Reacting to the tragic news that a trainer at the SeaWorld park in Orlando, Florida, was killed by one of its killer whales, WSPA has called for an end to the practice of keeping killer whales in captivity.

The victim, Dawn Brancheau, was apparently grabbed from the side of the pool and pooled under water. This follows other reported attacks in both 2004 and 2006, as well as a fatality back in 1991, courtesy of the same killer whale.

Following the news, Suzi Morris, UK Director for WSPA, said:

“The shocking news that an animal trainer has died after being attacked by a killer whale at the SeaWorld amusement park in Orlando, Florida, is a sad reminder of the inappropriateness of keeping these animals in captivity.”

“Killer whales are highly intelligent mammals that are taught to perform against their will by their human trainers. Marine mammals experience dreadful stress when forced to endure these unnatural interactions in their concrete prisons as it is not the way they would naturally behave in the wild. They do not enjoy ‘playing’ like this in this extremely traumatic environment.”

Peta, the animal welfare charity, also backed up WSPA’s views, announcing that they have been asking SeaWorld to stop taking wild killer whales into captivity for years.

However, despite opposition by animal charities it doesn’t look like the practice of putting on killer whale shows will be ending anytime soon at SeaWorld.