Two former trainers at SeaWorld have released a report that includes firsthand information about the stress that killer whales endure in captivity—stress that the ex-trainers feel led to the deaths of at least two SeaWorld employees.

Jeff Ventre (now a doctor) and John Jett (now a biology professor) worked at SeaWorld Orlando and knew trainer Dawn Brancheau, who was killed by a frustrated orca named Tilikum last February.

Working with The Orca Project, Drs. Ventre and Jett documented stressors such as confinement to small, shallow pools, lack of social interaction, whale-to-whale aggression, and inadequate medical care, and they drew a direct link between captive orcas' abysmal living conditions and the whales' desperate acts of aggression toward humans. According to Ventre and Jett's calculations, captive orcas' life spans are cut drastically short, down to a median age of just 9 years compared to the 30- to 50-year average life expectancy of orcas in the wild.

You can read the report in its entirety here. Help us stop the imprisonment of orcas by writing to SeaWorld and urging it to end these cruel shows.

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Written by Michelle Sherrow

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After the death of yet another orca trainer by frustrated, tormented Tillikum, retired Price Is Right host and outspoken animal defender Bob Barker issued a plea to SeaWorld to move Tillikum and its other imprisoned sea animals to sanctuaries.

Well, the list of celebrities speaking out against the use and abuse of orcas is starting to read like a Hollywood "Who's Who" and includes the following stars:

• PETA's BFF, Pamela Anderson, linked her Twitter and Facebook fans to Bob's plea.
• America's Got Talent host Nick Cannon's first tweet said "Killer whale kills again at Sea World! People need to stop messing with animals with the word 'KILLER.'" His second? "Has anyone ever seen a Black Whale trainer? #wedontdothatsh!t."
• Avatar star Laz Alonso tweeted 20 times—and counting—calling for the release of imprisoned sea animals. He wrote, "Killer whales should not b in captivity & jumping around 4 ur selfish enjoyment …" and "God put that whale on this earth 2 swim freely & kill for food Not eat dead fish thrown at its mouth in exchange for splashing kids …." He also tweeted, "We can enjoy nature without having to disturb, control, capture & confine 2 'closet space' when it longs 4 freedom."

(Laz, if you're reading, we'd love to have you join our campaign to free whales. Call us.)

So, we'd like to know: How are you getting the word out about SeaWorld's cruelty?

Written by Karin Bennett