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Tag: keiko

The Good Whale covers the real fight to free Willy

Posted on November 14, 2024 By Andrew Thaler
Popular Culture

Serial is out with a new podcast, and this time, it’s about whales. Return to the early 1990s, when scientists and conservationists fought to save Keiko, the Killer Whale made famous by the movie Free Willy, from his captivity in a small aquatic park. The first two episodes are up on Spotify.

Ethical Debate: Should we have freed Willy?

Posted on April 29, 2010 By David Shiffman 65 Comments on Ethical Debate: Should we have freed Willy?
Conservation, Science

Jean-Michel Cousteau with an orca. Photo credit: Carrie Vonderhaar, Ocean Futures Society

The  death of Sea World trainer Dawn Branchaeu revived an old debate over whether it is appropriate to keep orca whales in captivity. Many people are calling for all captive orcas to be set free, but I continue to support aquariums because of the roles they serve as educators and conservationists. Although several readers have pointed out that the sea world incident itself would make for a solid ethical debate, I am instead going to take you back more than 15 years to a movie that started this whole movement: Free Willy.

Read More “Ethical Debate: Should we have freed Willy?” »

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