TILIKUM

Image Credit: Gerardo Mora/Getty Images

GREEN

Tilikum: An Unwitting Spokesperson

By Dana Ellis Hunnes PhD, Contributor

PhD, Speaker, Dietitian, and Adjunct Professor at UCLA Fieldin...

Watching the grief an animal goes through when it loses a family member can only be described as “human.”

ENVIRONMENT

The Changing Business of Animal Exploitation

By Adam M. Roberts, Contributor

CEO of Born Free USA; international expert on animal welfare a...

However, these changes don't happen without the efforts of committed and compassionate citizens across the country. Their voices--when raised in unison, with authority, and with fearlessness--can effect change most significantly.

HUFFPOST VIDEO

SeaWorld Whale Tilikum Has Died

Tilikum, the SeaWorld orca whale profiled in the film ‘Blackfish,’ has died.

ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 30: Killer whale 'Tilikum' appears during its performance in its show 'Believe' at Sea World on March 30, 2011 in Orlando, Florida. 'Tilikum' is back to public performance March 30, the first time since the six-ton whale has performed since killing trainer 40-year-old trainer Dawn Brancheau at the marine park on February 24 2010, after Sea World Parks & Entertainment president Jim Atchinson signed off on the decision this week. (Photo by Gerardo Mora/Getty Images)

Gerardo Mora via Getty Images

GREEN

Tilikum, Orca At The Center Of SeaWorld Controversy, Has Died

By Hilary Hanson

The whale’s involvement in a trainer’s death inspired the 2013 documentary “Blackfish.”

FILE - In this Monday, March 7, 2011, file photo, killer whale Tilikum, right, watches as SeaWorld Orlando trainers take a break during a training session at the theme park's Shamu Stadium in Orlando, Fla. SeaWorld officials say the killer whale responsible for the death of a trainer is very sick. In a post on the park's blog Tuesday, March 8, 2016, officials say Tilikum appears to have a bacterial infection in his lungs. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

POLITICS

SeaWorld Announces End To Its Orca Breeding Program

By Kate Sheppard, Nick Visser, and Willa Frej

The move radically changes the business model of the controversial marine mammal park.

ENVIRONMENT

The Old Lady and the Sea

By Ingrid Newkirk, Contributor

President and co-founder, People for the Ethical Treatment of ...

With nowhere to go and no way to pass the hours at SeaWorld, captive orcas often gnaw on the concrete and iron-bar tank separators, sometimes breaking their teeth and leaving the pulp exposed and painfully raw.

ENVIRONMENT

Blackfish Backlash Continues

By John P. David, Contributor

President, David PR Group | Author: How to Protect (or Des...

From what I know about orca public relations, I think SeaWorld's got a big problem.

ENVIRONMENT

A Mother's Plea for the Orcas at SeaWorld

By Tracy Reiman, Contributor

Executive vice president, People for the Ethical Treatment of ...

Few people today believe that keeping these animals -- who have evolved to swim in the vast open oceans over the course of millions of years -- in captivity is ethically defensible.

ENVIRONMENT

Cousteau and World Cetacean Alliance Making a Splash

By Matthew Spiegl, Contributor

Lawyer, Ocean Advocate, Environmentalist

If we are going to change the world to save ourselves, we have to save the ocean; and if we are going to save the ocean we have to start by saving the cetaceans. We have to protect their habitat and ensure that all marine life can thrive, so that we can too.

ENVIRONMENT

Is It Time to End Animal Slavery? The Real Story Behind the SeaWorld Whale Machine

By Nancy Colier, Contributor

Psychotherapist, interfaith minister, author and public speaker

If you have ever or ever intend to visit a SeaWorld-type theme park, or if you just care about the wellbeing of other creatures who share our earth, Blackfish should be mandatory viewing.

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ENVIRONMENT

ReThink Review: Blackfish -- The Dark, Wild Side of Free Willy

By Jonathan Kim, Contributor

Movie Critic for ReThink Reviews

By examining orcas in the wild and their lives in sea parks, Blackfish makes a compelling argument that not only is it immoral to imprison orcas, but that they are too powerful, smart, and unpredictable for us to do it safely.

ENTERTAINMENT

Movie Review: Blackfish

By Marshall Fine, Contributor

Author and film critic, hollywoodandfine.com

It's been four years since The Cove -- and 20 years since Free Willy. And yet, as the upsetting new documentary, Blackfish, shows, man's inhumanity to mammals continues unabated -- as commercialized and heartless as ever, even when it includes collateral damage.

ENVIRONMENT

SeaWorld Suffers Legal Setback in Fight Against OSHA

By David Kirby, Contributor