Now this move will sound incredibly silly to a lot of people, but should it? More and more research is indicating that animals this high up on the intelligence chain (and lets not forget that killer whales - aka orcas - are not whales at all, but are part of the Dolphin family) have complex cultures and social structures, and even have emotions and feelings, mourning the loss of a calf or pod member. Additionally, wild orcas travel 75-100 miles (120-160 kilometers) every day. Yet in the US, as required by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a branch of the USDA, an orca tank must have a minimum diameter of 48 feet, exactly twice the length of an orca (which averages 24 feet long). The tank must also have a minimum depth of only 12 feet, giving a tank a minimum volume of 615 m3. And this is for two orcas. Yes, thats right - that small little take is allowed to hold not one but two orcas. Try swimming 100 miles a day there. I wonder how many laps that would be (Hey! I can actually do this calculation - hum, maybe later).
Orcas live together in pods ranging from 5-50 members, which can be a part of a larger community numbering in the hundreds. Pod members are seldom out of hearing range from one another. Their vocalizations can be as loud as a jet engine and can be heard from miles away. Communication lies at the core of orca social awareness. Life for a "highly acoustic cetacean...[such as an orca] ..living in a tank with acoustically reflective walls, [is like] that of a visually oriented animal, like a human, living captive in a room covered with mirrors on all walls and the floor. The experience is likely to be profoundly disturbing, especially over the long term."
And when captive orcas attack humans we say that it is rare and very abnormal. But do you know what I find abnormal? An orca, meant for greatness, swimming in circles driving itself crazy in a house of mirrors.
The appeal will likely get the boot before ever seeing the light of day, but it makes me think about our priorities. Corporations, which I view as something akin to a robot, are viewed as people under the law. This was further validated by the more recent Citizens United vs the Federal Election Commission Supreme Court decision. A corporation - I suppose one could metaphorically argue - functions like an organism, with each individual and machine acting as a atom, cell, membrane, organ, making up the building-blocks of the larger "body" (I would argue that money is the blood and profit is the heart, beating to stay alive). However, corporations are intangible. You can't go and see a corporation and you certainly can't touch one, which is especially true with our increasingly globalized chain of production. Corporations (including SeaWorld) don't have feelings or emotions, they don't mourn for the loss of loved ones, they are not alive. Corporations are given the same rights as people, yet PETA will be mocked for suggesting that actual life - and highly intelligent life at that - be granted those same rights. Interesting priorities, indeed.
