Q: If you were standing in front of a button that let all the killer whales in captivity instantly free would you click it?

In behalf of killer whales, no I wouldn't push that hypothetical button. Letting all the killer whales in captivity instantly free sounds like the right thing to do, but it actually isn't such a good idea. In many cases, those whales HAVE LIVED IN CAPTIVITY FOR SEVERAL YEARS, which means that they're used to be fed by humans, to interact with them in one way or another and haven't socialized with other orcas in years.

Unluckily, these whales can't live in the wild anymore. Remember Keiko, A.K.A. "Willy", of Free Willy? There are plenty of articles about how, once they tried to free him, he just couldn't get adapted or find food or quit interacting with humans, as you can read here: "Willy was never really free.

The killer whale star of the Hollywood movie Free Willy had to be cared for by humans even after he was released and he never successfully integrated with his wild kin. Researchers now say attempts to return him to the wild were misguided", and it adds later: "While we as humans might find it appealing to free a long-term captive animal," the researchers say in the paper, "the survival and well-being of the animal may be severely impacted in doing so. " The only cetaceans that have successfully been returned to the wild have been young and only kept in captivity for short periods.So, freeing those whales instantly, would mean sending many of them to a certain death.

If I were standing in front of a button that let all the killer whales in captivity instantly free I would not hesitate to click the button because killer whales like Orca as PETA said that "it has long been asking SeaWorld to stop taking wild, ocean-going mammals and confining them to an area that, to them, is "the size of a bathtub".

Of course I would! Without a second thought and without wasting a moment and without even blinking my eyes for once. If somebody tries to stop me pushing the button, I will throw him/her right in the jaws of a Killer Whale.No animals should be kept in captivity just for fun.

That is injustice. That is cruelty. I would at all cost.

Thanks for asking.

I think Pescina has the right approach here. It's an interesting question to ask, but there way too many potential effects to consider - it can't be as simple as just letting them go. They will face myriad hazards due to their being more-or-less domesticated by humans and will need some (or all) of the support that they're now receiving anyway if we really value their well-being.

This seems a lot like those ethical thought experiments that are supposed to pull your intuitions one way or another, but I usually don't get swayed by them. I always end up looking at the things that aren't mentioned. For instance, the famous trolley problem - would you switch the tracks in order to kill one person if it meant not careening into five?

Why or why not? Heck, I always answer that we should just blow the horn... But it does raise a good point about animal rights (not to be held against their will, perhaps) vs. just humane or respectable treatment as we do what we want to with them. I mean, you don't really hear the same argument being put forward for (e.g.) dogs, cats, and other pets.

Though, I think we treat them much the same as Sea World treats its whales. Our assumption that they'd fail in the wild is just that (an assumption), and I'm happy to grant that.. but I don't know that it's that implausible.

No, I believe they help sensibilizing people on animal endangerment and environmental awareness.

Yes I would, 100% sure, nice slogan thou: Free the Wales, the 70 are back!

All the reasons for keeping them in captivity come down to the idea that human amusement is a higher ideal for our society than the lives of the animals, which are far shorter in captivity. Even if you can't tell these creatures are smart enough to be self aware and communicate (making them legally persons), the loss of life for human entertainment is despicable at best. I'd push the button and let them live their lives as intended.

Yes, it's cruel to keep them in captivity. They are social animals, and the isolation inherent in captivity hurts them. Of course, like the answerer above, I have to say that the question shouldn't stop here.

What I said is just as true, for example, of the approximately one billion pigs raised in crueler conditions for food.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.