Inside The Tanks (Full Documentary)

the decade a marine captivity has been one of the most profitable industries in the tourism sector three millions of people around the world to watch these animals jump / and play so in recent years a much darker side to the industry has come to light [Music] and whilst many of the marine parks are thousands of miles away Europe still has over 30 dolphin area and some a closer than you think my name is Johnny Muir and I'm flying to the southeast of France less than two hours from London Gatwick Marineland aunty I want to see for myself exactly what goes on in this park you know I've only wanted to be a propaganda piece I want everyone have their challenge to have their today on the matter and I think that's the only way that we can move up I want to find out what life is like for these animals it wouldn't be releasing it'll be kicking to the help of what goes on behind the scenes I'm correct well now she's she's playing for it she's playing for artificial simulation and we're in like to see worlds decisions that and the breeding of Orca the likes of marine land feed themselves now so we're talking with them about why for start they would do this welcome to Auntie a piece of paradise on the French Riviera famous for its fancy super yachts crystal-clear Mediterranean waters and it's gorgeous old town with around 1.3 million tourists visiting at per year on TV also lays claim to the biggest marine park in Europe and the only French theme park to have orchids I have to say first things first I was really shocked that France even had dolphins and orchids in captivity in the first place you know I thought they were a country that was similar in the outlook of captivity for these sort of animals and marine animals as we are in the UK I understand there are two sides to every story so you know some people say that it's an educational experience whereas others think it is you know demeaning for the animals we'll think about that but I want to see both sides of the story so I'll be hopefully meeting up with the guys from marine land to find out their opinion and also the world-famous marine biologist dr. Ingrid Visser but first I'm heading off to meet with the Born Free Foundation who along with Ingrid have been analyzing marine parks across Europe to make sure they're complying with a piece of legislation called the EU sues directive this research that you're doing what sort of things have you been seeing so far in Europe we've seen a lot of so typical behavior almost in every facility so that would include chewing on a concrete logging bobbing up and down burping we've seen a lot of regurgitation of their food and why is it that they do this you think what's the prime reason one word boredom and how can you tell that there's just nothing stimulating for them to do other than the feeding session and the training there is some training to leave you at the boredom but it's the same training they've been doing for five ten twenty years and there's nothing in the tank just the concrete wall what's the oval solution because they can't just be chucked out and into the wild surely there are of course obvious solutions to this the quickest easiest and most realistic is to end the breeding of cetaceans in captivity you know even if that was implemented say next year the industry would have one hour and 40 years to continue display in the newest generation of animals that it has and then in the meantime we could look at seaside sanctuaries so hearing from Born Free today was licensing and it was great to hear their opinion but I still want to hear from Maria and we haven't heard from them yet I've emailed them I've phoned them over the past couple of weeks and I've had absolutely nothing back so if I don't hear anything back after this email then I guess I'm gonna have to go in there and see if we can speak to them you know face to face and see if we can get that interview there and I'm going to send this email head to bed and hope that we get response in the morning today I want to see marine land for myself and look at things purely through the eyes of Tori marine land is home to nearly 40 different species including sea lions polar bears Walker and dolphins and with that many different animals of the sea it's really expect there to be a few more visited around I have a tourist obviously it's difficult to say without the show starting here but without any of the media where any of the Sherrod if you like it does come down to one giant pool and I've been sitting here for about ten minutes or so and these guys these dolphins have just been going round and round and round and maybe it's just a form of them getting exercise but to me it seems a bit of a tease that the sea is just there literally just a stone throw away and they're going round and round and round in this pool as much as I'm trying to stay neutral I can't help but think the dolphin seemed completely bored but I don't want to be too quick to judge so early on in the day so I've decided to head back later which gives me some time to see marine lance for orcas who are about to perform in the first show of the day Wow and here it is the orca tank to be honest on first inspection it it looks big it looks huge or haven't seen any of your cassette and that the shows about to start and looking at our there's one over there I mean they've got several pools here and I've certainly never seen a tank this big personally and against the backdrop and Scott's got the Alps there it all looks pretty lovely in the Sun I guess you could look deeper the thing is on the big screen you know you feel like