The release of a video showing Kasatka, a wild-caught orca enslaved at SeaWorld, exploding in extreme frustration at trainer Ken Peters in front of visitors to the theme park is sending shockwaves of outrage and dismay through the media and the public over the appalling pressures of captivity on orcas and other wild marine mammals—and the danger to those who come into contact with them.

As David Kirby describes in his book Death at SeaWorld, when Kasatka heard her calf's distress calls for her from another tank, she dragged Peters underwater repeatedly, shaking him about before the stunned audience. Eventually gaining his freedom, Peters required surgery for his injuries. But SeaWorld ignored the risks, permitting the perilous situations to continue.

This video footage was previously shown during the Secretary of Labor v. SeaWorld of Florida LLC trial, which resulted from the horrific death of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau during a disturbingly similar episode involving another captive orca, Tilikum. Judge Ken Welsch, who called the video "chilling," held SeaWorld liable for permitting hazardous interactions between humans and the huge, dangerously stressed animals.

What You Can Do

Please join PETA in asking The Blackstone Group—the company that owns SeaWorld—to release its animal captives into sanctuaries. And if you know people who are planning a trip to SeaWorld, encourage them to visit PETA's new website, SeaWorldOfHurt.com, to learn what kinds of cruelty their dollars would support.

There's big news today in a case that PETA has been tenaciously pursuing for some time: Consistent with the citations issued against SeaWorld in 2010, Administrative Law Judge Ken Welsch of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) found that SeaWorld is culpable for allowing its employees to interact directly with potentially dangerous orcas.

Olivier Bruchez|cc by 2.0

SeaWorld Knew the Risks

For years, PETA has implored SeaWorld to transfer the marine mammals it enslaves to transitional coastal sanctuaries because confining animals of such great size to severely inadequate tanks leads to miserable lives of desperation and frustration—and dangerous conditions for SeaWorld staffers.

After one orca, Tilikum, killed trainer Dawn Brancheau in front of horrified visitors at SeaWorld Orlando, PETA urged the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to pursue a citation against SeaWorld and provided it with compiled research on the history of deaths and injuries at the park and orca aggression in captivity. Today's OSHRC decision affirms that SeaWorld knew that allowing its employees to interact directly with orcas such as Tilikum could have serious or fatal results.

A History of Irresponsibility

While the judge modified the citation for "willful" violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act to "serious," adjusting the fine accordingly, he found that SeaWorld knew that there was a "substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result" from these interactions, yet it continued to allow them. He found SeaWorld's arguments that it wasn't aware of these hazards to be implausible and lambasted its corporate culture of placing the blame for dangerous incidents exclusively on trainers and discouraging trainers from stopping a show—even after an attack.

Information that came out of the testimony during a two-week hearing before Judge Welsch, as well as during previous proceedings, includes the following:

• A senior trainer testified that trainers who work with orcas receive special instruction on Tilikum as well as a "Tilly Talk," in which they're informed of Tilikum's involvement with two previous deaths and that if they enter the water with him, they may not survive. Despite these concerns, trainers were approved to work in close proximity with him and physically touch him at the water's edge.
• Chuck Tompkins, SeaWorld's corporate curator for zoological operations, testified that there are no specific steps for trainers to follow to respond to a life-threatening situation in the water and that their lives are ultimately up to their own "best judgment call." Tompkins admitted that the park does not even re-evaluate its protocols after an injury or death because it deems the injuries "a result of human error" and insisted that revising safety protocols is unnecessary. He also claimed that SeaWorld has "gotten a whole lot better" with the training process over time, despite, as government attorneys noted, the killing of two trainers in a two-month span.
• No high-level managers of animal training at SeaWorld are formally trained in animal behavior nor do they have any professional experience with orcas other that what they learned on the job at SeaWorld. In addition, the company has never called on an independent third party to review its incidents, protocols, or safety procedures.
• Senior SeaWorld employees oversaw orca training at Spain's Loro Parque theme park when trainer Alexis Martinez was killed after being rammed and dragged underwater by an orca named Keto—just two months before Brancheau's death. Judge Welsch saw through SeaWorld's attempt to distance itself from this park, as the killer whales are leased from SeaWorld, SeaWorld trainer Brian Rokeach was stationed at Loro Parque to supervise animal training, and all decisions about animal care and training were made in conjunction with SeaWorld's corporate headquarters.

While SeaWorld's own corporate incident log contains reports of more than 100 incidents of orca aggression at its parks, government attorneys brought up incident after incident that were left out of the log, including the attack leading to Brancheau's death and attacks by an orca who had a penchant for grabbing trainers' ponytails. Yet despite the premature deaths of four human beings—one from extensive internal bleeding—and more than 20 orcas at SeaWorld's parks, the company continues to put profits over humane concerns. Dawn Brancheau would be alive today if SeaWorld had heeded PETA's advice.

