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 More than half of the approximately 455 orcas taken for captivity
originated in Washington state but the practice has come under more
scrutiny following the 2013 documentary, "Blackfish," which
described the capture of orcas and how one killed a trainer at
SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida.
Today, 57 orcas are in captivity in 14 marine parks in eight
countries, including 25 in SeaWorld parks in Florida, California and
Texas, according to a sponsor of the legislation, State Senator
Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island.
Ranker told fellow senators on Thursday that even though there are
no cetaceans held in captivity for entertainment or performance in
Washington, the state should lead the nation on the question of
hemming in these creatures.
"These animals that swim thousands of miles should not be put into a
fish tank; it's unacceptable," he said.
A group representing marine parks told senators the proposed
legislation cast a pall on facilities where the public can see orcas
and be inspired to support their conservation.
"It (the bill) discounts and delegitimizes the important role that
zoos and parks perform every day," said Kathleen Dezio, head of the
Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums.
The Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Parks heard almost an
hour of testimony on the ban relating to killer whales, or orcas,
and other cetaceans such as dolphins and porpoises, without
scheduling a vote on the measure.
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The legislation would need the approval of members to be sent to the
floor for a vote.
Animal activists worried about the effects of captivity are behind a
push to free Lolita, a 7,000-pound (3,175-kg) killer whale that has
lived at the Miami Seaquarium for 44 years in one of the smallest
tanks housing orcas.
Lolita was captured in 1970 about 50 miles northwest of Seattle,
according to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which
successfully petitioned for her federal endangered listing earlier
this week, paving the way for her possible release into the wild.
(Reporting by Laura Zuckerman in Salmon, Idaho; Editing by Daniel
Wallis and Sandra Maler)
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