14 DAY TRIAL // Marine park SeaWorld has been under fire for quite a while now, and animal rights activists seem anything but willing to take a break from accusing it of abusing the whales and other marine creatures it keeps captive.
These days, SeaWorld is once again making headlines, and it is all because of some leaked documents that indicate that the marine park is in the habit of administering psychoactive drugs to whales. According to many activists, this piece of news might just be the final nail in SeaWorld's coffin.
This latest scandal concerning SeaWorld's treatment of animals was started by an affidavit filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice as part of a dispute between the park and Marineland over the transport of a killer whale named Ikaika to SeaWorld.
In this sworn statement, Marineland says that the marine mammal was sedated with the help of a drug similar to Xanax and Valium. The drug is dubbed benzodiazepine, and specialists say that it serves to control and curb anxiety.
By the looks of it, SeaWorld administers it to whales in an attempt to keep them from behaving in an aggressive manner. Still, several reports indicate that, in some case, the use of benzodiazepine can lead to muscle spasm, panic attacks, even out-of-body experiences, Daily Mail informs.
Interestingly enough, SeaWorld does not deny that it occasionally administers said psychoactive drug to its whales. On the contrary, it claims that, whenever this happens, the treatment actually benefits the marine mammals and helps them cope with whatever is bothering them.
“These medications can be used for sedation for medical procedures, premedication prior to general anesthesia, and for the control of seizures. The use of benzodiazepines is regulated, and these medications are only prescribed to animals by a veterinarian,” a spokesperson for the marine park reportedly said in a statement.
Furthermore, “Their use for cetacean healthcare, including killer whales, is limited, infrequent, and only as clinically indicated based on the assessment of the attending veterinarian. There is no higher priority for SeaWorld than the health and well-being of the animals in its care.”
Whatever SeaWorld's thoughts on the use of psychoactive drugs to control the behavior of whales that might prove a tad too aggressive and too difficult to handle, animal rights activists maintain that the marine park has no business doping marine mammals, and that the practice it unethical and cruel.
“SeaWorld is in deep trouble and hot water since Blackfish showed the mental anguish of orcas taken from the great oceans and trapped for eternity in SeaWorld's swimming pools – and now court documents have revealed that SeaWorld also pumps these marine slaves full of psychotropic drugs in order to force them to perform stupid tricks,” green group PETA said in a statement.
The organization is confident that, now that these documents have emerged, it will not be long until the marine park is left with no choice except close and free the killer whales and other marine creatures it keeps captive and forces to perform various tricks for entertainment and profits alone.