How You Can Help Orcas at SeaWorld

Please join PETA in politely asking David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for
occupational safety and health, to prohibit all direct contact with potentially dangerous animals. And, of course, never, ever go to SeaWorld or any other marine-animal park.

Next Media Animation Limited—the number one source for print and online news in Taiwan and Hong Kong—posted to YouTube its own oddly compelling spin on PETA's lawsuit against SeaWorld. Enjoy:

Please post this great piece on your Facebook page and Twitter account and ask every parent and grandparent you know never to buy a ticket to SeaWorld.

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

Update: While SeaWorld's hearing is in recess, PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk is giving the park some great reasons to use the time to evaluate how to get out of the captive-animal business. Read what she has to say here.

The following was posted September 24, 2011

SeaWorld's appeal has been adjourned until November, but on Friday, Dr. David Duffus—who had served as the foreperson of the coroner's inquest into the death of trainer Keltie Byrne after she was pulled into the water and drowned by Tilikum and two other orcas in 1991—again took the stand. Dr. Duffus testified that no method of training can control orca behavior and that current safety measures aren't effective. "Twenty years later, a lot has been done, yet I'm reading the same outcome," he said. Dr. Duffus added that given his knowledge of orcas and the incidents involving the animals in captivity, there was "no way on Earth" that he would place himself in immediate contact with Tilikum, nor would he get close to any other orca because of his "great deal of respect for the fundamental nature of large predators."

The final witness called before the hearing was adjourned until mid-November was Les Grove, area director of the Tampa office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which conducted the investigation into Dawn Brancheau's death and issued the citation at issue in this case. Asked why SeaWorld was cited for a "willful" violation—which entails an employer's "plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health"—Grove mentioned the "Tilly Talk," the 100-plus incidents that have occurred at SeaWorld parks, interviews with management, and training manuals that show the company was aware that working in close contact with orcas was risky. During the investigation, he added, "It became obvious Tilikum wasn't the only problem."

We'll give you further updates when the appeal resumes in November, but for the orcas, the other dolphins, and the people endangered by SeaWorld's indifference, there's no time to lose—tell SeaWorld today that the place for these amazing animals is in a sanctuary, not doing stupid tricks for tourists.

 
Minette Layne | cc by 2.0

Written by Jeff Mackey

On day four of SeaWorld's appeal, Shana Groves, a SeaWorld senior trainer who was bitten on the thigh by an orca during a performance five years ago, testified that she had completed an incident report as required by the marine park and was surprised to learn that the attack was one of the many episodes left out of the corporate incident log that SeaWorld had provided to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

When she was bitten, Groves was in a position similar to that of Dawn Brancheau when she was attacked by Tilikum. Groves, who transferred out of Shamu Stadium to work with sea lions and otters after Brancheau's attack, broke down in tears when showed a photo of her and Tilikum.

Jan Topoleski, a former SeaWorld trainer who was acting as Brancheau's "spotter" at the time Brancheau was attacked, then recounted the circumstances surrounding Brancheau's death. Topoleski's testimony that Tilikum grabbed Brancheau by her ponytail was at odds with that of a SeaWorld security guard who had testified earlier that he watched Brancheau be pulled in the water by her arm. Topoleski conceded that he did not see Brancheau's hair in Tilikum's mouth or Brancheau pulled underwater by her hair. The supposed safety procedures that Topoleski followed were unable to free Brancheau from Tilikum's jaws. Like Groves, Toploleski stopped working with orcas shortly after the attack.

Fantaz | cc by 2.0

When the government called Dr. David Duffus, a professor at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, as an expert witness to discuss the predatory nature and inherent unpredictability of orcas, Duffus said that he was "at a loss" as to why Brancheau was permitted to lie in shallow water at Tilikum's side, holding his pectoral fin, knowing that he had a history of attacks. "Dealing with a large predatory animal and not expecting it to behave like a predator, I don't think that's wise," he said. Duffus questioned whether SeaWorld's allegations that trainer injuries were rare were a sufficient reason to permit trainers to be in close proximity with orcas, as even if it happens once in a million times, if that millionth time is a catastrophe, then it "goes beyond probability."

My verdict is in: Humans should not interact with orcas, and SeaWorld puts its trainers at risk by allowing them to have close contact with dangerous, unpredictable animals. But stay tuned to find out the outcome of the hearing.

Written by Heather Moore

Day three of SeaWorld's appeal brought out more skeletons from the marine park's closet. Attorneys for the government brought up incident after incident that were left out of SeaWorld's corporate incident log, including the attack leading to trainer Dawn Brancheau's death and attacks by an orca who had a penchant for grabbing trainers' ponytails. Chuck Tompkins, SeaWorld's corporate curator of zoological operations, eventually conceded that SeaWorld "may have missed a few" incidents.

