Films / Movies / Films & Videos / MARINE MAMMAL PARKS

Long Gone Wild – A Documentary About the History of SeaWorld and Capturing and Confining Wild Orcas for Entertainment

by Jennie Richards · Published February 15, 2020 · Updated July 26, 2021

“The only hope for winning this war, is for the public to stop buying tickets.”
“The fact that killer whales are still being used in shows like SeaWorld is a disgrace, it ought to be illegal, it will be illegal by the time we are finished.” ~ The Nonhuman Rights Project

Long Gone Wild explores the beginning of orca capture and confinement in the 1960s, to the history and evolution of SeaWorld, to the development of marine parks in China today. The film goes back to the very beginning of the performing orca industry, and the first capture and display of an orca named Namu, then later to the creation of the “legend of Shamu,” whose mother was harpooned and bludgeoned to death in order to capture her 3-year-old baby Shamu in 1965, who was later sold to SeaWorld San Diego. The film depicts the entire evolutionary timeline of SeaWorld’s long and cruel history and despite very recent key concessions by SeaWorld, its orcas are still performing every day in their marine parks. In addition to SeaWorld, sadly today there is a huge new player on the scene—the exploding marine theme park industry in China.

Witness an in-depth look at the case against orca captivity, about The Whale Sanctuary Project, and covert missions on the high seas in search of nine orcas held captive at a secret Chinese location.

Film Length: 1 Hour, 23 Minutes

Film Premier: 2019

Watch the Film

Watch on Amazon Prime.

Watch on these platforms. The film is available on multiple video-on-demand services including Apple TV, Google Play, Amazon, Vimeo, VUDU, and Fandango NOW. Cable providers—including DIRECTV, xfinity, Cox, Spectrum, Verizon, Sling, Google Fiber, Frontier, CenturyLink, Mediacom, Suddenlink, dish, and Rogers—will also be screening the film.

Purchase the DVD here. Check Amazon, Walmart, Barnes & Noble, or Best Buy to purchase the film on DVD.

More about the film at https://www.longgonewild.com/

WHAT YOU CAN DO

NEVER BUY A TICKET!
NEVER ATTEND A MARINE WILDLIFE SHOW – Never attend any show with orcas, dolphins or any other marine mammal that is entertaining humans.
Learn the facts about orcas: seawrodfactcheck.com and SeaWorldofHurt.com
Pay attention to developments in China at: Chinacetaceanalliance.org
Be an advocate for orcas and dolphins: Demand that SeaWorld retire its orcas to a seaside sanctuary.
Share on social media – Speak out against capturing wild animals from their natural habit, and confining them for human entertainment.

SUPPORT THESE ORGANIZATIONS

Whale Sanctuary Project: whalesanctuaryproject.org
Dolphin Project: dolphinproject.com
Center For Whale Research: whaleresearch.com
Free Morgan Foundation: www.freemorgan.org
Ocean Friends: mmrescue.ru
Save Dolphins: savedolphins.org
Scuba Film Factory: www.scubaff.com

Some Statistics

Since 1961, more than 160 orcas have died in oceanariums worldwide, for entertainment.

22 killer whales remain confined to barren concrete tanks in the U.S., 20 are at SeaWorld, many facing decades in captivity.

Today, 60 orcas are held captive in 15 parks, in 8 countries. There are 58 marine parks so far in China, with many more being built today. They are getting all their animals from the wild.

Orcas live to 60, 70, 80 and sometimes even 90 years old. But SeaWorld lies and tells the public false information about orca lifespans, reporting that it is normal for orcas to only live 30-35 years. Why? Because orcas living in captivity have lifespans that are cut short.

Since 1961, more than 160 orcas have died in oceanariums worldwide—all for entertainment.

SeaWorld Timeline – Evolution of a Corporate Giant

SeaWorld was founded in San Diego by George Millay and three other UCLA grads. SeaWorld Parks will open later in Ohio, Florida and Texas.

1964 – SeaWorld was strictly created as entertainment. We didn’t try to wear this false façade of educational significance. ~ George Millay, founder of SeaWorld in 1964

1966 – 1970 – Ted Griffin and his partner, Don Goldsberry, corralled some 200 orcas in Puget Sound. Many captured whales went to SeaWorld. The price of each whale was $30,000 – 50,000.

