USA TODAY International Edition
SeaWorld fights to save its whale shows
WASHINGTON A federal ban on contact between killer whales and their trainers, imposed after a bull orca drowned a SeaWorld trainer, faced a challenge in federal court Tuesday as the marine park fought to keep its signature attraction.
SeaWorld, famous for its “Shamu” killer whale shows, says the Labor Department judge went too far when he prohibited “close contact” between the killer whales and their keepers after the Feb. 24, 2010, death of veteran SeaWorld Orlando trainer Dawn Brancheau.
Brancheau died after Tilikum yanked her from a platform into a pool during the “Dine with Shamu” show and thrashed her until she drowned. The whale held Brancheau in his mouth for nearly 45 minutes before other trainers could extricate her body.
The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated Brancheau’s death and cited SeaWorld for “willfully” violating federal safety laws that require a workplace to be free from “recognized hazards.”
Tilikum, SeaWorld’s largest whale at 12,000 pounds, had killed at least once before coming to SeaWorld. In that incident at a park in Canada in 1991, a trainer slipped into a pool and Tilikum pulled her under repeatedly, drowning her. In a second incident, a man who sneaked into the park after closing was found dead in Tilikum’s pool.
The federal government says SeaWorld knows Tilikum is dangerous and prohibits trainers from working in water more than kneedeep with the animal. With other killer whales, trainers can swim in their pools. SeaWorld’s trainers have dozens of close interactions daily with the park’s seven orcas.
Although Administrative Law Judge Ken Welsch downgraded the citation from “willful” to “serious,” he fined the amusement park $ 7,000 and barred “close contact” between SeaWorld staff and killer whales. The judge found that the “emotions inspired by the grandeur of humans interacting with killer whales” did not justify the risk.
SeaWorld argues in a legal brief that human contact with the killer whales is educational and integral to the care of the killer whales.
Many activities that put humans in contact with nature, such as mountain climbing or kayaking, carry risk, SeaWorld argues.
“On rare occasions, killer whales can be dangerous,” Sea World wrote. “Sea World has taken extraordinary measures to control that risk.”