captivity — World News, Travel and Social Action

Marine mammals living in captivity may appear happy and healthy, but the harsh reality is the aquatic entertainment industry exploits the animals for profit. Here’s why they deserve to roam free.

Orca show at SeaWorld. roger4336. CC BY-SA 2.0

The definition of a cetacean is a marine mammal, but they are better known as dolphins, porpoises and whales. While not everyone has viewed these creatures in their natural habitats, there is a good chance they have been seen closer to home at a local zoo or aquatic institution. However, these businesses are in possession of cetaceans for entertainment purposes, not the well-being of the actual animals.

As breathtaking as it may be to see an orca, whale, or dolphin right in front of your face, these creatures have complex ways of thinking and living that cannot be maintained in a glass tank. Cetaceans are social animals, similar to humans, who thrive off interacting with other aquatic mammals. They are also extremely intelligent and need space to explore new concepts and create families. If kept in captivity and separated from their offspring, cetaceans suffer similarly to what a human may experience if they are depressed or anxious: physical ailments, raised stress levels, aggressive temperaments and even premature death. As a result, this changes the demeanor of the animals, and several trainers have been injured or killed over the years. Organizations using cetaceans for entertainment purposes overlook the basic needs of these animals and forgo moral and ethical standards for the benefit of their business.

SeaWorld is famous for its orca shows, dazzling spectators with what seem to be displays of happy creatures performing tricks willingly but are truly a collection of unhappy animals working for food in unsuitable tanks. Years of cetacean exploitation in this organization—and ones similar to it—were masked as research. SeaWorld claimed to save marine animals who had been injured in the wild by bringing them to their facility and rehabilitating them in a controlled environment. Upon further investigation, these claims were false, as some animals had been forcefully taken from their homes rather than rescued. Companies battled with lawmakers for years over the proposal of a law that would benefit the animals more than the humans in charge of them. The Orca Protection and Safety Act was passed in 2016, banning the breeding, capturing and performing of orcas in California. SeaWorld’s long reign amongst aquatic entertainment organizations crumbled.

While several states have adopted laws banning the breeding of orcas since then, there are still 59 whales in captivity across the globe and numerous other dolphins and beluga whales in the same situation. In recent years, China and Russia have become popular locations for orca breeding and performing.

One organization in Canada is now working to rectify the unethical treatment of these animals by creating a space for them to retire and return to the life a cetacean would normally live. The Whale Sanctuary Project is dedicating their time to supporting cetaceans bred and raised in captivity who may be retired, but have no home or family to return to. The Whale Sanctuary Project creates authentic sanctuaries for these animals, large bodies of water with adequate depth where whales, dolphins and porpoises can roam free and interact with other creatures in the same situation. Their work is the first of its kind in North America and will continue to improve the lives of cetaceans in need for years to come.

GET INVOLVED

Orca Network is a non-profit organization working to spread awareness about orca whales and other aquatic mammals living in captivity. To learn more about orcas, the effects living in captivity has on marine mammals and ways you can directly support these animals, visit Orca Network’s website and consider attending one of their virtual informational events.

Despite global efforts to eliminate the practice, modern-day slavery still widely exists. In India, the silk industry continues to serve as an oppressive stronghold for the practice.

Indian workers. Photo by Sujeeth Potla on Unsplash

The silk industry in India is not to be underestimated; it employs hundreds of thousands of workers and is worth over $3.6 billion annually. However, as with many booming industries, a dark side lingers in the background. In southwest India lies Karnataka state, a hub for many of the nation’s age-old industries including silk production. Although justly paid workers exist, a sizable portion remain stuck in a taxing system known as “bonded labor.”

What is “Bonded Labor”?

Although not explicitly mentioned in the phrase, “bonded labor” is actually a form of modern-day slavery. Bonded labor is when someone is forced to work off an imposed debt, where their captivity is known as “debt bondage.” In this system, the victims are often promised employment or an opportunity they cannot afford to refuse, and are then forcefully kept as workers. Their pay is usually minuscule compared to the debt amassed, and as a result, the employers are able to continually pile on debt over time. The dynamic transitions from employer-employee to that of a master and a slave.

Additionally, the work is often arduous and the masters are even more unrelentingly brutal; abuse is commonplace in the system. As a result, many families attempt to escape, only to find that the support system for a successful departure is at best a bare-bones operation if not entirely absent. Many authorities who are meant to help these victims escape partner instead with the perpetrators; corruption bleeds away most hope of an escape.

However, one way out does exist. Victims are able to apply for a certificate of release, which would trigger an investigation to either approve or deny the request. Frequently these attempts fall through, often due to failure on the part of the authorities.

Although the use of bonded labor remains widespread, it is most extensively used in South and Southeast Asia. Oftentimes debt laborers work off family debts, held hostage due to a loan taken by their parents or grandparents.

How Did Bonded Labor Spread in India?

Bonded labor has been illegal in India since the Bonded Labor System Act of 1976, but this law failed to provide substantial change. It is estimated that over 8 million bonded laborers still exist in India, with experts fearing this statistic to be a gross underestimation. Rarely are those found guilty of violating the Bonded Labor System Act forced to serve out their punishment.

Many human rights groups have pooled their efforts to research the extent of the system’s damage. What was found revealed grotesque physical, emotional and verbal abuse of children forced into bonded labor in the silk industry. Children of all ages, even as little as 5, were found to work 12-hour days nearly every day of the week; they do not attend school. Their work included placing their hands in boiling water and breathing in lung-blackening fumes; the children are not provided health care either, and often succumb to injuries.

Human rights groups have stated that the Indian government is fully aware of this ongoing crime, yet fails to act on the victims’ behalf. It seems that corruption, combined with the consequences of the restrictive caste system, has left little hope for the estimated 350,000 children held in the silk industry’s bonded labor system.

In the early 1990s, human rights groups sparked global outrage about the situation of India’s children, causing the government to act. The Indian Supreme Court passed additional laws in 1996 to protect children in harmful workspaces, yet the government has failed to bring about any meaningful change. India’s National Human Rights Commission was brought in to spearhead proceedings, but very few perpetrators ever faced justice.

The impact of the system is devastating as it enslaves whole families and sometimes even future generations. Until justice is truly served, victims of bonded labor will continue to be denied freedom.

To Get Involved:

To learn how Free the Slaves, an organization dedicated to sustainable freedom, helps victims, click here.

To read about Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest anti-slavery organization, click here.