you're learning something as they got so many facts that are happening up there and how we're preserving the planet how we're helping the flea season it makes you feel like this is so right everything with the purpose here for a good reason and that's why I want to find out is it does it help I mean it's clear that the trainer's they have an undeniable God with these animals they can nearly love them you can see that but you gotta ask yourself that if they love them that much and it's really bad for the animals that they do adore but when they take it back you can't blame people for enjoying themselves here because it seems so right it feels like it's for education it seems like it's but a reason that's the GUP you know people are clapping they're laughing and they're learning so I like that's the question the absence of the show though once again the atmosphere is completely different the same animals that were jumping about and somersaulting through the air now seemed lifeless on board but it's seeing how different the Dolphins are during the show from catholics morning and starting to gain a clearer picture again in the performing there's all smiles you can't help that smile again and then I'm african-american up with everyone else's smiling I can't tell you why it is [Music] it's only allow the doulton don't wanna sleep we have been expert to tell the laughter another thing to do I can see why people come to the parts again education walls to see the educational experience but I can't help but feel that these animals may be depressed they only seem to come alive during their shows and it seems to me that behind the scenes there's a lot more than meets beyond so I've organized have a chat with ex-marine lab supervisor John Wall go see were in California as a senior trainer to basically run and take over the killer whale program in France because they wanted its zero product they wanted to swim with her killer whales they had never had trainers in the water with those well you know how to do it and so myself and another SeaWorld trainer from another park we went over we took over the program and we certainly had our fair share of aggressions I personally had about in major water work aggressions and the other SeaWorld trainer she had about 25 to 30 talk to me John about the way that the animals are treated in marine Laden I mean I also do true love well it it we went into it with the purest of intentions we were children we didn't know any better when I went to do it I started in 93 resigned in 2012 I had no reason to believe that these will live anything less than a perfect existence it wasn't until I was in my career and in my career for years before you started seeing things and realizing certainly was we started separating calves from their mothers and you see the way the mothers and calves react to the trauma all the drugs the premature death I mean all those wells are soaked up on so much medication is unbelievable so all these animals in Marine Lines you think that they would have to be drugged up drugged well so what's the future then as a result of this sort of public pressure what's the future for the likes of marine land you know I think they're kidding themselves that they think that they're going to continue to have orcas in captivity if people are going to accept that you know the mounting public pressure on them is going to do exactly to them what happened to SeaWorld so that if SeaWorld see what a multi-billion dollar corporation could not indle the pressure and the magnitude of the pressure that was being put on them Marineland and on Eve it's certainly not going to be able to handle that because they are nothing compared to SeaWorld in the United States as far as size or money or resources and as they want to try it they want to go more they want to try to play the game good luck machine weather Mian it's clear that the debate surrounding these animals in captivity is almost warlike but today I'm keen to get some facts on the matter so I'll be spending time with dr. Ingrid Visser as she carries out her research in the park so I'm looking for things that show the issues and one of the classic ones is what's termed stereotypies and that's abnormal repetitive behaviors that to us have no obvious outward function you know I've seen concrete chewing I've seen them a head bobbing I've seen them pattern swimming I've seen them doing all sorts of repetitive behaviors and so that's the sort of thing that I'm documenting but I'm also looking for self-mutilation where they repeatedly hid themselves in one place or another and they end up damaging themselves and I'm looking also for teeth where the Justice is getting interesting the conversation is brought to a stop the marine land representative wants to know exactly what Ingrid's filming and why she's here I was very much and in light of the questioning ingrid wants to get her research underway as quickly as possible but before she starts i'm interested in finding out how she deals with resistance to what she believes in because there's always that thin line as well as that between you sounding like your excuse of turn a crazy accident you know to the general public and also being someone that's actually really informing them about something real and realistic and that they can relate to and you know yes so how do you fight a battle well you know what I always do is I present the facts yeah and then the facts speak for themselves so as a scientist if you can present the face then it's logical to then take the next step and go okay well that's not really what we should be doing look this ball-playing