I've come to the conclusion that the only way the exploitation of cetaceans (captive or wild) will ever truly cease is to grant them the status of nonhuman personhood, so that crimes committed against them will be dealt with in the same manner as crimes committed within our own species. Given what we know about their intelligence and social structure; deliberately killing an orca, should be seen as murder and handled the same way it is when one person kills another. They are our equals in so many ways, that it's time we start treating them as such.

Awesome lady. Amazing animals, sweet and highly intelligent more than we imagine. Tilikum has been abused and taken to a point of frustration its so evident he has been practically asking us to please stop putting him through all of this. I hope we understand the message and let these creatures live in freedom where they belong. No more orcas captivity and risk for trainers this is not acceptable..

Erin Lawson There is no empathy in believing animals to be better off dead than happy and healthy in human care. This is the ideological belief in that human care is bad, no matter what, and that death and misery is good, as long as it's "in the wild". The most disgusting things anti-caps ever say is when they try to claim "if you don't think like us, you don't have empathy". Those that are pro zoological institutions (regardless of what animals they keep), have just as much empathy as you people, in fact I'd say *far more*, because we actually care about what's best for *the animals*, not what makes us feel cuddly and cozy when we go to bed at night. We don't care about being able to feel like "the good guys" and pat ourselves on the back. We care about what's best for *the animals*, not our personal morals and feelings about a topic. Anti-caps like Rose don't want what's best for the animals. They ARE anthropomorphizing heavily (but only when it suits them - when it would be suitable to put yourselves in the animal's shoes, like, say, throwing out an animal in the wild that has been dependent on human contact for his entire life, and say it's better for him to die than be with humans), and they ONLY care about their agenda and their ideology, really.

***** Your editorial does exactly what you say you disdain. If you really "cared about what's best for the animals" there would be concern for the species & not just the specific mammals that you are keeping in your tanks. Is the information Dr. Rose provided about Orca families, a concept you just can't deal with? You are doing precisely what you accuse "anti-caps" of doing & that is projecting your own agenda. Where does Dr. Rose state anything about throwing mammals back into the wild? Actually, observing what you wrote, it quite obvious that going to sleep at night & feeling good about yourselves is about all you really care about. It clearly is NOT about the Orcas.

***** Wow, reading your screed, I can only guess that you make your living from animal captivity in some way, and your mind shut down as soon as Dr. Rose's talk began, if you even listened to it at all. Your disrespect is very distasteful, and it would be a waste of time to even try to engage in a serious conversation on this topic with you.

***** If you really cared about what's best for the animals you keep in captivity, you wouldn't keep them in unnatural surroundings, with unnatural social structures, with unnatural "roommates", learning unnatural behaviors. Or worse keep a social species alone. Exactly how is that good for them? Are you saying you'd rather lock them all up to keep them "safer" (they still die in captivity at alarming rates considering, in your words, they're supposed to be happier & healthier) rather than try to protect & save them AND their natural environment? Yes it's hard work to stop humans from destroying our oceans & it's marine species .. it's still better than forever changing a wild animal into a shell of itself. What you see in a zoo or aquarium is NOT the behavior of an animal as seen in the wild. I for one want to keep the WILD in wildlife!

***** If anyone is anthropomorphizing these animals it is the pro caps. They anthropomorphize by rationalizing that these animals want to live like humans, like they care about fame and adulation, that they want to be pampered and taken care of, that they are grateful for the round the clock veterinary care. Empathy is putting yourself in their position and trying to feel what they feel. We have empathy because we realize that we would not want to be kidnapped from our families, and imprisoned in cages, and pretend that we love our captors so that we can be fed and survive. Ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome?

***** Well said.

rainbowgames1 Yet that is what Naomi does in this video. She anthropomorphizes the animals actions and behavior. She is guilty of inferring intention and desire on animals she has no contact with in the wild or human care.

***** +Eric Davis is on point. As a biologist I watch people anthropomorphize animals. The ability to recognize signals from the trainers is through operant conditioning which is one way to learn. Scientifically learning does not equate to true primate behavior. Animals have social structure, but like humans social structure can be modified. Orcas adjust and adapt their pods. This is like leaving your parents and going to college (but that might not apply to you). There is a lack of understanding among the 'Blackfish crowd' and that increases the criss cross of truth and lies so that the general public have a hard time discerning the two. Look at SeaWorlds record in rescue, rehabilitation, and research. We would not know half of what we know if it weren't for zoos and aquariums. What Naomi describes in terms of social structure is nothing new and is seen in a variety of species but she focuses on Orcas because they are closest to humans right? Wrong! There are unique abilities and features that separate humans from cetaceans. Social structor is both innate and learned. The trainers only reinforce abilities and behaviors that the whales already have. Which means it can change. Not to mention that the whales in the parks are related and have a social status in each of the parks pods. Look at the research. It specks for itself and for the record I am talking about articles from peer reviewed scientific journals. You can find those on Google Scholar. So in summary Erick Davis is right and is not full of shit. I think you have him confused with Blackfish and this interview!

