Orlando Sea World orca trainer, Dawn Brancheau's horrifying death in the jaws of Tilikum, a mature male orca on February 24 has brought unprecedented attention to the debate about whether killer whales should be kept in captivity. This tragedy, in conjunction with the recent Oscar win of the 2009 documentary, The Cove, about dolphin killings in Japan has raised public awareness about marine mammals even more.

After Brancheau's death, Sea World officials and other water park executives made compelling statements in support of continuing to capture, breed and display orcas and other marine mammals. Most of the arguments emphasize the increase in public awareness about how cool marine mammals are and the committed education and conservation efforts which the parks make. They often also point out the sad truth that the captive orcas would probably not survive if set free at this point anyway. One thing that the debaters on this side rarely point out is that killer whale and dolphin shows shows are huge cash cows for marine parks. Here is one of their arguments.

The counterpoint to these arguments was well expressed by Ric O'Barry, one of the first people to work with marine mammals in the 1960's, when he trained Flipper on the famous TV show. O'Barry has logged many hours in swimming pools with orcas and has been on the receiving end of a harrowing captive orca dominance display. He quit being a trainer after realizing how harmful it is to the animals to keep them in captivity and dedicated himself to assertively combatting the captivity industry.  Here a link his argument.

A Congressional Hearing on this issue will be held on April 27, which will pull panels of experts from both sides.

Personally, I am strongly opposed to keeping orcas and other marine mammals in the wild. It takes one look into the eye of a captive orca or a dolphin to realize you are looking at a depressed animal. And there are plenty of opportunities to see orcas and dolphins in the wild - they are not endangered species. If you spend time on the water in a place where orcas frequent, you will eventually witness a more powerful and memorable killer whale cameo than anything you could experience at a water park because those orcas chose to show up and perform for you.

Here's an orca dream trip to go on: this summer, pull together a tent and a couple of kayaks and go camping near Telegraph Cover on Vancouver Island or around the San Juan Islands. Get on the water every day. Visit whale museums. Have a picnic at Lime Kiln Point State Park on San Juan Island. If you spend all day there in the summertime, you have a 95% chance of seeing an orca. the best place to view wild orcas from land in North America. If you spend the day there this summer, you'll have a 95% chance of seeing an orca. If you can't wait until summertime for some whale love,  here are my top 5 favorite whale watching trips on the west coast to go on this spring, including a couple of orca themed ones.

I hope they decide to do the right thing and stop keeping orcas in captivity. Meanwhile, we can vote with our wallets and go whalewatching in the wild instead of visiting water theme parks which use orcas and dolphins.