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| Orca-caretaker interaction: Anything you can do I can do better! |
Each time Loro Parque posts an update or news item regarding the orcas in Orca Ocean on Facebook or elsewhere, one can almost set a clock by it: many of the comments come from people who are opposed to the idea that this zoo is host to a number of these animals. Most of these comments are deleted by a diligent team of moderators, for the simple reason that they are of a mind numbing repetitiveness and thus are considered a form of trolling. Most of the objections uttered –politely, but more often in a very hostile manner- have been debunked by science or long experience with caring for these but that does not stop this from happening each time the orcas are mentioned.
So, what are these objections and what is my own stance on them? Here’s a small list I compiled of common issues that are raised in no particular order.
These animals should not be held captive!
Says who? That is a personal opinion, based on misguided emotions. Why is it OK to have pets or farm animals in captivity but not orcas? Or dolphins? Yet, most of these respondents have no problems with dogs, cats or horses held in captivity and under decidedly more unnatural circumstances than the orcas at Loro Parque. In fact, they usually are very proudly posing with these animals. And what about that guy who shows picture after picture of himself on Facebook with the various fish he caught , yet "orcas should be free"? There is something decidedly hypocritical in insisting certain animals are not to be held captive or used for entertainment, yet for other animals there seems to be no problem. It is not really an argument, it is a belief and often an inconsistent one as well.
These animals should be free in the oceans, they cannot be happy otherwise.
Yes, and so should any other animal, including those we have around us as pets or for other reasons. Again, the hypocrisy to single out certain animals and not others. As for the second part, there is also a fallacy there. Why can a dog which is being kept in a house with people who care for him be considered ‘happy’ while an orca who is kept in a zoo with people who care for him is considered ‘unhappy’?
It should also be considered that many animals are born in captivity and do not know any other life. Freeing them while being accustomed to a life in captivity can be devastating as the story of poor Keiko testifies. And in certain cases, the animal cannot survive on its own due to a physical handicap, as is the case for Morgan.
On another note, the oceans are increasingly dangerous places for wildlife, due to pollution, and human activities which disrupt many animals lives. It remains to be seen if we really would do these animals a favour by placing them in such an environment. The reality of the things is that there are animals in captivity and we somehow have to take care of them as this is part of our responsibility. There are those who’d rather euthanize them than place them under human care. I think this is a particularly loathsome stance, not serving anything than such a persons sanctimonious self-righteousness.
These animals are housed in habitats which are too small (pools, ponds, bathtubes, etc.)
This view is usually justified by stating that orcas in the wild habitually swim hundreds or even thousands of miles and they cannot do that in those habitats. The truth of the matter is that no animal in its right mind will waste precious energy like that unless it is absolutely necessary, to find food or to procreate, for instance. The idea behind it seems to be that orcas delight in swimming marathon distances just for the fun of it, as a hobby. The orcas at Loro Parque live in gigantic basins so that they can display as many of their natural behaviours as is humanly possible. No, they cannot swim there for hundreds of miles, but they do not have to: they are being fed and allowed to procreate if that is their intent. So they don't and have no indicatioon of wishing to do so either.
Most people who come up with this issue also have no idea of the sheer sizes of these basins at Loro Parque. An orca is not a small animal, but it can still be quite tricky to spot them in there.
These animals should not be forced to perform.
Nobody’s forcing them, and when an animal does not want to participate in the show , he or she is allowed to do so. Also, the training method used involves a method called Least-Reinforcing Scenarios, which means that animals are only positively reinforced to certain behaviours or actions and that unwanted ones are simply ignored. No punishment, no food deprivation, nothing of the sort, because that would damage the bond of trust between animal and trainer which lies at the heart of this work, and which needs to be safeguarded at all costs.
This objection is actually at odds with the assertion that animals in captivity are unhappy, because this kind of activity and intellectual and physical stimulation is what gives them happiness, probably more so than they would be ‘in the wild’. Oceans are low-stimulus places, so there is not much to do, other than feed and the other F’s.
These animals die younger in captivity than in the wild. |
This is provenly not true, especially since animals in captivity have access to medical assistance, something their wild cousins do not have. Also, their habitats are unpolluted, their diets are balanced and checked against requirements, so they overall lead a healthier life than elsewhere.
And what about “Blackfish”?
I can be short about that. “Blackfish” presents itself as a ‘documentary’ but it is nothing of the kind. It is a carefully constructed story that is designed to create outrage and it has been thoroughly debunked in page after page of misleading sequences, suggestive imagery, statements from experts who are proven not to be experts, or from trainers who never worked with orcas or never worked with a specific orca, and so on. It is a piece of animal activist propaganda that, however, serves its purpose to mobilize the well-meaning masses by painting a distorted and fallacious image of marine zoos, including Loro Parque.
So, in short, there is nothing in these arguments that is actually based on fact or scientific insights, instead, it is all human emotion projected onto the perceived situation –often misrepresented- in which these orcas are living.
And let me finish with this: the best witnesses to orca well-being at Loro Parque are the orcas themselves. And when you see them in action and in interaction with their caretakers, you feel that there is something beautiful and right going on. And that is why I proudly support Loro Parque and zoos like it.
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