Sea World in once again embroiled in controversy after video of a young killer whale attempting to kill itself during a live show emerged.
The footage, shot at Canary Islands’ attraction Loro Parque, shows Sea World-owned Orca Morgan launching itself onto a concrete slab, where it lay, “despondent and still” for more than 10 minutes.
Spectators don’t seem concerned by Morgan’s behaviour but the video made waves when it was posted online by Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project, with various experts speaking out about the orca’s “unnatural” behaviour and claiming the animal was clearly trying to kill itself.
“Morgan was captured from the sea six years ago and has been fighting hard against the trials of her captivity ever since,” PETA’s Foundation Director of Animal Law, Jared Goodman said in a statement.
“Her behaviour shows that she is frantic to get back to the ocean home that she remembers and misses. At Loro Parque, where she is ‘on loan’ from Sea World, she is treated as a possession and used for profit.
“She has been attacked by incompatible orcas dozens of times a day, has smashed her head into a gate over and over again, and has now beached herself in absolute desperation. Sea World needs to release this suffering orca and the others it holds captive to a seaside sanctuary now.”
Earlier this year, the same whale was filmed repeatedly banging her head against the wall of the small pool in which she was being kept.
That footage led to the foundation of the Free Morgan Foundation, which is campaigning for Sea World to find a better home for Morgan, preferably in an ocean sanctuary or similar wild environment.
Morgan was originally captured in the Netherlands where she was injured. She was treated and rehabilitated but then sent to Loro Parque as part of a breeding program instead of being released.
Members of the Free Morgan Foundation say Morgan’s treatment in captivity has been brutal and she is clearly depressed and miserable.
“Since her transfer she has been brutally and continually attacked and is subjected to excessive sexual pressure from a male orca who she is often locked into the same tank with,” a statement reads.
“Morgan, was attacked, on average, more than once an hour. The other study recorded an aggressive episode only once every 234 hours … This does not include the damage she has self-inflicted from abnormal and repetitive behaviours such as banging her head on the concrete tanks. Additionally, Morgan is wearing her teeth down from chewing on the concrete. Teeth wear in captive orca often leads to infections.”
Loro Parque is currently home to five Sea World-owned orcas.