behavior it looks cute but that's not natural how many dolphins have you ever seen out in the wild and any documentary playing with a ball and have a look on the end of the rostrum on the end of the tip see look at the wound yeah yeah right on the top yeah top and the bottom and what day is that where he's been self-mutilation and though it's actually bleeding you can see it these naturally with with these dolphins have injuries like this in the wild sure they do get injuries in the wild and sure they get rate marks in the wild - but the fact of the matter is that this is not natural in here so anything that happens because they're in here is not natural you know what if you look at these concrete walls there is nothing for these animals to look at which is interesting because the sea lions do seem to have and still seem to have more enrichment know they're on the surface they do thank you yeah that's for you to look at right okay the animals so why don't they put things like rocks on there hello because they can't keep it clean easily this is a dolphin a different dolphin again and more injuries on it and this one you ever look on it list let's head out you'll see a dark line on the side of it's like almost where it's cheeks would be can you see that dark line there you'll watch one that let's head out now see that dark line yeah that is because it's unnaturally bending its head like this all the time which is multiple yeah well kind of it's a crease from look at lifting at scared above the surface all the time the observations that Ingrid is making us so easy to miss for an untrained eye but judging by what she's saying there are also strong indications of distress within captivity and it seems that in English size things are just as distressing for the Orca what does it do to you anything in the race this makes me feel ill it makes me feel disgusted that humanity can do this to these amazing intelligent animals and think it's okay to sit there and clap and laugh and in is very demeaning for the animals they have no choice I mean arguably the audience clapping and stuff that's not them you know it's not because of them that these orchids are here that's because of the park it's the ocker here because of the people from a tourist point of view if they were to come here yeah they would see this tank and I think you know it is a decent size not taken into consideration that always a decent size it's nothing about the ocean but they look immense there's a decent size right and this is what I mean about the education they're not educating them that these animals would normally travel 200 kilometers a day right a day and not just for one day not just for one week but all the time that's what these animals do what do you think they get in here roughly well I've watched between the shows and mostly the animals are stationary they're not moving at all and you know unfortunately aquarium gives information to the public and says well you know we provide them with food so they don't need to swim well that's a load of rot because these animals have spent millions of years evolving they have a need a biological need to swim that's what they evolved for for swimming so if you keep them pinned up then you're going to have a problem with that to me seeing that there appears to be a real connection between the trainer and the Orca is that just to an untrained eye yeah I mean the only connection that we all can have to the trainer is that they give them the food if you went in there and fed them for a week they'd have that connection with you - it's not a bond there's a bond certainly on the human part you can't deny the facts I sure I mean you can't tell me that these guys don't care about them you see them interacting with the all current and they spend a lot of time with them but that's not the point the point is that the ocker have got no choice it's a present it's exactly what it is but it's even worse than a prison because the prisoners have done something wrong these guys did nothing wrong except to look beautiful I can tell Ingrid's passionate but I'd like to see some more evidence of what she's witnessed so I've agreed to meet with her later in the day but first before I leave tomorrow I want to try one last time to give Marineland the chance to have their say but it seems they're making this as difficult as possible and after waiting waiting and waiting some more a lady I've been trying to contact for months has come to chat and somewhat surprisingly has agreed to an interview in the park tomorrow before we leave so that when weirdly well we've been told yes we can have an interview it's just weather it now they deliver on their promise I've got another number to call which I don't know why I didn't get given it beforehand and but we're going to cool them and hopefully tomorrow we'll have that interview sorted brilliant but after ringing the press office as suggest this that phone number doesn't exist convenient thankfully after a very long drawn-out process and a bit more digging around I've managed to speak to their press officer they told me that they'll call in the morning to confirm I have to say I'm not convinced all right so one of the first things that I wanted to do is just show you some of the teeth you can see especially on these how the tops are just worn off so they would normally be pointed like this right and so here the wear has got to be extreme where they've actually had to drill in to take out the pulp and so if she goes and smacks it on the concrete it's likely to just fracture but the interesting thing is if you see the these teeth like this that's