Marine animals are going extinct and Seaworld has the goal to protect these endangered species. In 2016, California passed a law known as the Orca Protection Act AB 2305 in order to protect captive orcas in marine parks. Orcas needed to be protected because they were being physically and psychologically abused by huge corporation businesses. Not only did orcas bring money, and business but also opportunity, so park owners took advantage of this and forced bred orcas. By California passing this law, it encourages other states to help give orcas similar protection.

When the film “Blackfish” aired, people boycotted Seaworld and rioted for the freedom of these orcas. But, Seaworld claims that “We create a controlled setting for science that is impossible to replicate in the wild.” This is why the orcas cannot be freed; they wouldn’t be able to survive on their own back in the wild since they’ve been captive for so long.

Since freeing the orcas into the wild is not a good idea, there are many other possibilities for future homes for these orcas. But, other options such as sea pens are still very dangerous because water pollution can seep into a pen. This is bad because for their whole lives orcas have lived in clean, filtered, water so when they are even just slightly exposed to the wild, they could instantly fall ill or die due to the unknown filth in the water.

I believe this bill is a satisfactory solution to the problems risen in “Blackfish” because, since the film, Seaworld pledged to no longer breed the orcas, or use them for entertainment purposes, and instead just care for them as well as create educational opportunities for people to learn about them.

It’s important to support this bill and protect the orcas because they are just as deserving of their rights as humans are.

Due to the orcas being abused, they began to have violent outbursts which not only hurt the other orcas but also killed surrounding humans. On February 24th, 2010, a Seaworld trainer named Dawn Brancheau was drowned by an orca known as “Tilikum.” Although the motives of Tilikum for killing Brancheau were unclear, trainers were expected to discipline the orcas. If an orca just made one mistake during training for shows, they would be left hungry and unfeed to discipline them. The orca’s violent reaction comes from neglect. If people just treated the orcas as normal beings, and not as circus pets there would be no harm caused to other orcas and humans.

According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, orcas are considered endangered and their population has declined since 1995. With the protection of orcas in California, Washington also decided to help by using their 3 million dollar funds to help develop research and protect these wild animals in and around their state. By California passing ACT AB-2305 and showing a willingness to protect orcas, it inspires other states to also help protect local orcas and keep them from going extinct.

Act AB-2305 is also a great new law because by showing future generations that it is important to protect orcas, we teach that any sort of animal abuse is not condoned and that we should be able to appreciate animals in their natural, wild state. We also re-iterate the golden rule that we should treat things the way we want to be treated.

Although freeing orcas at the moment is not the best idea, I believe this California law is the first step to universal change, and that years from now animals all over the world will be able to live a much longer and fulfilled life. As citizens, we should continue fighting for animal rights and taking a stand against injustices upon those who do not have a voice.