1972 – The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) is passed. SeaWorld is exempted under an educational-display exclusion.

1976 – Washington state closes its waters to killer whale captures. Don Goldsberry moves SeaWorld’s capture operation to Iceland, netting (9) more orcas. Price tag now is $150,000 – 300,000.

1976 – Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (HBJ) purchases SeaWorld. Price tag: $50 million.

1985 – SeaWorld’s captive breeding program has its first success. Katina gives birth to a female calf called Kalina, aka Baby Shamu.

1989 – Anheuser-Busch purchases six theme parks, including all four SeaWorld parks, from HBJ. Price tag: $1.1 billion.

1989 – 2009 – Attendance and revenue numbers soar. So do Incident Reports involving trainers and orcas. SeaWorld closes its Ohio operation in 2001.

2009 – Blackstone Group acquires Busch Entertainment. Price tag: $2.5 billion.

July 2013 – The documentary that changes everything: Blackfish. It had record crowds. It opened at Sundance and was sold to CNN. SeaWorld did a massive advertising campaign to counter the impact of the movie. The trainers just wanted to get the story out – this needed to be told for a long time.

March 2016 – There was a meeting between Joel Manby, Chairman of SeaWorld and Wayne Pacelle, President of the Humane Society of the U.S.—they made an announcement that SeaWorld is going to end its orca performing program, and breeding program.

January 6, 2017 – Tilikum dies of a bacterial pneumonia infection. He was two years old when he was captured in Iceland. He was kept 33 years in captivity in a small concrete tank.

January 2018 – One year after Tilikum’s death, State Representative Jared Moskowitz introduces the Florida Orca Protection Act. “I wanted to test SeaWorld’s honesty and truthfulness. They had already made the commitment. But SeaWorld didn’t want this bill to pass in Florida. Because SeaWorld’s intention was to ship their orcas from Florida and Texas to China. SeaWorld Killed the bill.

Quotes From the Film

“The only hope for winning this war, is for the public to stop buying tickets. Period.”

“Don’t ever, ever buy a ticket!”

“The fact that killer whales are still being used in shows like SeaWorld is a disgrace, it ought to be illegal, it will be illegal by the time we are finished.”

“Beginning in 2010, a series of unprecedented events lead to a sea change in attitudes toward the plight of captive orcas. Yet today in North America, 22 killer whales remain confined to barren concrete tanks. 20 at SeaWorld, many facing decades in captivity. And in Europe and Asia – the problem is about to get much, much worse.”

“The reason they call them killer whales is they feed on the largest whales in the world, the Blue Whale.”

“It all started with Namu, the first whale captured for the Seattle aquarium and Shamu, bought by SeaWorld back in the mid 1960s. Namu died a year later and Shamu died five years later in captivity. Shamu was the beginning of SeaWorld’s performing captive orcas.“

Death At SeaWorld

Tillicum drowns three trainers in 16 years. The death of Dawn Brancheau triggers a media firestorm while OSHA cites SeaWorld for three safety violations, one classified as willful.

I didn’t see any education, I didn’t see any science, I saw a show with loud music, and trainers dancing on the side of the pool. It was just stupid.

So children walk out of this park, miseducated and confused – it’s teaching them that abusing nature is ok.

SeaWorld’s defense in its case against OSHA is seriously undermined after a shocking video is shown in court.

SeaWorld Lies – They lie to people about animals. They tell people it is perfectly normal for orcas to live 30-35 years, but that is a lie – orcas typically live into their 60s, 70s, 80s sometimes their 90s. It is offensive that SeaWorld lies.

SeaWorld Lies – SeaWorld tells people that dorsal fins collapse naturally, but that is a lie – they never collapse in the wild.

The “Ask SeaWorld campaign” is a bust – Southwest Airlines pulls out of its 26-year partnership with SeaWorld. Big name musicians cancel performances.

The Internal Email from VP of Communications/SeaWorld, Fred Jacobs, calls it a “Whole f****** Chocolate Mess. God we (SeaWorld) look like idiots.”

