Humans are curious people and often seek to know what goes on behind the scenes. When the “Blackfish” film by Gabriela Cowperthwaite was released in 2013, the issues captive orcas face, specifically those in marine zoological parks, were brought up. This shed light on a topic about the conditions animals and trainers undergo which is not really talked about. After this film was released, California passed the bill Orca Protection Act AB 2305 in 2016. This bill helped to better protect orcas in captivity.

The Orca Protection Act AB 2305 bill has definitely helped solve some of the issues brought up in “Blackfish.” However, this bill still allows orcas already in captivity to continue being held in captivity and used for educational presentations. Although the Orca Protection Act AB 2305 bill has prohibited future orcas from being kept in captivity, all of the issues have not been completely solved. These animals are still being kept hostage and being led into psychosis driven behavior. They have been removed from their ecosystems and not given the opportunity to enjoy life in the wild: a place where they belong.

Many times, marine parks can serve a pivotal role in the education and conservation of animals. Throughout the “Blackfish” film, orcas at marine parks like SeaWorld are shown to attack or kill the trainers. At SeaWorld and other parks, there were more than 70 reported attacks. It is evident that the captive orcas being held in these small enclosures are not used to the conditions. The conditions have lead the animals into psychosis, a behavior that is not present in orcas living in the wild. The Orca Protection Act AB 2035 has prohibited the breeding of orcas and made it unlawful for anyone to hold an orca in captivity for any purpose. This part of the bill has helped to prevent future orcas from being held captive and living in unhealthy conditions. However, the bill does not address the future of the orcas still held in captivity.

It is clear that marine parks are not environmentally friendly and it is unfair to the orcas to continue living in an environment they do not belong in. The environments of zoological marine parks only continue to trigger unnatural behaviors in the orcas, something that is not healthy for themselves or the other orcas. The Orca Protection Act AB 2035 bill should have done more to get animals in captivity out of the parks and back into the wild. The marine parks should be required to help captive orcas retire and help them transition back to living in the wild. They can train and provide the animals with the necessary skills to be able to live in their natural habitat again.

Today, technology is accessible and allows anyone to learn about animals without going to parks where they are kept captive. Anyone is able to find a variety of information in all types of media, including videos, articles and photos. These types of media are still able to be educational and appealing to audience. It is more educational to see these animals in their natural environments. Therefore, people should just be able to experience these animals in the wild. Many argue that observing animals in their natural habitat is more educational and captivate the audience more. A 2012 study found that “non-captive wildlife viewers value the importance of learning during their visit” more than those who observe animals in captivity.

Therefore, we need to push to get these animals out of these cruel living conditions in the parks and back out into the wild. It may seem almost impossible to get captive animals back into wild as they are used to being fed and cared for by humans, and often forget how to do these tasks on their own. However, these animals can become retired and the same parks should be able to help them continue life during their retirement. They need to be capacitated through a steady process in which they will be helped to transition back into the wild and survive on their own. People need to contact their local government officials and ask them for these changes.