SeaWorld accused of 'turning whale into a killer'
A new documentary has blamed American theme park SeaWorld for the death of three trainers.
Blackfish, which premiered at the Sundance film festival in January and will be released in the UK in July, is about whales being taken out of the wild and kept in captivity at marine parks, such as SeaWorld, to perform for tourists.
The film follows the life of one of SeaWorld's orcas Tilikum, which killed its trainer Dawn Brancheau at the Orlando theme park in 2010, by dragging her under the water and drowning her.
She was the third to be killed by Tilikum, which was captured near Iceland in 1983 and taken away from his family.
According to The Guardian, the film suggests that Tilikum has been mentally scarred by his experience of being torn from his family when young and then subjected to training in small spaces. The documentary also argues that the killer whale was bullied by bigger whales.
SeaWorld told the Herald Tribune that Blackfish "appears to repeat the same unfounded allegations made many times over the last several years by animal right activists".
"Importantly, the film fails to make the most important point about SeaWorld: the company is dedicated in every respect to the safety of our staff and the welfare of the animals."
Film critic Justin Chang, who reviewed the film for Variety, wrote: "[Gabriela] Cowperthwaite interviews numerous ex-trainers who speak with deep affection about the whales they've worked with, yet also visible guilt and profound conviction about having helped exploit them for human entertainment."
In 2011, PETA filed a lawsuit against SeaWorld accusing the theme park of keeping five killer whales in conditions that violate the 13th Amendment ban on slavery.
Four years before Dawn Brancheau was killed, orca Kasatka attacked trainer Ken Peters at SeaWorld San Diego.
Watch the Blackfish trailer below:
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