Former trainer Samantha Berg on California bill that would outlaw killer whale shows at SeaWorld
A California bill seeking to outlaw killer whale shows at SeaWorld, and to release the animals into larger sea-pens, has been put on hold for further study today. Samantha Berg, a former SeaWorld orca trainer, appeared in the 2013 documentary Blackfish, and has lobbied in support of the bill....
A California bill seeking to outlaw killer whale shows at SeaWorld, and to release the animals into larger sea-pens, has been put on hold for further study today. Samantha Berg, a former SeaWorld orca trainer, appeared in the 2013 documentary Blackfish, and has lobbied in support of the bill.
"The lives that the killer whales live at SeaWorld are severely impoverished compared the kind of lives they live in the wild," Ms. Berg told Carol.
"In the wild they swim 80 to 100 miles per day," she continues. "In captivity, they've got access to a space that's basically 1/10,000th of a per cent of the space that they'd be used to."
Samantha Berg has been a vocal critic of killer whales in captivity. She decided to speak out against the marine theme park industry after her fellow trainer Dawn Brancheau was killed by an orca named Tilikum at SeaWorld in 2010. (Photo: Screen capture from Blackfish)
Hear Carol's full interview with Samantha Berg by selecting the "Listen" button.