I could actually sympathize with this woman and see her side of the story until she started saying that the breeding program was proof of SeaWorld success. She is well aware that they were artificially inseminating these animals and they did not breed because they chose too. As a trainer she would have taken part in that.

They did lobotomies on the animals, early on? WOW.

Backpack has always been shitbag mfs, scamming mfs. Every time for years

You are forcing an animal to pretend to have a connection with you by starving them if they didn't play with you, you idiot.

The only one I feel much sympathy for here is the whale. These trainers are soaking up the glory of being viewed as "Gods" or whale whisperers. I saw Dawn smiling from ear to ear, and getting a thrill out of entertaining the crowd. My question is, is the whale as happy as Dawn is? Does he understand the attention and glory like Dawn does?? I dont care how much this guy claims or any trainer claims they know about these whales. The fact is that thwy cannot read the whales mind and tell exactly how happy, sad or frustrated they may actually be every minute of their lives. At the end of the day, trainers get to go where ever they want and do whatever they want that humans do. The whales do NOT. It sounds like Dawn was a wonderful person, but that doesnt change the fact that trainers dont know as much as they think about animals and they are supseptable to get caught up in all the attention & glory at the expense of these whales. Dawn knew the risks and clearly underestimated the danger. I dont think we have to keep whales in tanks and make them do tricks & shows 4 times per day for their entire lives to learn feom them.

If u go back and watch black fish as it begins they employee was told specifically that tilikum was one of them whales upu do t go in the water with and the fact that dawn wasn't warned or wasnt told about it should be a lawsuit off the rip

The whale tilli knew exactly what he was doing

I think it's a bit weird that this guy claims the whale just "didn't understand what he was doing" Meanwhile you can find a long list of whales attacking on trainers and showing very agressive behaviours

What does the ponytail have to do with anything, even if it's true? It's weird.

I think He thought her ponytail was a toy...... He didn't mean to hurt her , even if that is in their instincts. They shouldn't be captured!!!!!

Tilikum was not a killer. We were! The real history of Tilikum from Lorna Park and constantly attacked by female whales, kept in a tied sleeping box. Who is he kidding! He works for the company. Everybody who goes there should be ashamed of themselves.

This trainer is right about these whales being intoned. I recall bringing my daughter to Sea World when she was about 3 years old which was 1999. We were at the underwater viewing area where you could watch the whales swimming. My daughter had a dolphin puppet in her hand and was standing in front of the viewing window where we could see a mother whale swimming with a baby whale next to her. But the mother whale saw my daughter and swam straight on at my daughter, looking directly at her there with the puppet. Then the mother continued by swimming with her calf. But she did a few more passes just like the first. Something about my daughter caught her eye and caused her to interact intelligently with her. My daughter was so excited by that, and I was too. This huge creature was directly in front of us on the other side of the plexiglass.

Thad Lacinak is a psychopath.

First of all you are all being lied to I did my research of this whale he had already killed 2 people one was a trainer and the other a homeless man that snuck into his pool. Please look that up.He should have been released or put down,but he was worth a fortune to them she wasn't it's that simple

Old man mentioned that before Sea World no one gave a crap about these staggering creatures, well how does making these whaled perform tricks, jump in tiny pools, help develop our knowledge, they can simply put picture regarding there natural abilities, behaviors and so on. Ill tell you why, because those tricks is what attracts the audience, those tricks increase revenue. therefore, the only justifiable reason onto why these creatures are held captive is simply for the money, whereas they presume that its to simply educate us on there lives. Pretty sure that most of SeaWorld’s visitors today are young children, and your supposed to tell me that they are capable to understand all these statements and details about those creatures?? When a kid sees a whale perform, he goes on to think that, thats what a whale is supposed to be doing, and that its perfectly normal for them to act / react in certain ways, the way they do in captivity. This cannot be any further from the truth. Behavior in captivity is not natural in any way, (free these whales in sea side sanctuaries, and let them enjoy a part of there life, and try redeeming yourself for all the disgusting things, and misery you’ve done to them!!) FREE CAPTIVE WHALES ( FCW )

i cant believe we still have to this day, peoples partly defending Sea World’s actions