Daniel Stanton Seaworld has produced very little peer-reviewed research over the past 50 years that is of any benefit to wild orcas. That you bring up Seaworld's efforts in rescue in order to defend its captivity of orcas is not logical and is just what Seaworld wants. That Seaworld spends one tenth of one percent of its $1.5 billion annual revenue on rescues cannot be discounted, but they certainly hope that it takes the conversation away from the morality of keeping highly intelligent and social cetaceans in extremely small cement tanks. Reading your post it is clear to me that Dr Naomi Rose is a much more trusted source than you when it comes to understanding orcas. You say "look at the research, it speaks for itself", but I highly doubt that you have. I trust the scientists and those who do not have a financial motive to spread the idea that there is nothing wrong with orca captivity. Orcas in captivity are moved around without concern for their culture. What about Lolita at the Miami Seaquarium who is totally alone?

Randy Collins Corporations do not often publish peer-reviewed literature. You have to know where to look such as university affiliations and non-profit organizations. Most of the peer-revied literature comes from Hubbs-SeaWorld scientists as well as universities associated with SeaWorld parks. For example Dr. Graham Worthy is a UCF professor and is also affiliated with Hubbs-SeaWorld that has documented the effects of the Deep Horizon oil spill on the health, and strandings of dolphins. SeaWorld vets are often on publications, but are often not first author. Additionally, UF has an aquatic animal health program and publishes studies in conjunction with SeaWorld. You have to know where to look. Try looking up articles on google scholar, NCBI pubmed, and research gate. you also need to know names and their affiliations. The literature is out there and as a biologist I believe the literature not a mockumentory or some opinion propelled agenda based on twisted truths so that they become lies.

Please, that quote, by dolphin killer and convicted criminal Ric O'Barry? Naomi Rose killed Keiko. This really sums up the people you anti-caps see yourselves with. Disgusting people who care only about money, fame, recognition and their blind ideology, NOT the welfare of the animals. If you want to see who really cares for animals, look no further than this: watch?v=wvP1S1cwmJQ

***** OMG!! So all those protesters arrested during the civil rights era are criminals not deserving of respect??? They were protesting to bring attention to grievous wrongs being done to others & ARE very deserving of respect! And are you saying millions of people around the world are all looking for fame & fortune because we want captivity to end? That's a good one. LOL I do it because humans can't yet understand their language to hear them protest & they can't bring their own lawsuit. WE are their voices!

***** , dolphin-killer?? RIC O'BARRY?? You fricken' psycho... Naomi had NOTHING to do with Keiko's death, indeed, she watched in disgust as $W folks repeatedly tried to sabotage his release!! Good grief, maybe you should try frying up one of your guinea pigs. You certainly need some extra protein in that brain.

MaybeTooDay Would the belugas be better off at Seaworld or in Russia where they are now?

They would be better off in the wild where they were taken from! Only because seaworld & other marine parks are willing to pay for them were they captured in the first place. End the demand & the captures of wild animals would stop.

Because of us humans

+CanadianErin I have learned a lot too.

Allie Blake amazing if you don't care about seeing orcas die in the open seas.

+figment1988. Funny you should say that since over 50 of SeaWorlds whales have died.

She's amazingly stupid.

garbr95 Says the internet troll who has never met her. How about you spend less time being an internet bully and do some actual research.

figment1988 :) Hi Frida!! I'm copying this comment I saw on FaceBook, just.for.you... ""Frida Nyberg states that she is against capturing wild orcas but she justifies that there is nothing she can do about it. So instead of ignoring and not funding profit for this sort of industry she gladly pays to see these animals in captivity. This is your true Pro-cap. Pretending to care about the orcas and states multiple times that SeaWorld no longer captures wild orcas. Yet she financially supports that company that captured these 2 wild orcas." Have a great, pathetic day!

They're both mammals and cetaceans. They nurse their young, raise them almost similar to humans raising their offspring. And bred, and etc.

Tilikum Photograhpy Oh clearly one can argue the facts trying to dispute them by calling them "not facts but propaganda" and make oneself look incredibly irrational in the process. ;)

Neelam Shah if you set the orcas free, they're going to die like Keiko did.

figment1988 You mean like all of the whales that died during SW's capture process, and all of the other ones that have died at their parks at a much younger age than in the wild?

Kyra Laughlin You make it sound like the wild is a cakewalk. Orcas do die in the wild.

MintyFreshYT You're right they do die in the wild - at 50+ years old. A whale from SeaWorld has NEVER reached anywhere close to that age when they died. A tank with hybrid orphaned orcas does not even begin to come close to the life these animals would be living in the wild.

