life is like for orcas (also known as killer whales) in captivity.
Jeff Ventre and John Jett worked with orcas at SeaWorld Orlando and knew Dawn Brancheau. Their report catalogs cases of aggression among the orcas, captive breeding practices (including forced collection of semen) and medical problems. It also compares life in captivity at the marine circus with life in the ocean for these high social animals and their families.
Ventre, who is now a doctor in New Orleans, and Jett, now a research professor at Stetson University, reveal much detail about the health and social issues that plague these animals. They explain, for example, how life at marine circuses leads killer whales to break their teeth: “Social strife and boredom accompanying orca captivity also contribute to broken teeth. Steel gates are the primary method of separating orcas prior to training sessions, shows, or when aggressive tensions exist between animals (e.g. Kayla and Kalina). It is common for separated whales to bite down on the horizontal metal bars, or to “jaw-pop” through the gates as they display aggression at each other. In addition, under-stimulated and bored animals also “chew” metal bars and mouth concrete pool corners, like the main stage at SWF. As a consequence, tooth fragments can sometimes be found on the pool bottoms following these displays. This breakage leaves the pulp of some teeth exposed.”
Working with The Orca Project Ventre and Jett have compiled a complete record of the 157 orcas who have died in captivity since marine circuses began featuring them more than 40 years ago.
These records show that the average survival of the orcas who died in captivity was 6.6 years. Today 41 are still alive in these facilities.
We also learn that orcas in captivity survive, on average, 8.9 years. That means that half of all killer whales born into captivity (as almost all are these days) will die before the age of 9. In the wild, by contrast, the average life expectancy of an orca is 50 years (for females) and 30 years (for males). Many live into their 70s.
While this study and the results it reveals may be upsetting and focused very much on the training of captive marine mammals, if a similar survey were done on dogs and the methods used to train dogs, you would find similarly disturbing and upsetting facts. On a daily basis my office receives telephone calls and emails from owners who have been instructed by a dog trainer or so-called behaviourist to use an electric shock collar on their dog, blast air in its face or throw keys or stones near the dog to frighten it. This advice is outdated - in some cases more than 50 years old!
I teach my clients to train their dogs and alter unwanted behaviour using simply their voice and either food or a toy but certainly never any touching of the dog other than to stroke it affectionately. When potential clients call for advice and say: “we’ve heard that our dog thinks it is the Alpha dog and we should pin it to the ground or growl at it or blast air at it when it growls, is this right?” what they are actually asking me is: “do we really have to be so cruel to our dog?”. The answer is no. No you don’t.
Unfortunately though killer whales still possess a magical quality because of their rarity and so many people support their gross mistreatment. Dogs are common - and commonly mistreated - so the support is less. But both of these animals are highly intelligent, loving and highly social and both deserve to be treated using the finest mantra: “it is an earned privilege to touch an animal, not a human right”.
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Posted in Research & Studies by admin
