I was actually impressed that over 4 decades of orca captivity, they could only identify a small number of violent incidents, and while it's sad that these incidents occurred, it seems like a known occupational hazard whenever dealing with large animals. They tried to make it out like the small group of trainers that had been injured or killed over the years had no way of knowing that their job was potentially dangerous, which is, of course, patently ridiculous.

I didn't see any substantive argument in Blackfish. I don't think they made the case that orcas are a special, elevated form of animal intelligence that is too sensitive to be kept in captivity; they mostly just recounted a list of some bad things that have happened over the history of orca captivity, but I don't see how that's supposed to be representative. All serious endeavors will have mishaps.

I believe Blackfish's producers are trying to lay the baseline for a larger anti-animal-captivity platform in general, and I can't get on board with that. I think that animal captivity is a net good; it allows us to learn about the animals, increases the passion humans have for nature (meaning they'll be less likely to destroy it recklessly), and provides the basic components needed for many important scientific studies.

I think most zoologists keep animals because they genuinely care about them and care about educating the public on how to live peacefully and cooperatively with them. Hiding something away in a corner is not an effective way to engender wonder or interest in it, and that means it's far too easy for some uncharitable business interest to destroy in the name of profit.

Really in some sense SeaWorld is a victim of its own success. They successfully took the daunting specter of the killer whale and made him so cuddly and kid-friendly that this is the animal people are most receptive to believing is actually so super special, caring, smart, and sweet that it doesn't deserve to live in a container.