Kiska: In Memoriam
On March 10, 2023, MarineLand Canada announced the death of Kiska the orca. She was the last orca held captive in Canada. Referred to as the “world’s loneliest orca” Kiska had lived alone in her tank for the last 12 years after more than 4 decades in captivity. She was captured in 1979 in the North Atlantic Ocean. During 40 years of captivity, she had birthed five calves, none of whom survived. She died of a bacterial infection at the estimated age of 47 (Trethewey, 2023).
Orcas are highly intelligent, socially complex, autonomous animals who possess large, elaborate brains. Scientific evidence has shown “unequivocally that flourishing is impossible for cetaceans [whales and dolphins] in captivity. Cetacean nature and captivity are fundamentally incompatible” (Marino, 2018, p. 208). Video footage of Kiska revealed the zoochosis behavior induced by captivity as “repetitive and lethargic. When not swimming in slow circles or bashing herself into the side of her tank, she often simply floats in place, staring at the emptiness that is the inside of her tank” (Whale Sanctuary Project, 2023). Kiska’s suffering was so obvious and unrelenting, it helped bring attention to the issue of keeping cetaceans in captivity. She was, and still is, the subject of great controversy and numerous lawsuits concerned with her welfare (Labchuk, 2023) and is credited by animal protection organizations as helping to bring about the 2019 Canadian bill S-203 that banned the breeding of captive whales, dolphins, and porpoises (Trethewey, 2023). Sadly, this bill was passed too late for her.
Of course, Kiska’s plight is one that affects the lives of numerous other animals, not just orcas. Happy the elephant is another such animal who has been held in solitary confinement for 14 years (Linzey & Linzey, 2022). Captivity is not an environment that allows for the flourishing of individual animals, especially elephants and orcas. Kiska’s death should serve to remind us that animal captivity, except for the good of the individual animal, is an idea whose time has come to an end. Animals are other creatures with whom we share this planet—they are not beings to be caged for human amusement [End Page v] or entertainment. They deserve to live in habitats where they can live out their lives free from human coercion and control.
Dismantling the industrial, commercial complex of zoos and aquariums will be a difficult task, but a necessary one. There are sanctuary alternatives for animals currently held captive. Indeed, the Whale Sanctuary Project is the first of its kind to offer sanctuary to cetaceans (Whale Sanctuary Project, n.d.), but we need more initiatives like this one. This dismantling is especially timely when artificial reality and augmented reality may provide other ways to encounter and learn about animals (Javanaud et al., 2018, pp. 136–137).
Helping to end of the suffering of millions of animals in captivity by no longer financially supporting zoos and aquariums, even and especially those that proclaim conservation as their main objective, is the starting point for making the lives of animals like Kiska better. The urgent task is to explain why any decent ethical perspective requires that animals be allowed to live free from human control in habitats where they can express their species-specific behaviors.