Kyra Laughlin Except the one whale close to 50 years old at SeaWorld. Also, 50 years would be a maximum for wild orcas.

like the circus

Well said Dr.Rose after seeing Blackfish when it first came out on cnn I was shocked angry saddened and have chosen to Boycott marine mammal shows Iv even been offered free tickets and all expenses paid but I turned it down Iv emailed seaworld to ask them if it was a member of their family that was kidnapped and forced to live in a bathtub would they still think captivity is morally ok for marine mammals such as orcas whales and dolphins never got a response...shocker

Crystal O'hea Thank you for saying this. I have mentioned this in some other posts. I am so tired of armchair activists. People need to look at the scientific literature. I had someone tell me that SeaWorld does not publish their research. this is the kind of people that don't have the ability to dig deep and think for themselves. the research is published by affiliated institutions and universities and often have SeaWorld vets in the author by-line. they just won't appear sat the first author because normally that tis a graduate student or a pos-doc that has done most of the work to get the manuscript published.

Crystal O'hea , lol. Government agencies also dictate that farmed animals can suffer unimaginable cruelty, because it is profitable. Do you see any parallels? No? Then you aren't looking hard enough. Start thinking for yourself. NOT what the government tells you to think, not what $W wants you to think. WHAT DO YOU THINK? p.s. SW does lots of research on captives. That type of research doesn't do the wild population any good, at all.

AnimalLeftist I do think for myself and I look at scientific literature and not at blogs and articles. Huffington post and the Dodo are not reputable sources. They are opinion based one sided propaganda prose that has a clear agenda. I look at scientific facts not what people think about scientific fact or how people manipulate scientific fact. My thoughts happen to align with SeaWorld, but SeaWorld does not think for me. I have a lot of friends at SeaWorld where I have the privilege of knowing what goes on behind the scenes. Captive research does do wild populations good. A lot of the what is learned from captive research is used in rescue and rehabilitation efforts. It is also used to understand Orca life and physiological aspects about the orcas that is difficult to do in the wild such as monitor gestations, metabolism information, and even social interactions. i think for my self, but as a biologist I only look at the facts and not the opinions which makes my view different than yours.

Daniel Stanton , see, that's what I don't understand about you pro-caps. YOU say captive research helps with monitoring gestation. Animals that spend 80% of their time at the surface, are not the same animals that swim many miles, and dive deeply. The physiology is utterly different. It's like saying that a horse kept in a stall 24/7/365 is the same physiologically/metabolically/socially as a horse that exercises every single day. YOU don't seem to know the difference. btw, not all of my links are the dodo or huff post. I assume you disagree with one of the founding fathers of marine biology? Jacques Cousteau? You probably have no idea who he is... I am a scientist too, you know, and I do read up on the science behind these claims. I simply avoid $W sites, because they are predisposed to captivity.

Daniel Stanton So you're saying that breeding animals across ecotypes and orca populations that would never naturally encounter one another in the wild is scientifically okay? Knowing that as hybrids, these animals can never be returned to the wild is scientific?

+Kat Wolf ^ THIS.

I am pro captivity. The orcas at seaworld are thriving. Ms Rose got most of her research from captivity. #BlackfishLies

+Ethan Fine -_- Are you really that ignorant?

+Ethan Fine 1. it's Dr Rose. Don't disrespect her like that, whether you agree with her or not. 2) no, she did not. She spent years studying the Southern Residents in their natural habitat, the actual ocean.

I’m pro-seaworld. But not fully pro-cap or anti-cap. It usually depends on the situation. I mean LOOK AT CHINA THEY LITERALLY TEACH THEIR SEALS UNNATURAL THINGS. Like a one arm stand.

Simply Shouka I'd just like to touch upon the point you made about Dr Rose being contradictory over the topic of Nakai's severe injury. I think you're generalising all the Orcas in captivity as having worn down teeth, whereas in reality it's a mixture. I imagine it has something to do with different animals taking different situations differently. Some may chew on the concrete of the tanks to cope with high levels of stress, boredom, depression, whereas others may just log at the surface, do nothing, or take on other physically damaging practices such as banging their head against the walls of the tanks, a behaviour I've seen in some pro-cap videos of the orcas in the underwater viewing at SeaWorld. The different variations of teeth may also have something to do with the age of the animal. So assuming this, it's possible that one of the Orcas with perhaps more healthy, sharper and natural teeth could injure Nakai in such a way.