relatively normal but I'm going to show you another Orca where you don't see any teeth at all well you have a lot of tree nuts yeah there's literally no teeth so no teeth in the back row and no teeth in the front row here so the big push in captivity now is that they're trying to challenge people like myself making statements about the Orcas teeth being worn in captivity and they're saying things like in the wild some ocker have got worn teeth and they are correct but again me distorting the message because in the wild that happens through prey handling or there's none of that going on right it's straight down the throat through the type of food feeding that they do so we believe it's possibly suction feeding sucking things in well again hello that's not happening the truth of the matter is that these animals in captivity their teeth wouldn't be like this in the wild this is the calf so if you look at this okay they look like a series of these those are from where the rake the teeth went in and then they the Orca moved away so they've left this V mark I mean look great marks happen in the wild but you don't see calves generally bitten like this and what's interesting is even while we were there this was happening so this was yesterday today I've got another photograph so you want to see these vemma yep so here we go here's the B I can see straight is the rate that little round one and here's new bite marks yeah look at that and you can see right there the fresh fish so this is what your ticket buys you I mean you were asking me before what what are the solutions out there so let's have a look at something one thing that I've been involved in is the concept of a cetacean sanctuary or sea pen and this is a very real Island okay what about well if I told you I'd have to kill you okay all right I mean it doesn't matter where the Islanders all right well I'd say to you that instead is could this be Europe this island anywhere so the idea here is that you can have multiple sea pens so that they're separated but if you wanted to you can open up a gate in between or you can remove this net here and the animals have got a bigger area and then also this is a corridor that we can move animals from one pen to the knee and the idea as well as that let's say that we've got an animal that's now transitioning into a rehabilitation process because it's got good potential for being released out into the wild so we want to distance it more and more away from the people perhaps it comes back at the end of a week and we reassess things or it might just be bye-bye dolphin so do you think that these C pendency sanctuaries could end up being led or driven by the current aquariums it would be fantastic if they did that I mean these are the guys who have the current knowledge on the medications for the animals on the food for the animals I'm sure we want to help them improve but they know those animals best Yeah right so we would like to see a full-on cooperation with them it's promising to hear that people like Ingrid a keen on cooperating with the likes of marine land but the next day hi how are you any news things aren't looking quite as cooperative for me the press officer called asking me to email more people at the park and only after doing everything they'd asked they've agreed to the interview on the condition that I show them after teach so far first and after doing so a very familiar face has appeared for our interview this is John Kershaw a sewer logical director of marine land he knows everything there is to know about the animals in this park and why for one Marineland have them in the first place one thing for shareholders they make money that's not making loans about or business where we are not financed by anybody from outside yeah so the care we give to our animals comes through the money that our visitors give us so we have to make those public perception is concerned yes it's changing the public are asking for more they're asking they don't want to come in and see dolphins dancing like they did back in the 70s when the rose in their mouths from the human right nobody wants to see that anymore mr. fuentemayor comment was also intrigued after why marine lad a ban on their trainers being in the water with the orchids there were two deaths in three months it was one in the States and one in the Canaries like in three months so something would happen here straightway after I don't know how I really explained that to a judge I was with Ingrid Visser yesterday here in marine land and one of her qualms was that one of them was that this sort of tank would never be sufficient for animals such as Wells and dolphins and it's not big enough and it's a concrete tank which results in things such as self-mutilation and things like stereo TV whether you know just a thing or they're just not doing anything how would you respond to that closed early so she's right right okay so she's totally right in the presence of totally incompetent training staff and bad care for the animals but just a case of every animal in captivity as far as I'm concerned very some of people are good for me that these sanctuaries keep and fair the way forward what would your response be for that this penny Jackson Tennessee is exactly the same thing it's exactly what we do here you'd still need to feed these guys because there's not enough fish going to come in to come into their their pens room to be able to support themselves the other problem with the c-pen is you're talking now about animals that were born in this environment that they've been in contact with probably with a lot of germs that the animals