I was recently hired at Sea World Orlando, and I figured I should get to know with who I was climbing in a canoe, so I watched Blackfish for the first time, and it was VERY eye-opening: 1.) Sea Worlds Orca shows are significantly safer than I assumed. Before I watched Blackfish, I guestimated that since Sea World has been doing multiple daily runs of its Orca shows for over 50 years, and now has parks in 3 different states, that there has probably been several hundred injuries. My guestimation was based on my experience as a performer in shows that DO NOT include killer whales, and every week, I know of at least one performer who reports an injury. However, the Orca shows are far safer than any show I have ever participated in, at least according to Blackfish. According to the documentary, in all the Orca shows Sea World has ever done in over 5 decades, there have only been 70 reported injuries. I think the Pirates Dinner show down the road has more injuries than that a year. 2. Previously, I blamed Sea World for the 1970s capture of Tilikum (the whale involved with the tragic death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010) and several other of its whales. Now, thanks to Blackfish, I know that Sea World rescued Tilikum from a dilapidated theme park called Sealand (unaffiliated with Sea World), and in the last 35 years, has not captured an Orca from the wild, at least not according to Blackfish. Oh yeah, and, according to Blackfish, Sea World has INCREASED the population of Orcas by breeding them in captivity. 3. I assumed Sea World had tried to cover up what had happened when Dawn Brancheau slipped into the water, since most corporations always blame the performer or something else for which the company is not liable. But according to the interview Blackfish had in its own documentary, Sea World was NOT the institution that said she slipped -- it was the sheriffs office who mistakenly reported that Dawn Brancheau slipped, and Sea World, again, according to Blackfish, actually CORRECTED that error. 4. I also assumed that the professional documentarians who created the film would probably have searched far and wide and dug up several different reports from disgruntled employees who said the animals were beaten into submission backstage by trainers, that the Orcas were not fed properly, that they did not receive medical attention, etc. But, at least not according to one person the filmmakers interviewed, was there ever one report of any of the above, even from ex-employees. So, thank you, Blackfish, for informing me.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 00:34:29 +0000
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