Jason Bruck If I'm not terribly mistaken, stress in animals can be measured by taking blood, skin/hair and stool samples and analysing those in the lab as certain hormones will be present the more stressed the animal is. This can equally be applied in captivity where taking of such samples is even easier. Interestingly, I have never seen results of such tests be released by captivity facilities. Have you? Another indicator of stress is the display of certain behaviour known as stereotypical behaviour. That often is chasing up and down a fence in big cats and bears whereas for orcas it's swimming in circles and taking a breath at exactly the same spot or biting/mouthing fences and gates. Abnormal repetitive behaviour is also indicative of stress or discomfort such as bopping the head up and down constantly or swinging from one side to another not moving around or remaining motionlessly in one spot when not sleeping. The list of stereotypic behaviours in captive animals is long. www.aps.uoguelph.ca/~gmason/StereotypicAnimalBehaviour/library.shtml

Kathleen Haase Yes, cortisol measurements are often taken from blood and fecal samples. Currently, I know of at least one facility that is developing cortisol baselines in Tursiops, but I don't know how close they are to publishing. On stereotypical behaviors- some zoos are starting to compare their cortisol measurements to these repetitive behaviors and are discovering, to their surprise that the, least stressed by hormone profile are the ones who engage most in stereotypical behaviors.

Jason Bruck , do you not understand the implication of that? The stereotypical behaviour is decreasing stress for the captive animal. That's why they are manifested in the first place. However stereotypical behaviours will manifest damage to the animal in a myriad of ways. The stereotypies lower cortisol levels, but wear out teeth, or limbs, depending on the behaviour. Other types of stereotypic behaviours also lead to such maladies as gastric lining erosion.

AnimalLeftist Depends on the behavior. I'm not saying stereotypy is good. I'm saying that hormonally animals who do it are often less stressed (not more as the assumption typically goes). But zoos are developing new acoustic enrichment techniques that are actually quite effective in reducing repetitive behaviors. When you do not have to engage the fight for survival then boredom can be a byproduct. I think we should focus on unique enrichment as a way to mitigate these behaviors rather than release the animals (sure they wouldn't be bored, but they wouldn't survive either). Natural Selection is a cruel mistress and without human care these animals would surely die as Keiko did.

Jason Bruck , NO-ONE is saying release them without after thought!! Good grief... Keiko died, after being held in a filthy, sickening facility, so bad that SW wanted nothing to do with him, until AFTER, when he was being conditioned for release. What we want is irrelevant! It's what's best for the animals, not YOU or me! "Natural selection is a cruel mistress", oh, fcol. Yes, Dawn was naturally selected, wasn't she... Keiko had so many strikes against him already. $W would prefer to keep breeding and building their captive, sick populations. They make a LOT of $$. Honest to dog... Acoustic enrichment?? For an giant OCEAN DWELLER?? Can you hear me now? Orcas do NOT belong in pools. They are NOT domesticatable. They are NOT CUTE. ack, what's the use. You can burble all you want about how effective zoos are at decreasing stereotypies. That has basically zero to do with Orca. Orcas' range is a tad larger than any LAND-based mammal alive.

jacqdragonfly And the pro-cap community doesn't take you seriously either. Have you seen the shit that's in Facebook comments or the like? Stupid clickbait links, awful memes and random misspelled quotes or opinions. If you think "no-one" means everyone, you've got a twisted view of the world. Keep on crying.

Chad Ridge There are plenty of facts to back up what Dr Rose presents in this video. Whether or not the listener has the cognitive capacity to understand is another matter...

Chad Ridge what is sad that you don't bother to check your facts before you utter such nonsense. there are many facts out there - you are just too lazy or ignorant to look them up for yourself

Chad Ridge over 20 years experience studying orcas in the wild doesn't count as being a credible scientist then?

Chad Ridge "sad to see people be able to make all these claims without actual proof to back them up! " Another throw away comment... What proof are you after?

I take it you don't know who she is 😂

It most likely won't, I recently went to SeaWorld in Orlando and park attendance was pretty high that day, even for pandemic standards.

Dear reader, Read Jason's opinion on Keiko's release with skepticism. Anyone who cares about orcas and believes orcas are too intelligent and have social needs that are too complex to be met in a small, artificial environment would be pleased that Keiko experienced 5 years of quality life after having been freed from a life of captivity. The documentary "Keiko The Untold Story" is now on Amazon and dispels the untruths perpetuated by those with an agenda: www.amazon.com/Keiko-Untold-Story-Star-Willy/dp/B00FQ77Q6S

Randy Collins Randy does not know what he is talking about. Keiko was in a bay pen in Iceland from 1998- 2003 with periodic release in the summers of 2000, 2001 and 2002. He wasn't free swimming in the ocean for 5 years- he was in and out of captive care. (Here's the peer reviewed scientific paper that shows this- digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=usdeptcommercepub). He eventually found himself in the company of humans in Norway where children were riding him (super safe). www.theguardian.com/world/2002/sep/08/theobserver2. My agenda is to not see whales die preventable deaths by being released without necessary survival skills or to see the public possibly endangered by socialized whales looking for a meal. The difference between Randy and I is that he thinks the brutality of human intervention ends with the animals' release. I see how it continues through these release processes by well-meaning, but utterly ill-equiped people. Two wrongs do not make a right.