that we see have not been in contact with they've had antibiotics when they were sick is it a good idea just for the sake of poor animals they should be here we need to know all this stuff about these guys what about these lesions here yeah those are did well this is an old animal for start right okay those are those are scuff marks as a as a graze knees those are mucking about don't forget these guys have got no hands yes if they want to find what's going on they're going to do this with it they're going to push it around they're going to they're going to muck about with the bottom of the pan they're gonna they're going to take our gear they're going to pick up fish from the bottom if there's any there yeah they're going to get their toys from the bottom so obviously that's the first thing that's going to come into contact with anything so when they're kind of well looks like they're chewing on the concrete for example what's there anything behind that it's just investigation it's just messing about it's just something else to do but it's another reason it shows that these animals are permanently quitted inquisitive and permanently wanting to learn there was also on Ingrid research that she did there was a crease on the neck because they spend their life vertically right probably yeah yeah that'll agree that you'd agree with that yeah I've never thought of that to be honest yeah yeah why not upright is not a natural position okay I think oh so what happens down there yeah in the wild is very important to look at Annika cover I don't think you'd ever see a wild dolphin vertical yeah looking around like this yeah or if you did did something wrong with it so no no upright is not it's not the way they would be in but don't forget it their world is outside the pool but that's the final thing I want to ask you is everything is outside the pool I'm guessing for the purpose of the audience how come there aren't rocks and things them to interact with under the pool well it's their most I guess they do that more often so if you literally do in the wild and royal so it's not a case of it's harder to clean it's more money it's the native no other than they've lived animals now if we could leave if we can leave the environment full of algae was a load of rocks and sand at the bottom can you imagine how easy that with me wouldn't be paying divers restart see those guys over there yeah I work I'm surprised at how seemingly open John is being and more to the point he's not altogether dismissing and in some cases agreeing with certain things Ingrid has said I want to address some of the issues surrounding the author though and John has agreed to give us a closer look behind the scenes and one of the first things I want to address is the fact that the sea is surely a better environment for these animals it's better environment for an animal that's used to being in the sea yes but this is a better environment for animals were born in this environment and you're never going to convince them to the contrary so they would never in your eyes be able to adapt other why would they bother they're guys that constantly you have to brainwashing me you have to take away everything they know what moment just wouldn't be fair it wouldn't be releasing it would be kicking to the help some people say to have said to me including Ingrid that it's all motivated by food yeah that's what I used to think maybe she should come and work with us for a day and see how it works now when she was here last it probably was still in that era you know in the 80s but don't forget if your motivation is appetite based as the appetite goes down so does the motivation if it's no challenge they're going to go well yeah they are so and that's not interesting the Orcas seem reluctant to come to the back pull while we're filming and I can't help but wonder if it's due to the difference in pool size these calls are much smaller and it's not going to say smaller that they're not as good the main thing is that you have to have equal interaction in every single pool you can't have one pool that you use this for parking the animals they just get out of the way you go out the back there's no out the back there's no let's go and do this in another pool but don't forget there are social ties that you have to respect as well if you say to a mother you go there we're going to work with the baby and she goes no no no no no which you will this is your mother can you can't there's nothing you can do about that natural bonding is not something that you can pull apart which is why they say if we we separate mums and babies you try and that mother and baby arrive is Marineland mail-cart that i want to find out more about in your eyes then it's here potential breeding male even in the world community yes he is but not here I would not let his mum he is a potential giver of sperm yes and you do hear stories of inbreeding within captivity and what happens in the wild right at least one generation must do does in breeding happen as it happened here I'm sure it has done you so looking here this baby's got a raped mark when you get fighting animals the rate marks are all situated around the head area because they go head-on that's underneath that's that's plain puppy dogs whilst this may be the case I can't help but feel that if this Orca was being attacked surely it would try and move its head out of the way first and as a result the other orcas P would catch his body but if the comments that Ingrid made about the ad mayor Lukas key that I'd like to address with John next we noticed in the pictures that his teeth are quiet nor down they've