AB 2140 (Bloom) California Captive Orca Welfare and Safety Act

Fact Sheet

PURPOSE
After the tragic dea t h of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Branch e a u , the public has begu n to que s tion the moral justification of kee ping orca s in captivity for our gen er al ent e rt ain m e n t After hu m a n s , killer whale s are the mos t socially and ecologically compl e! specie s on the plan e t Scientist s studying killer whales in the wild hav e docu m e n t e d the close social bond s the s e anim als shar e As top pred a t o r s, their coop er a tiv e hunting tech niq u e s and uniqu e vocali"ation s de m o n s t r a t e highly evolve d learn e d beh a vior, what ma n y call culture #ur captive orca s only culture is perfor m a n c e bas e d culture $iller whale s are cap a bl e of trav eling %&& miles per day and are found in all the world's oce a n s , yet are allowe d to be held in small concr e t e tanks As a stat e we should lead the way in ending captivity for ent er t ain m e n t purpo s e s and should be ens urin g our curre n t captiv e population gen e r al welfare ne e d s are take n care of, and that we end any future captivity whet h e r it be by captur e or captive bre e din g progr a m s here in (alifornia )any scientist s agre e holding orca s captive hav e no cons er v a tio n ben efits for orcas in the wild and have only adv a n c e d captiv e bre e din g tech niq u e s with deb a t a bl e succ e s s *f we truly want to help the orca we should focus our efforts on restoring habita t in the wild and prot ec tin g our oce a n s +ike the eleph a n t , the large s t land ma m m a l in captivity , we have reali"ed that orcas are more compl e! than most other marin e ma m m a l s and require mor e spac e, hav e a more comple! social struct ur e and most import a n tly nee d their family network -pod. for a happ y and he althy life #rcas simply do not belon g in captivity

SUMMARY AB /%0& does the following1 2nds perfor m a n c e bas e d ent e rt ain m e n t for all orca s in the stat e 2nds captiv e bre e din g progr a m s and the e!port and import of gen e tic ma t e ri als 2nds the import and e!port of #rcas into and out of the stat e

3equire s that all curre n t captive orca s be retire d to sea pen s if available Will allow for retired orca s to be on display but not perfor m +imits the amo u n t of hu m a n inter ac tion for train er safety EXISTING LAW

4here are curre n tly no laws prohibiting the captive display of orcas5 ther e are only laws that gover n the care and maint e n a n c e of orca s and the captur e and res e a r c h use of orca s 4hose laws are the feder al Animal Welfare Act and the )arine )am m al 6rotec tion Act 4he Animal Welfare Act est a blish e s stan d a r d s and specification s that the facility must adh er e to in order to hous e an orca in captivity *t est a blish e s the stan d a r d of care require d when han dling, housin g, or trans p o r tin g orca s and other marin e ma m m a l s 4he )arine )am m al 6rotection Act is aime d at prote c tin g the whales from being unlawfully captur e d from the wild by prohibiting the taking of marin e ma m m a l s

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withou t specific auth ori"ation 4he ))6A require s a per mit for the taking of a marin e ma m m a l , like an orca, from the wild for a limited nu mb e r of purpo s e s 6er mits may be issu e d for scientific res e a r c h , public display, or for enh a n cin g the survival or recov e ry of specific stocks Authori"ation can also be given to take marin e ma m m a l s incide n t ally in the cours e of cond uc ting certain activities -i e military activities or fishing. Along with the s e feder al laws, marin e ma m m a l facilities also self8 regulat e 4he two most pro min e n t bodies involved in this self8 regula tion are the Association of >oos and Aquariu m s -A>A. and the Alliance of )arine )am m al 6arks and Aquariu m s -A))6A. 9acilities may be accre dit e d by thes e bodie s if they me e t the stan d a r d s each has est a blish e d 4hes e stan d a r d s are typically higher than the minimu m require m e n t s est a blish e d und e r feder al law

$asatk a has one other living offspring, 4akar a, female, // years old, in 4e!as *n the wild, the me a n life e!p e c t a n c y of orca s is 7& years for male s and =& for femal e s While a very small nu mb e r of captive whale s has achiev e d thes e aver a g e life spa n s , mos t die in their tee n s and /&s and none have com e anywh e r e close to the estim a t e d ma!i m u m life spa n s of <&8 ?& years for male s and @&8 ;& for femal e s (alifornia has lost %0 orcas in its =&8 year history 4welve were wild8 caug h t and they are1 Sha m u , 9emale, died %;?% after < years captive $andu , 9em al e, died %;?% after 0 years 9rankie , )ale, died %;?0 after = mon t h s $ona , 9em al e, died %;?? after < years $ilroy , )ale, died %;?@ after %% years Shaw n , )ale, died %;?; after % year (anuck , )ale, died %;@% after 0 years Winsto n , )ale, died %;@< after %< years #rky , )ale, died %;@@ after /& years $andu = , 9emale, died %;@; after %/ years Bootka , 9em al e, died %;;& after /& years Bjoss a , 9emale, died /&&% after /% years 4wo were captiv e8 born and they are1 Splash , )ale, died /&&= at %< year s old Sum a r , )ale, died /&%& at %/ year s old

BACKGROUND (alifornia is curre n tly ho m e to %& captiv e orca s 4hre e were capt ur e d from the wild and they are1 (orky , 9emale, captur e d in (ana d a in %;<; $asatk a , 9em al e, captur e d in *celan d in %;?@ Alises , )ale, captur e d in *celand in %;@& Seve n were captive8 born and they are1 #rkid , 9em al e, /= years old, moth e r $andu -dec e a s e d . , #rkid has no living offspring $eet , )ale, /% years old, moth e r $alina, the original Baby Sha m u -dec e a s e d . Shouk a , 9em al e, /% years old, moth e r Sharka n -dec e a s e d . Bakai , )ale, %/ year s old, mot h e r $asatk a *kaika , )ale, %% year s old, mot h e r $atina -in 9lorida. $alia , 9emale, ; years old, moth e r $asatk a )akani , )ale, % year old, moth e r $asatk a

SPONSORS

Animal Welfare *nstitute ? 9ormer SeaWorld 4rainers

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SUPPORT

OPPOSITION ( )

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