I expected better reading comprehension skills from you, Jason. Where did I say that Keiko was free swimming in the ocean for 5 years? As I stated previously, reasonable people without an agenda know that Keiko's quality of life drastically improved with his release from the captivity of his small tank in 1998. Most would call that freedom. And, you are really stretching with your veiled, dark scenario of a public endangered by released orca looking for a meal. Are you implying that the meal would consist of human flesh? :) You should have left that out of your argument.

Randy Collins "Keiko experienced 5 years of quality life after having been freed from a life of captivity". A sea pen is still captivity. These whales can never be free in the Hollywood sense. I hope you realize that. In 1998 he moved from a beautiful facility built for him in Oregon (look it up. This stuff is out there). He didn't move from Mexico in 1998 (that was the small tank). Let's make something clear. You have an agenda. To see captivity end. So don't pretend that you do not. My agenda is to not see the same mistakes made with Keiko made again. We disagree, but keep in mind we both want what is best for these animals. I just don't think you know as much about this, and are trying to convince people you are an expert of something that you know very little about. Do I think the whale will eat the kids (the meal I was referring to was the fact that he was begging for handouts...Didn't you read the article I posted)? But I don't know what the whale will do with them. I work with marine mammals but I do not psychically commune with them. In truth, it's a big animal and it could crush them accidentally. This isn't a movie. But if you think this is safe...you're being disingenuous. www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/743373/posts. This potentially dangerous interaction is directly the result of the actions of Naomi Rose's group.

Jason Bruck Good grief... where to start? Aren't you kinda busy writing computer games anyway, to be saying crap like this ?? "Let's make something clear. You have an agenda. To see captivity end. So don't pretend that you do not. My agenda is to not see the same mistakes made with Keiko made again." Getting pretty desperate, are ya? Is Mark Simmons paying you to write all this between reading up on your Marvel stories? You are too funny, no really, in a very peculiar way. You "work with marine mammals", but you do NOT have an agenda?? roflmao... "Shame on anyone who captures a healthy animal and tries to put it in captivity in this day and age." Yes, agreed. Shame on all marine abusement parks, such as $W, who aid and abet wild captures to this day. Shouldn't you be in school now? Or reading a comic book? You still "Believe" it was ALLLLLL Dr. Rose's "Free Keiko" show. It wasn't. But hey, pretend you know wth you're talking about, it's highly amusing to those of us with a knowledge of the history behind killer whales in captivity.

rjmcnicholas1 And what about the other orca experts that are against orca captivity? Do you just ignore what they have to say, even though they echo what Dr Rose is saying? If you actually have someting of value to counter what Dr Rose is saying, then just say it..

rjmcnicholas1 All SeaWorld sites on fb and twitter block if you post any question they do not want to answer of if your opinion differs. Most of the supporters also block so............................How many peer Reviewed articles has SW put out in 50 years that are not related to captivity?

rjmcnicholas1 , She blocks people that curse and swear and make fools of themselves. She is open to reasonable, rational arguments. Trouble is, $W supporters can't seem to come up with original thoughts of their own.

Jamie Torrence Yes, you are right, Orcas are not humans...they are surfboards: www.freethemepark.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/seaworld1.jpg

Jamie Torrence But it's not anthropomorphizing when SeaWorld and their supporters claim that their orcas are contented, happy-go-lucky creatures who love their trainers and hamming it up for the audience, amirite? Dr. Rose did not just pull this out of the air one day. These are scientific, demonstrable facts about the natural social structure of orcas.

Jamie Torrence I am an animal lover not an "enthusiast". An enthusiast collects things....in this case...the enthusiasts collects (steals) magnificent creatures from their own environment which is an ultimate death sentence...albeit...at times a lengthy, unendurable existence precludes that untimely death. I derive great pleasure from witnessing our magnificent creatures in their natural habitat. Man has depleted or destroyed much of what existed as natural habitat but that does not mean that we animal lovers will ever give up fighting for our incredible animals. You are sadly misinformed and your post is shameful because you obviously have no qualms in expressing your sheer idiocy in making claims that are just blatantly false!

Tim Allen what a dumb ass you are!

Kathleen Donnafield , he was joking.... Bad joke, yes, but it was a joke. $W anthropomorphizes when it is to their advantage, only. At other times, they consider Orca to be one cool "ride". Like a surfboard, or a rock star, glitzy show thing that births so tidily in the pool... Sad, isn't it :(

let's tell SeaWorld that we no longer support orca captivity and then support SeaWorld in giving them a better future.

Hello Caitlin Bushelon: The business model would change and would look like this: www.takepart.com/video/2016/06/14/sea-pen-explainer?cmpid=longtailshare There is a way. We just need to be willing to change.

