Animal Medical Testing: A Necessary Evil?

Animal Medical Testing: A Necessary evil?

 

Is animal medical testing a truly ethical acceptable practice? In my mind, no. Experimentation on living beings can never being ethical and most people would hopefully agree. Animal medical testing is one of the most controversial practices in the issue of animals in captivity because of this. Does the advantages of animal medical testing truly outweigh the costs?

According to this poll, most people agree that animal research is necessary for the progress in human health. However, animal rights groups such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have long opposed the use of animals in medical testing, arguing that testing on animals could not compare to human physiology. How can a pig's intestines be compared to a human's?

I'll be the first to admit that animal medical testing has some pretty heavy costs for its benefits. Over the past hundred years, less ethical scientists have performed numerous harmful experiments on monkeys, chimpanzees, dogs, horses, chickens, and other various animals. Multiple videos and pictures of animal abuse while being experimented on have surfaced. Animal medical testing is definitely not as ethical as some people would have you believe.

Animal medical research is slowly shifting in a positive path. The United States government recently announced that they were retiring 400 our of the 450 chimpanzees used for medical testing. In addition, the industry is slowly changing from experimenting on monkeys and dogs and other animals that are popular with the public. Now, most animal medical testing is mostly limited to genetically modified rats and mice. New technology has allowed scientists to also work with embryos, which would allow the retirement of animals in medical research.

 

Bryan's Notes: Personally, I think that animal medical testing is okay, partly because it helps saves countless human lives. We have cured diseases, manufactured vaccines, and helped stop viruses with animal experimentation. When dealing with animals, there will always be controversy. But if the animals are helping to save human lives, isn't it worth it? I love animals, but if I had to save a hundred chimpanzees or my own mother, who do you think I should pick?

 

 

 

Blackfish Part II: Impact of the Orca

Blackfish Part II: Impact of the Orca

Blackfish. The documentary that shook the world of animal rights, marine mammal parks, and zoological institutions. With the question of whether killer whales should be in captivity, we ask ourselves the questions: is it ethically acceptable to keep such intelligent mammals in captivity?

This blog post will examine the effect of the critically acclaimed documentary Blackfish on the American public, Sea World, and zoological institutions in general.

 

Ok, everyone loves orcas. They're beautiful, with their black and white marks so pure and clean. They're lovable, powerful in motion, wonders of the water. And they're gentle giants, as most people are led to assume. But wait! The other name for the orca: killer whale. KILLER whale. Killer whales are actually quite vicious in the wild, tearing apart seals and other prey with ease. Most people point toward the fact that no human has ever been killed by a wild orca. Hmmm, how about because most humans don't interact with killer whales 24/7. Oh wait, NO HUMAN does that. Animal rights groups are trying to capitalize on the fact that killer whales are crazed from captivity. But if they were, wouldn't there be more deaths in their forty year history of Sea World? It makes no sense. But while I personally don't agree with some of the tactics of the animal rights groups, I agree that it has opened the issue of whether humans should have killer whales in captivity.

Let's look at the basic impact of Blackfish. The most obvious impact of Blackfish is the corporation that the film attacks: Sea World, who owns three marine mammal theme parks: Sea World Orlando, Sea World San Diego, and Sea World San Antonio. Sea World Orlando is most infamous for the death of experience killer whale trainer Dawn Brancheau. Sea World has been affected GREATLY by the film, whatever their press representatives say. Sea World's attendance hasn't had a drastic fall, but they've certainly lost business over the thousands of people who lobby for Sea World to retire their orca breeding program and shows. Their revenue actually increased last year, but was due to raised prices and more spending inside the parks.

