Jonathan wrote:I think everybody knows about Blackfish, but there is a firestorm of debate over how legitimate many of the claims in the movie are. I haven't watched it yet myself (it's been in my Netflix queue for a while now), but from the sounds of things Blackfish sensationalizes some things while Sea World tries to look more innocent than they are. So as with most things, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. For better or worse, though, I do think the time of keeping many of these big animals in captivity is coming toward an end.
Of course anyone can take information and skew it. I've done some research on the subject matter and there are facts that are hard to argue. There are even contradictions on SeaWorlds on website that talks about black fish.
ANYWAYS i just used my college's data base to get some quotes

Im going to keep reading up on it -- it's an interesting topic.
"These whales are predators at the top of the food chain, often feeding on other marine mammals, but I have never heard of an orca -- as they are also known -- killing a human in the wild."
Ingram, Simon. "'Orcas can't Thrive in Captivity'." The Times: 31. Feb 26 2010. ProQuest. Web. 2 May 2015 .
"The controversial topic of orcas (killer whales) in captivity is thoroughly examined in a gripping inspection of the biggest keeper of killer whales, SeaWorld. Opening with the tragic story of a female trainer killed by a captive orca, Kirby then reveals that this attack took place in British Columbia in 1991. The connection to the titular 20 1 0 incident at SeaWorld, when trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed, is the whale.Tilikum.a male orca, has spent almost his entire life in captivity. He has been responsible for the deaths of not only two trainers but also an apparent trespasser who was found dead in his tank at SeaWorld. Centering his narrative on bothTilikum and Naomi Rose, the marine-mammal expert for the U.S. Humane Society, Kirby delves into the life of a captive orca, the immense PR campaigns waged by media-sawy SeaWorld, battles with OSHA as the federal government weighed in on the safety of working with killer whales, and the final court cases, one of which is yet to be resolved. Hard to put down. - Nancy Bent"
Bent, Nancy. "Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity." The Booklist 108.21 (2012): 7. ProQuest. Web. 2 May 2015.
"'captivity has been a catastrophe for most killer whales taken from the wild."
"OF ORCAS AND MEN." Kirkus Reviews LXXXIII.8 (2015)ProQuest. Web. 2 May 2015.
"there is no established record of orcas killing human beings in the wild"
"And Tilikum, the animal involved in this week's fatal attack, who was captured from the wild in Iceland, was,
with two other orcas, involved in the death of a trainer in Canada in 1991, and then of a man who had sneaked into Florida SeaWorld in 1999 and appears to have fallen into Tilikum's pool."
Mccarthy, Michael. "Are Captive 'Killers' Telling Us Something?; there is no Record of Orcas Killing Humans in the Wild. so Why do they Attack People in Captivity when they Don't in the Wild?" The SpectatorFeb 27 2010. ProQuest. Web. 2 May 2015