Eric Davis I completely agree with you. Take a look at my response +Renee Kent

Eric Davis WHAT ABOUT ALL THE FAILED ATTEMPTS AT CAPTIVITY, ALL THE UNTIMELY DEATHS AT $EAWORLD PARKS. THE PROBLEM WITH YOU LOT IS YOU CAN'T ACCEPT CHANGE, WHICH WILL ULTIMATELY LEAD TO YOUR DISSAPPOINTMENT AS CHANGE IS HAPPENING. YOU ALL SHOULD START PULLING YOUR HEADS OUT FROM THE SAND

Eric Davis Keiko lived for a happy 5 years after being freed. www.keikotheuntoldstory.com/ The fact that you say otherwise makes me question your motivations. And, how can you say that working with captive orcas in a small tank environment teaches you anything about pods of free orcas who can travel 100's of miles a day and communicate in their own dialects? If you were more honest you would have disclosed your affiliation with Seaworld. A quick google search finds your Linked In page: Writer of the Orlando ParkHopper Column on MiceChat.com covering the Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld, and other themed entertainment venues. -Producer and Co-host of the Unofficial SeaWorld Podcast a bi-monthly podcast about the SeaWorld Parks in Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio -Contributor to the Unofficial Universal Parks Podcast a bi-monthly podcast about the Universal Studio Parks in Orlando, Hollywood, Singapore and Japan

Eric Davis kudos!

Randy Collins Eric is a friend of mine and the is not affiliated with SeaWorld. He just understands the beneficial impact that SeaWorld has on preserving species that become threatened by human choices. There is a lot of information out there and it is becoming harder to tease away the lies from truth unless you do your own research. Just because someone supports an organization doe not mean that they are affiliated with that organization. Eric is not paid by SeaWorld, he just stands up for what he believes and stands up to help spread the truth and untangle the lies. I commend him for his efforts and I do the same. If a fact has to be supported by someones opinion then it is probably a lie. There is a reason why captive animals should not be released into the wild. there are two many to name so I will just name two. They are not able to hunt for themselves and even if they show hunting behavior, their bond with humans is too strong because that is all they have known. Another is that because of the top notch care that they get, they have never encounter some of the pathogens that they may encounter in sea pens, thus risking the health of the animal which is worse than captivity. I know you have already made up your mind what you want to believe, but I chose to side with Eric and believe the facts instead of opinionated lies.

Mary Kinkel The fact that you can only respond with negativity and name calling makes it clear that you have nothing of substance to offer. I'd love to know your thoughts on the matter. Do you believe that an orca is happy living in small cement tank. Do you think in a perfect world an orca would choose a cement tank over life with her or her family in the ocean?

Randy Collins I don't name call! Unless anticap was name calling. I kept this general because I am sick and tired of hearing it. Are you aware that the last Wild orca was brought into SW over 35 years ago? The majority of the orcas in captivity were born in captivity and would not know how to survive with human intervention. You want them 'freed', but how will they survive? I would prefer for them to stay where they are where they are safe, fed and receive medical. No reply is necessary for this is all I will say. Have a nice day.

Mary Kinkel I'm sorry, but where did you ever read me saying that I want all orcas freed? I want the orcas best interests put first over corporate profits. It is possible that some orcas are not fit for release, but I am sure many would be happier in sea pens. Would you choose being locked in a room and fed for the rest of your life over taking your chances out in the beautiful world? At the very least, are you for ending the breeding program that will perpetuate orca confinement? Rhetorical questions, since you are not responding, but I would hazard to say you are all for it. I think you are in a growing minority, thank goodness.

Mary Kinkel , typical pro-cap. Can only think in absolutes. BTW, using the word "Shamu" only underlines your foolishness....

Mary Kinkel yes and the captive bred and sometime inbred orca are also dying - what is your point?

MERPER12 , lol. Dr. Rose, to you.

AnimalLeftist "Dr." Lots of people have doctor's degrees. It's one thing to read papers, write papers and do classroom work. It's an entirely different thing to actually work with the whales and conduct experiments with them, etc. Again, the "Dr." in her title is simply clouding what she really is. An activist with a loud voice propped up on a stage in an attempt to give animal rights activists more of a credible voice. Her voice still pales in comparison to the actual scientists and doctors that have worked with and studied whales firsthand.

MERPER12 Hmm. I will ask my friends and colleagues (and "actual" whale biologists) Drs. Bob Brownell, Phil Clapham, Paul Wade, Doug DeMaster, Robin Baird, John Ford, Lance Barrett-Lennard, etc. whether they think my voice pales in comparison to theirs. If you were specifically referring to Drs. Chris Dold, Todd Robeck, Judy St. Leger, etc. I don't know what they might reply - they are of course all captive marine mammal veterinarians and I am not, and I would never claim to know what they know. Of course, they have never studied wild orcas, so I would hope they wouldn't claim to know what I (or all the other orca biologists who have studied these whales in the wild) know.