The “Blackfish Effect” had a horrible effect on SeaWorld. It shot an arrow that wounded it, it didn’t kill it. It changed attitudes. The director says, “It not a wise place to spend your money, I hope people don’t go to SeaWorld.” Definitely not!

The documentary also helps to mobilize a world-wide movement to retire orcas and dolphins to seaside sanctuaries.

The “Empty The Tanks” movement is global now.

Volunteers are also focused on the plight of three captive killer whales, collectively known as “The World’s Loneliest Orcas,”—including: Kshamenk in Argentina, Lolita in Miami Sea Aquarium in Miami, and Kiska at MarineLand Canada – all five calves of hers have died, and she is alone in a barren concrete tank now with nothing.

In Miami, Lolita languished in the world’s smallest orca tank for nearly 50 years, despite numerous complaints to the USDA.

Part of the problem with the USDA is it serves a dual mission. They are clearly failing to do their job which is to protect animals, and instead, are just a rubber-stamping agency for business.

Since 1980, Lolita has lived without orca companionship following the tragic death of her tank-mate, Hugo. Hugo died of suicide, he died of ramming his head into the concrete cement walls of his tank, until he had an aneurism and died.

Lolita has endured blistering heat and raging storms, including Hurricane Irma with sustained wind speeds of 185 MPH. SeaWorld never even tried to move Lolita out of the way of the storm. It’s unfathomable.

January 6, 2017 – Tilikum dies of a bacterial pneumonia infection. He was two years old when he was captured in Iceland. He was kept 33 years in captivity.

Eastern Russia – 25 Years Later Russia Revives the Industry

Russia is capturing orcas and shipping them to China and getting millions for these orcas.

The trade in dolphins and whales for display is very corrupt.

The estimates are around 30 killer whales that have died from Russian captures in the Sea of Okhotsk. It is hard to know exactly, because the sea is very remote.

The Russians captured an 8-year-old female and a 6-year-old Nord who did not eat for a very long time. After a grueling 10-hour flight from Vladivostok, Narnia and Nord are delivered in strict secrecy to the All-Russian Exhibition Center in Moscow.

A fundamental flaw in attorney Eugene Scalia’s argument in the OSHA case against SeaWorld, is the risk is with a powerful animal. The risk cannot even be estimated properly.

In Summer 2015 – Europe’s largest marine theme park opens in Moscow.

Moscow Theme Park – The three orcas in Moscow—Narnia, Nord and Juliette—their behaviors are so sad to watch – I liken it as a Gulag for orcas. These poor animals are kept inside 100 percent of the time, they never see sun or daylight, they are kept in tiny, tiny tanks, it’s just tragic to see.”

International Ocean Resort in China – The consumption that is pursued by the Chinese middle class is incredible. There is a big demand for killer whales in China, and Russia is supplying them.

For the kind of money for capturing an orca, there’s great potential for corruption. And China and Russia are the worst for marine wildlife. They are putting the wrong species together. There are animals performing with clear injuries and obvious publicly—but no one is saying anything.

I noticed Beluga whales were screaming in China, it was completely bizarre – they were trying to get the attention of their trainers.

“They realized they were going to have to change their business model away from forcing orcas to perform silly tricks for the public for profit.”

In 2016, a landmark piece of legislation was introduced in California, AB2140, by Richard Bloom to stop orcas performing for the public, or breeding in captivity, or where orcas could be brought to California and kept in captivity. His bill was signed by Governor Jerry Brown in September 13, 2016, called The California Orca Protection Act.

Corporate boycotts matter. If you want to change these corporation, don’t give them your money.

SeaWorld just used PR terms – when they say ‘enrichment programs, exercise programs.’

Operant Conditioning – We take the animals out of their natural way of being, and turning them into robots who do tricks.

It’s the only animal that must do a show to be fed.

What has changed, is the ‘Façade’ for the humans. But nothing has changed for the whales.

In Russia, the situation grows dire: in 2018, following two years during which no permits were granted, the government sanctions the capture of up to 13 orcas in the Sea of Okhotsk.