Abi Skipp | cc by 2.0

The court watched graphic video footage from 2006, in which an orca named Kasatka (who had been involved in nine previous incidents) clamped down on trainer Ken Peters' foot and dragged him underwater at SeaWorld in San Diego. People in the courtroom gasped as they watched video of Kasatka as he yanked Peters around and held him underwater for minutes at a time. Peters repeatedly struggled to free himself from Kasatka's jaws and was finally able to calm the orca and escape with a broken foot. Tompkins conceded that no level of knowledge, experience, or skill would have enabled Peters to escape the attack unscathed: His only options were serious injury or death.

While Tompkins previously testified that there is no need to revise SeaWorld's animal training procedures because all injuries that occur are because of human error, he acknowledged on Wednesday that even the most senior trainers have made errors resulting in injuries and that, often, trainers were not to blame for the incidents. Tompkins continued to prove that SeaWorld management is delusional, claiming that they "have gotten a whole lot better" with the training process over time, despite, as attorneys for the government noted, the fact that two trainers were killed over a span of only two months in 2009 and 2010 and that the 2006 attack on Peters was nearly fatal.

Perhaps Tompkins' failure to acknowledge these dangers can be explained by the fact that neither he nor the other high-level managers of animal training at SeaWorld are formally trained in animal behavior, nor do they have any professional experience with orcas other that what they learned on the job at SeaWorld. In addition, the company has never called on an independent third party to review its incidents, protocols, or safety procedures.

Check back tomorrow for an update on Thursday's testimony.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

On day two of SeaWorld's appeal of the penalty leveled by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), senior trainer Lynne Schaber testified that trainers who work with orcas receive special instruction on Tilikum and a "Tilly Talk," in which they're informed of Tilikum's involvement with two previous deaths and that if they enter the water with him, they may not survive. Despite these concerns, trainers—including Dawn Brancheau, who was killed by Tilikum last year—were approved to work in close proximity with this angry orca and physically touch him at the water's edge. 

Schaber and Chuck Tompkins, SeaWorld's corporate curator for zoological operations for all SeaWorld parks, also testified that there are no specific steps for trainers to follow to respond to a life-threatening situation in the water and that their lives are ultimately up to their own "best judgment call." Tompkins admitted that the park does not even re-evaluate its protocols after an injury or death because it deems the injuries that occur "a result of human error" and insisted that revising safety protocols is unnecessary.

Finally, the government began questioning Tompkins at length about SeaWorld's corporate incident log, which contains reports of more than 100 incidents of orca aggression at its parks, often resulting in injuries to humans and causing one death by extensive internal bleeding.

Stay tuned.

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

In a move that shows that its lack of compassion doesn't stop with orcas, SeaWorld says it intends to once again allow trainers to enter pools containing frustrated 6-ton orcas, endangering their lives. And in case we weren't already SeaSick, SeaWorld chose to announce its plans on the one-year anniversary of the killing of trainer Dawn Brancheau by orca Tilikum.

PETA members gather outside SeaWorld Orlando to mark the one-year anniversary of the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau.

Former SeaWorld trainers have publicly announced that going into the water with the whales puts their lives in danger. Please e-mail SeaWorld and tell it to protect human and animal lives by releasing its orca inmates before the next "prison riot" occurs.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

As if Tommy Lee's original letter to SeaWorld about the park's disturbing orca-breeding practices weren't high-five-worthy enough, it gets even better!

A SeaWorld rep responded, "The process of collecting semen for [artificial insemination] doesn't differ in any meaningful way from the techniques employed in managing livestock or other species for zoological display. … [O]ur trainers do not now nor have they ever entered the water with Tilikum for this purpose."

But Tommy is standing his ground and has sent the following response to SeaWorld:

Please back Tommy up—and speak out for all the whales at SeaWorld too.

Written by Sunny Subramanian

Caring folks continue to plead for basic compassion at SeaWorld and call on officials to enforce anti-cruelty laws. But Tilikum, the orca who has killed three people, is still confined to a cramped, claustrophobic tank that's barely bigger than the size of his body to prevent him from having any physical contact with the trainers—except when they masturbate him.

Rock and roll's bad boy and PETA friend, Tommy Lee, who's been known to raise a few eyebrows, was blown away to learn about SeaWorld's perverted treatment of Tilly—and expresses his disgust in this letter to officials:

It's perfect-Lee put, wouldn't you say? Please back Tommy up—and speak out for Tilly— by writing to SeaWorld too.  

Written by Karin Bennett