Naomi Rose Name dropper much? Congrats for talking to your "friends" and getting them to tell you what you want to hear and not doing any of t he actual work yourself. Anything that makes you feel great. And for all the voices on your side of the argument there are plenty on the other side. The big difference is those who have the whale's best interest at heart rely on scientific facts while those out on a crusade for personal self-fulfillment only care about personal interests and succeeding in a goal to harm companies and the people who work for them. But hey, whatever floats your boat. Keep up the fight, Miss Rose. I'll continue laughing as it fails. And when you're ready to help whales in actual need (i.e. wild ones struggling to survive, breed, etc) do let us all know. We'd love to see you do ACTUAL good for orca whales that need it.

To be crystal clear, you are an activist with a fancy title. Nothing more. (congrats on the doctorate though, lots of hard work I'm sure)... Your opinion matters to anti-caps, the cult of PETA and those fighting for animals. They don't matter to those who believe in science. For all those who think what you say is the gospel is a large group who just sit back and laugh.

Becca S. Oh, but I AM lending my scientific expertise to the preservation of endangered cetacean populations. I worked on the effort to list the southern resident killer whales as endangered back in the mid-2000s. I am right now at an international scientific meeting, working with some of the world's best cetacean biologists (being held in San Diego, in fact, yet oddly enough no scientist from SeaWorld is in attendance) that focuses on endangered wild cetacean populations. I have worked on efforts to save the Taiwan white dolphin and the vaquita, two highly endangered cetacean species/populations, the first of which I suspect SeaWorld has never heard and the second of which it has done precisely nothing to help. It is SeaWorld that has never lent its expertise (such as it is) to help endangered wild orca populations and indeed never lent any real financial support to them either, until now (it recently contributed $1.5million to projects aimed at helping the endangered southern resident population, but this contribution oddly did not come about until the company's stock and attendance started dropping after "Blackfish" was released - SeaWorld was not involved in the effort to list this population at all). I may spend a good deal of my time as an advocate on the welfare of captive cetaceans, but I also work, through science and policy, nationally and internationally, to protect wild cetaceans.

Naomi Rose How much of your money are you spending on saving endangered species?

LeDoctoer Seriously, that's your question? Read Dr. Rose's published scientific papers, read about her schedule & and speaking engagements- She has 'Spent' her entire career advocating, fighting, teaching, learning and so much more for the preservation of orca and all cetaceans and marine biology to thrive in their natural habitats. How much money are you spending on such causes LeDoctoer ...

LeDoctoer What an odd question to ask in response to Dr Rose's impressive resume of time and effort spent on this noble cause, in addition to knowing her years of education.

LeDoctoer None! SeaWorld (the company she is critical of) has to step in donate millions for her!

Janik Gar , wow. Take a valium, and throw your keyboard on the floor. Thanks. Crack open a book. YOU seem to fear having thoughts of your own. Try one.