The Case Against Captivity

People ask me what is the worst thing that happens to animals in captivity – BOREDOM. It affects their health, they become deeply depressed, and it can kill them. They are completely deprived of using their echo location way of communicating. They swim around and around a tank, and need to swim instead at speed, and in a straight line.

There are parallels of “solitary confinement of human beings” and solitary confinement of animals in captivity. Hopelessness, pain, agony, suffering.

With the orca, we are removing them from their natural habitat, and putting them in a cage, where there is nothing for them to communicate, and no meaningful activity for them to do.

Seeing whales in concrete tanks doing tricks – is not a whale. They spend all this time doing nothing. That is not a whale’s life.

Killer whales in captivity – they swim circular patterns, they grind their teeth, they bite steel bars, they have deformities, they have collapsed fins, they are kept on the verge of hunger in order to train and control them, so they are always hungry.

People at SeaWorld parks are applauding, when they should be rebelling against these lies.

SeaWorld’s orcas are sunburned, they are exposed to the sun every day due to shallow tanks, and their skin gets burned.

At Marineland Antibes, four orcas perform with no relief from the extreme sun – in Southern France, summer temps often exceed 100 F/38 C.
Over the years, SeaWorld has routinely separated mothers from their offspring in order to stock other parks. “Separations are gut-wrenching and the whales know when their babies are going to be taken away from the mother.”

The night they removed Kalina from Katina, her mother. I watched enormous grief, screaming, screeching, crying for her baby Kalina. This is not the only time Katina has had to experience this – she has had five calves removed from her. It is unfathomable.

Orcas as Sentient Beings

Orcas are the Brainiac’s of the planet. They have had their big brains a lot longer than humans. They are sophisticated, complex far beyond humans can even imagine.

The orca has a mind that is so complex, it cannot survive in a concrete tank. It doesn’t fit.

The orca brain exceeds the human brain. They have much more than the human brain.

Summer 2018: A mourning orca mom carrying her dead baby for days through the waters of Puget Sound, WA captures world-wide attention.

Keiko – Willy in the popular 1993 film, Free Willy, is retired to his native waters where he lives his final years with caregivers.

Dawn of a New Day

We need to get out of that awful era that we have been in of caging animals.

In Europe, Ric O’Barry has his team have narrowed their search for a dolphin sanctuary to a few spectacular sites.

The Nonhuman Rights Project

The law still considers animals as properties, or “things”. But the Nonhuman Rights Project is trying to secure fundamental rights for animals, and recognize animals as persons, giving them some personhood rights. All person means is that the entity has autonomous rights.

The fact that killer whales are still being used in shows like SeaWorld is a disgrace, it ought to be illegal, it will be illegal by the time we are finished. ~ The Nonhuman Rights Project

Late 2019 – The time targeted to locate a site for The Whale Sanctuary Project.

The next step for orcas retired from SeaWorld is sanctuary. Permanent sanctuary. There are sanctuaries for elephants, tigers, circus animals – and it is needed for orcas and dolphins. It will take the welfare and wellbeing into top consideration, and we’re looking for sites that will make that happen. It’s time for it to happen.

China – The Troubles are Just Beginning for Orcas

There are 58 marine parks so far in China, with many more being built today. They are getting all their animals from the wild, it is absolutely a disaster in the making.

Chimelong Park, China – The orcas in isolation at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, whatever their number, will soon go on public display.

How are we going to solve the problem with China? We need to convince only one person –

President People’s Republic of China – Xi Jinping, who controls all of China. The trick will be to get to this one man. China watches what we do. If we show how wrong keeping whales and dolphins and marine wildlife in captivity, they may do the right thing.

We have to put our hope in children, to stand up and say no – to children who will cheer for animals in the wild. And will demand of their parent no matter where they live on the planet, that we will treat these animals with understanding, with care, respect and keep them in the wild.

November 13, 2018: Russian reporters discover 101 “tortured” whales, 11 orcas and 90 belugas, jammed into offshore pens near Nakhodka, reportedly bound for China. Price tag per orca: $6 million.

April 2019 – Charles Vinick and Jean-Michel Cousteau sign a formal agreement with Russian authorities, a significant step towards rehabilitation and release of the whales they trapped and imprisoned in the sea, for China.