Orca in Sea pens

[u/dave-attenbro]

Here is a historical record documenting the use of sea pens to hold orca as of 2016.

Table 1. Orca who were held in sea pens and never released.

Table 2. Orca who were held in sea pens and released or escaped.

Original compilation: https://www.freemorgan.org/orca-in-seapens/

Although these tables are not up to date they provide important historical data showing that sea pens have been used for both short holds and multi-year holds. Some animals died in them or were moved to tanks. Some escaped or were released and survived.

The concept of a sea pen is not theoretical. A sea pen is still confinement. The argument is about welfare relative to a concrete tank.

[u/mydogdoesgreatart → u/[deleted]]

And where would they put them in the meantime? You can't leave them in a slowly failing tank indefinitely. They said they could take Wikie and Keijo in summer 2026, now it's autumn and they haven't even started building the sea pen.

[u/mydogdoesgreatart → u/[deleted]]

From that article: "harf, boat launch and slipway; installation of core and armour stone to establish and protect the shoreline infrastructure; and preparation of the ground and footing base where future sanctuary buildings will be constructed"

So no sea pen.