Janik Gar There is so much incorrect and misleading information in your post and like the other negative comments conveniently offers no evidence, just unsubstantiated bold claims. I can't pick out everything you said that was wrong or misleading (there's not enough time in the day), but here's just a few things that caught my eye: " Her "expert advice" to release Keiko is ultimately what killed him." - Can you explain how this is the case? Are you suggesting he would have lived longer where he was in Mexico City? "Her "tough love" approach is what made Keiko starve to death" - Where is the evidence Keiko starved to death? " The reality is that Dr. Rose has never known or understood orcas on the level that zoological professionals do" - What garbage. Many leading experts are against orca captivity. Are you suggesting these people have less knowledge of these animals than the trainers or vets that work at marine parks?! Plus most trainers only have experience of orcas in captivity and have never even seen them in the wild; so their only knowledge of these animals is limited to husbandry care and training them to perform. "Many people will not go to a museum or lecture but, they will go to be entertained at places like SeaWorld" - Documentaries like Blackfish and The Cove have proved people can be insipred without the need for keeping cetaceans in captivity. How many of those entertained at SeaWorld actually truely learn anything about orcas? If anything, SeaWorld is mis-educating the public by treating the animals the way they do and giving people a very narrow and false view of these animals. There is no reason why SeaWorld cannot evolve its business practices to educate, inspire and entertain the public without having orcas in captivity. " I agree that whale watching is inspirational and motivating. But, the reality is that the vast majority of people will never have the opportunity to see an orca in the wild" - And not everyone has the 'opportunity' to visit a marine park that houses orcas. If there were no captive orcas in the US, people would still have the opportunity to see orcas off the US coast. "Places like SeaWorld offer the public the opportunity to experience these animals in ways that are not possible (or ethical) to do from a whale watching boat" - Are you suggesting it is more ethical to view these highly intelligent, socially complex, massive marine mammals that can swim at speeds of up to 30mph and 'see' over 10 miles away using their echolocation, in a sterile concrete tank that is a maximum of 10 times their body length, than to view them in the wild on a whale watching boat?! "These entertaining experiences are vital to inspire all of us to care about and conserve nature." - Whereas the reality is there are 4 US marine parks that house captive orcas and the only wild orca population that is classified as endangered is off the US coast.. Tell me, what has the multi-billion dollar marine park industry, that uses orcas as their star attraction, done over the last few decades to help this wild orca population? "Dr. Rose (and other activists) selfishly want to take that away from all of us because it makes them feel better about themselves and not because it is what's best for the animals" - You are now either trolling or on the payroll of SeaWorld. When you write comments like this it is pretty evident that you have no serious, genuine counter arguments to make. Can you explain how breeding an orca in captivity is in the animal's best interests? Because you haven't done a very good job of explaining it so far. "They have inspired more people to protect and conserve the natural world, have actively participated in conservation activities that have made a real and positive impact for animals than Dr. Rose and all of the other activists have made combined" - Which animals are you referring to? Because this discussiion is about orcas. Back to reality -, it is the organizations and experts that speak out against orca captivity that have done far more to further our knowledge of these animals and help conserve them in the wild than SeaWorld or its supporters ever have. I would actually be willing to bet marine parks (including SeaWorld) have been responsible for killing more orcas than they've saved). "Don't let Dr. Rose or any other activist think for you" - This is probably the only comment that makes some some sense. I recommend everyone researches this subject using a variety of sources. And just to add one more thing to your comment...don't let SeaWorld, and its heavy PR presence online, think for you too... "Gather ALL of the information for yourself and form your own opinion. I learned this the hard way." - I would be interested to hear where all your information is coming from.. Let me guess- Seaworld.com, awesomeocean.com (formed with cash from SeaWorld), Killing Keiko (written by a man that still represents SeaWorld and not long ago wanted to capture 80 wild dolphins for his company's marine park venture in Panama), seaworldcares.com (another SeaWorld website) etc.. "...in order to form an educated,fair, and real opinion" - None of your comments are fair, educated or based on reality.

So I’m very late to this party and like 90% of this is just a long ad hominem against Naomi Rose, but it’s cute that you think Keiko starved to death. He was literally being fed by the release team before he died. He 👏🏼 died 👏🏼 of 👏🏼 pneumonia. Which has also killed almost half of the dead young whales at SeaWorld.

Victoria Thomas Is your rudeness due to having grown up without a family? This is a 20 minute TED talk for Godsakes. You are pretending to review it as a scholarly article? And, then to make a sexist comment about her hair and make up? You should be ashamed of yourself.

Victoria Thomas . wow. Jealous are we? Got left behind on the popularity train? Haven't published sfa, all of your life? How about relevance? Are you an Orca? Live in the ocean, do ya? TOO funny.

Victoria Thomas LOL! This one made me laugh too. "She looks really pretty with her [hair] and makeup done nicely." I really don't even know how to feel about that - um...thank you? LOL! (Oh, and by the way, yes, someone else did it for me. As someone who spent years in the field, like Dr. Jane Goodall, I don't bother with my hair or makeup, for what I hope are obvious reasons.)

Victoria Thomas What was your Masters degree in? Just wondering whether it has any relevance to this discussion.. "it's total rubbish and psudo-science when hard science is available and ignored" - If this is true, where is the hard science to counter what Dr Rose and other experts are saying? SeaWorld has spent $10 million on a PR campaign trying to counter the growing public concern around orca captivity, yet they still haven't managed to put forward a case which has been able to answer people's concerns! That fact that you would rather waste your time writing comments about what Dr Rose looks like rather than on the 'hard science' which you briefly mention says it all...

As Baby said, "If you can't say nuthin' nice don't say nuthin' at all". I believe that says it. Not much to compliment so I came up something I could be positive about.

Btw if you call me and my dog or my pet snake or my pet fish as not my family like how you stayed with the orca and trainer then boy get ready to get a fist from me. Thing is she didn’t directly say it to me but the trainers even I believe they the orcas have a bond with a trainer so that’s considered family

HI I'm a perso Same. 👌

@@himissgivemeperfectplease8318 a bond between the trainer and the captive orca doesnt make them 'family' lmao. It is more like Stockholm Syndrome if anything. Captive orcas have a 'bond' that is based largely on the need to survive. The trainers have immense control over the animals with that bucket of fish....they control every aspect of the whales' lives. By keeping these beings in captivity we have taken away their right to make choices....that is wrong imo. You do know that killer whales are wild animals...even if born into captivity. Your dog and cat is not a wild animal anymore. Thousands of years of breeding by humans has tuned them in a domesticated animal. So you housepet would be closer to a 'family member' than a wild animal that is in a tank. A captive killer whale or other dolphin has been 'tamed' nothing more.