With the death of Dawn, Sea World has now implemented dozens of safety protocols and procedures in order to prevent another event, such as portable oxygen for their trainers and safety bars. However, Sea World lobbied the government to return trainers to work on a close-hand basis with the orcas and get in the water. Sea World was refused and a California lawmaker later proposed a bill that would halt the killer whale breeding program in California and force Sea World San Diego to close their orca shows.  The bill was postponed, with both sides reloading. Sea World argues that closing the orca shows would cause Sea World San Diego to collapse and the San Diego economy would be greatly affected by the park's demise. Also, Sea World could simply get around the law by sending its orcas to one of its other parks.

Sea World has fought back bitterly to the numerous accusations of PETA and other animal rights organizations, as well as animal lovers around the world. They've dedicated an entire website to "clear up" the accusations. Both sides have hurled multiple claims toward each other.

 

To what end? That is the real question of the impact of Blackfish. It focuses on three main questions:

 

Will Sea World end their orca shows willingly?

Highly doubtful. Sea World's flagship species and arguably most beautiful and largest animals are the key for bringing in revenue and while Sea World is a for-profit company, it ain't cheap to take care of those massive behemoths. Sea World has fought tirelessly to keep its killer whales and will pour many millions into keeping the beloved animals by almost any means necessary.

 

If Sea World was to end their orca shows, would Sea World close?

That question is a little tricky to interpret. There is no doubt that Sea World relies on their orcas for a majority of their revenue as their flagship species. With the closure of the orca shows, suddenly visitors just lost about half an hour of their time and orca merchandise plummets. However, Sea World spends millions of dollars each year on maintaining the orca facilities, and would not have to spend money on trainers, tanks, shows, food, or veterinary care. Still, when major exhibits close in a zoological institution, people start to leave.

 

Is it ethically acceptable to have killer whales in captivity?

It depends on what you believe in. If you believe that killer whales are meant to be in the wild, then you will have none of this nonsense. But if you say that Sea World contributes to scientific research and are convinced that Sea World provides the best care for their orcas, then Sea World is justified. The decision to end orca shows will come eventually and it may be phased out inevitably with everyone being so ethical these days. Do you believe orcas are okay in captivity?

 

Author's Note:

Let me be the first one to commend Sea World for their work with smaller marine animals like manatees, walruses, and dolphins. While some complain that the tanks are still too small and unfit for the wild, Sea World has been instrumental for the rescue and rehabilitation of countless marine animals. If Sea World was to close, then all that research and rescue would be gone. Sea World is one of the world's juggernauts of marine mammal science and research, and without them, marine mammal research would be practically gone. Sea World still has a long way to go and I don't condone with keeping such massive animals in small conditions. But the killer whales at Sea World are such great ambassadors for marine mammals. Under normal circumstances, I would say that captivity could be justified. But killer whales aren't endangered and are unlikely to as humans normally don't interfere with their habitat or hunt them regularly. Both Sea World and Blackfish fanatics have used methods that I don't agree with, but I would side with Sea World for their research and rescue and Blackfish for their ability to raise public awareness on an issue.

Blackfish: The Issue on hand

Blackfish: The Tale from Both Sides

It's not always black and white...

 

Unless you've been under a rock for the past year, you've probably heard of the controversial film Blackfish. Blackfish has ignited a heated dispute on whether killer whales should be held in captivity or not. It all started at Sea World Orlando, where a senior killer whale trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed in 2010 by a male orca named Tilikum. This blog post will attempt to view the issue on hand from both sides. There's actually so much to talk about the documentary, so I will split the issue on two posts so that the people who actually read this blog won't get bored.

Blackfish is a very scary film. Very. When I watched the film on my laptop, I was genuinely outraged at Sea World for abusing these beautiful and majestic animals. But as I looked closely, the film seemed to have several gaps in their logic. After doing some research online, it seemed that while many people are calling Sea World "evil for blaming Dawn for her own death" and "wicked for imprisoning these animals in bathtubs", there were also numerous sites dedicating to calling Blackfish a lie. Former trainers have called the film a sham and even the family of Dawn Brancheau has distanced themselves away from the filmmakers. Many have called the director Gabriela Cowperthwaite an ardent animal rights organizer who used the film as sheer propaganda. Here's the real scoop on Blackfish. The next post will explain the effect of Blackfish on the public and the future of killer whales in captivity.