known as they're worn down what's that a result of investigating things with his teeth right so that's not again you know where he's been gnawing and self-mutilate snot it's not Newt elation no II could be if you want to consider it negative you can consider it a sign of boredom if you want to but it's a if you want killer whales died in the wild of teeth problems uh-huh they have big tooth problems because don't forget these guys a crushing bone all day and they break teeth very often and they die of mm incredibly John was more or less just repeated word for word what Ingrid had earlier predicted he would say about the topic I'm intrigued to see what he also has to say about another issue to do with their teeth they're things like those drill marks oh no no we drill them and instead of filling them we choose just to keep them flushed because if we fill it with like that we're not going to be doing it in the conditions of the antiseptic conditions that would be that would be feasible in with land we can't do this sort of thing with the killer whale tooth so a killer whale tooth that is open once stays open and it's flush daily taking into account the world's decision to ban the breeding of altering 2016 I thought the likes of marine land would be pressured into following suit but judging by something I saw whilst at the park it seems that it may not be the case we saw last time we're here again there was there was achieved kind of been lined up and the author was on its back and what's this preparation for is it artificial information that wasn't there's a sequel something for the training for the for the artificial insemination we don't actually put things right but you have to go a long way in but you do do that regularly I can be done here right yeah she's she's trained for it she's trained for artificial insemination so are there any plans in the near future or planned at all to breed from her none at all we have nothing planned no so you don't intend this population of Walker that you've got here to grow in it I'd like you to but there's a there's a definite trend to slow down on this sort of thing and our stone comes from zero right so that's what SeaWorld donates this firm something yeah we're still we're still talking that we're still we're talking with them about why for a start they would do this if they show you in the back studying about by dinner I have established in the back there me SeaWorld see well they live as they want to believe in what they believe in but I'd really like to see the reasoning behind all of this to find out why it actually happened I know they got twenty-something whales so it's going to take years before they're wild population disappears we got four we're in a little bit of a different different situation to what they are do you think there's ever a future here where you may move away from the kind of the theatrics and the music and have it more of kind of an act what you're doing to me basically explaining them the methods behind that do you think there's ever a chance that that may be a direction that you guys would go I think we actual facility itself would have to be so spectacular so that there there is a reason for coming and seeing because there still has to be some sort of to attract visitors and let's be very honest that's what we're here for attracting visitors to attract visitors there would have to be a fantastic facility that would attract if there's not the show of the animals themselves to attract but I'm sure we're going to go towards a situation where all pools and their tunnels there will be different areas you can visit there'll be small coves there'll be water currents they'll be I'm sure we're going towards modern facilities being more and more natural I'm sure we're going to go that way I'm sure we're going to naturally move away from everything we're doing now simply because everybody's seen it and it will be and it would be crippling financially to continue doing the same thing when the public is asking for new things on a time permanently after four days at Marineland I'm leaving with real mixed emotions I have no doubt the staff who work with these incredible animals love them dearly but I also can't help but feel the people behind the scenes see these animals is nothing more than a way to fill their pocket and a to far removed to see that these animals regardless of weather itself in licked it or not a silently suffering in what can only be described as a modern-day Marine circus but the reassuring thing for me is I've realized that the prospect of organizations marine biologists and hopefully marine parks working together to create the best future for these animals isn't a million miles away and one day I'm sure you'll only be able to see these animals where they truly belong [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Music] you

Channel: Inside The Tanks

Views: 2,876,402

Rating: 4.8490891 out of 5

Keywords: whales, dolphins, killer whale, orca, captivity, debate, documentary, sea world, marineland, Inside The Tanks, #InsideTheTanks, Born Free Foundation, Marineland Antibes, Ingrid Visser, John Hargrove, Blackfish, The Cove, Seaside Sanctuary, Marine Mammal, Jonny Meah, Jonathan Meah, SeaWorld, Behind The Scenes, Educate, Conservation, Anti Captivity, Pro Captivity, Dr Ingrid Visser, Europe, Captivity documentary, full movie, captivity full movie, documentary 2017, documentary animals

Id: Hy9gt-f3I6Q

Length: 33min 59sec (2039 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 15 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

in depth interviews

I see what you did there