State report withdrawn following two days of talks with Sea World

A report in which state investigators concluded that it is 'just a matter of time' before a captive orca at Sea World’s Adventure park killed a trainer, has been withdrawn by the agency that issued it after two days of talks with Sea World officials.  In rescinding the report, state department staff claimed that they did not have the expertise required to investigate the matter fully and promised to review their own record of events.

The report, by the state Department of Industrial Relations' Division of Occupational Safety and Health was released following the attack on a trainer by a killer whale at Sea World Adventure Park in San Diego last November.
 
During a show on Wednesday 29th November at Sea World’s San Diego theme park, a 30-year-old orca known as Kasatka, a 7,000-pound, 17-foot-long female, grabbed a trainer’s foot and pulled him underwater twice, before letting go so he could escape from the pool and be taken to hospital for treatment. The incident happened towards the end of the show during a routine which was supposed to include Kasatka and the trainer diving under water to emerge with the trainer jumping off her nose.
 
The report also stated that the animals prove deadly to their human trainers by virtue of their size alone, and that as carnivores, are armed with teeth that could tear “flesh and bone”. It was recommended that Sea World staff be prepared to use lethal force to prevent the loss of human life by one of the captive orcas, a recommendation that has been withdrawn following the repeal.

There have been many incidents of trainers being injured by the orcas they are interacting with during Sea World’s shows, which show trainers in elaborate in-water displays with the huge mammals. Sea World’s other theme parks have also had such incidents occur, including in 2004, at Sea World Texas and in 2005 at Sea World Orlando.

WDCS is strongly opposed to keeping these animals in captivity. Scientific evidence indicates that orcas in captivity suffer extreme mental and physical stress, which is revealed in aggression between orcas and towards humans, boredom, and a lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality than in the wild.

WDCS also notes that it knows of no cases of aggression displayed by orcas towards humans in the wild, but several documented cases of aggression displayed by captive orcas, both towards their pool mates and towards humans. The two most serious cases resulted in fatalities to the people involved.


For further information about orcas in captivity please click here.

Source: WDCS / LA Times