 

 

Blackfish has its weaknesses and strengths, much like any other film. However, the issue they present on hand is very touching. Many can attest to the power of a documentary and Blackfish is no exception. The film shows baby killer whales being captured and separated from their mothers, Tilikum as a young male being cooped up in a tiny sea pen, killer whales being forced to do cheesy tricks for pure human entertainment, and much more horrific footage. The real life footage is interwoven with former killer whale trainers that solidifies the film's evidence and claims. Quite simply, Sea World needs to change many of its actions if it wants to continue. Many marine mammals are not suited for captivity and killer whales should have massive tanks and not interchanged like playing cards throughout the park.

 

In addition to the horrifying footage of the deaths of Dawn Brancheau and another part time trainer Keltie Byrne (happened in the past involving Tilikum), there are other documented cases of both trainers and killer whales being harmed with Sea World's foolhardy methods. Let's look at the majority consensus: Killer whales are not meant to be in captivity. They do not get enough exercise, their dorsal fins flop over (as seen above), they are meant to be in the wild, they are not meant to do tricks, etc, etc. The list of problems that Sea World faces are mounting as people clamor for the release of Sea World's killer whales. Sea World is at fault in many areas, such as not adequately training many of the killer whale trainers and failing to implement safety protocols that would've prevented the death of the trainer Dawn Brancheau. However, there is another side to story that has been rarely told to the masses furious at Sea World for abusing these beautiful and majestic creatures. Remember, no matter how horrifying a documentary is, there is always two sides to a story.

 

 

Sea World has launched a massive campaign to combat Blackfish, calling it lies and propaganda. They have called the director an animal-rights activist desperate for fame and attention, they have took out whole news articles to advertise, they even published an analysis of Blackfish, criticizing practically every scene and line. I'm going to be one of the first to say that Sea World has had its mistakes. But after reading the analysis, something started to smell fishy. For one, the trainers interviewed in Blackfish had little to none experience with killer whales or Tilikum, the killer whale in question. Senior trainers were shunted aside for other trainers in order to stay consistent to the movie's theme. In the words of Sea World: " Blackfish employs false and emotionally manipulative sequences concerning the collection and separation of killer whales: Through stock footage and video mismatched to the narrative, the film implies that SeaWorld collects killer whales from the wild and separates mothers and calves.  NEITHER IS TRUE" More is on the included link below:

http://seaworld.com/en/truth/truth-about-blackfish/

 Blackfish is also criticized for using animal rights activists as scientists, spinning an entirely false story of the death of Dawn Brancheau, and suggesting that Sea World is indifferent to employee safety. The director has even been accused of calling a trainer to ask her to not go public until AFTER THE ACADEMY AWARDS, which was considered a favorite to be nominated for Academy Award. It has become clear that Blackfish was made with an agenda, with little concern to balanced opinions. Sea World's counterattack may be considered unnecessary, but some of its explanations are pretty air-tight.

 

 

 
Despite Blackfish's inconsistent evidence and agenda, it still brings up a very controversial question: Are killer whales meant to be in captivity? There is no denying the shortened lifespans, the injuries of both trainers and orcas, the idea of how the killer whales ended up at Sea World in the first place. However, I do agree with the training protocols with orcas. Orca training is based on positive reinforcement, meaning a behavior is rewarded with a treat. If the orca truly didn't want to do the behavior, they would just swim away. Sea World doesn't use all of their orcas in their shows. Recently, OSHA denied Sea World's appeal to reinstate close contact with trainers and killer whales, marking the danger of working with top predators in such close proximity. Jumping out of the water isn't exactly unnatural, compared to dogs standing on their hind legs or elephants doing headstands in the circus. Every killer whale trainer agreed that they loved their job and their orcas and tried their hardest to care for them in the best manner possible. But the question is: is it enough?