Keeping such magnificent animals in captivity is profoundly selfish. In their natural habitats, these creatures roam over 100 miles a day, thrive in large social groups known as pods, and exhibit complex social behaviors. However, when confined to inadequate tanks, they lose their social interactions, display unnatural behaviors, and are deprived of the chance for genuine happiness. Instead of engaging in their natural activities, they endure a monotonous existence, often having to perform tasks just to access food. While there may be a bond with trainers, true compassion would prompt these trainers to seek the best outcomes for these animals by advocating for their release-noting that it isn’t as straightforward in practice, but if there’s any sincerity in their concern, it's achievable. Aquariums and marine parks should be closed down immediately for the well-being of these animals. No reasonable person can argue that keeping them in such conditions serves their best interests or provides genuine educational value. These wild creatures deserve far better than the miserable environments of these dismal facilities. How can any rational person accept the treatment of these magnificent animals? Constantly bored, stressed, and overwhelmed, orcas in captivity often swim in pools that average merely 3,000,000 liters-extremely insufficient for their needs. Most of their time is spent in a stationary position, starkly contrasting their natural behavior of exploring vast territories. There is nothing stimulating in these tanks; they are perpetually suffering and frequently subjected to unnecessary antibiotics while living in distressing conditions. Even if we assumed that orcas genuinely enjoy their training sessions, this doesn't alter the stark reality. If they truly found joy in practicing their skills, they would likely engage in training outside the confines of their designated hours. Real enjoyment would mean they would continue to explore and practice without needing a reward. It is high time we advocate for the freedom of orcas and all other animals held captive. These beings are exploited for entertainment and profit. Every time you choose to support these organizations by attending shows or visiting theme parks, you are inadvertently contributing to their proliferation. Your attendance reinforces the unethical practice of keeping these animals confined. While you clap and cheer, reveling in your entertainment, these creatures have no choice but to perform. Reflect on their reality-it's akin to living in a prison with concrete walls, an existence they not only imagine but know all too well.

Set all Orcas free and close these places down !!! Stop the madness!!!!

They are trying to justify what the orca did.

While I don’t agree that orca captivity should continue going forward, I respect the hell out of the trainers. Their work is a miracle and you can see they genuinely love the animals and tried to give them the best care possible

He’s obviously been treated well in his other life, before he met you

I love him

Sad all around animal kidnapped from its fanily and her being killed taken away from hers.And all for entertainment

Omg I literally cannot stand the IGNORANCE here. You both are completely uneducated about animals and their well being

She's been brainwashed my SeaWorld 😢 yes you want to make the animals lives better, but what would be BEST for them is freedom.

I'm sorry but this wasn't an accident, it was an attack.

Great Interview! Thad is the man! For you'll saying that he is lying well you gotta look at the whole picture. If you see in the tourist video, you can clearly see that she's reinforcing him and btw food isn't the only reinforcement, and you can see other buckets that she has with him. So why would he attack her if he was being reinforced? See what i am saying?

Matthew 7:1-5 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ³ "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Animals the size of killer whales should not be kept in small tanks relative to their size, it's cruel....For human entertainment, it's even worse.

Do this guy is sticking with the cover story. Unfortunate. She was not grabbed by her ponytail. He was not playing with her. He killed her on purpose.

The wild is better than a tiny pool!

Sorry. This is damage control for Sea World. A friend of mine was a trainer in San Diego. There were killer whales they wouldn't work with or put in the shows on certain days because their behavior was aggressive. They were scared of them. They should not be in captivity. There was an area where the public couldn't go and there were dolphins alone in small sea pens. A pilot whale spinning around in a small space. Trainers got injured. Dolphins got caught in gates and were injured. And they all had to sign off and keep their mouths shut.

Swam with dolphins at the dolphin research center it was awesome and guess what a dolphin could kill you just an easily as an orca. Every heard of what dolphins do to sharks???

Comparing a cat and dog to an apex predator lowered his IQ drastically

What a joke this guy is. Someone ought to make him live in a tiny home and be on display all day if he wants to get fed. Never let him see his family either. Thats whats being done to the animals. I wonder how much Sea World is paying him to shill for them? The host sides with whoever his guest is. No credibilty at all.

this man cant be serious, there's no way he believes SeaWorld is doing good. they capture whales from their families , separate them from their children when they give birth, cause whales to commit suicide. Out in the wild, female orcas live to 70-80 years old, and males live to around 50-60. In captivity at SeaWorld, no orca has ever died from old age. They've all been related to being in captivity. They also lie about them being rescued, and when they were out capturing the whales if some of them died in the process they'd fill them with rocks and sink them atleast for a bit so they could get outta there so no one knew what happened, which is very cruel. And killer whales wouldnt just kill people in the wild unless they feel threatened. Its no surprise this happened in captivity. im on the whales side.

It's disgusting the way they put blame on Dawn

He asked where she was when this accident occured. Why did she go on about being a new mom. That is legitimately completely irrelevant and did not answer the very direct question he asked. "Where were you when this accident occured?" "Funny story, so I started a new hobby and I was on a weight loss journey, I also enjoyed some bowling and lounging" I mean what???? And then she goes into the last thing she said to her? It was a VERY direct question. WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE INCIDENT HAPPENED. ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PARK???? PLAYING WITH THE SEALS?? WHAT?!

If any of these trainers really loved the animals and wanted to enrich their lives, they would have done that, not set up a water circus for them to perform. As for them saying the wild is hard for the animals……how many times did she stress they are apex predators for a reason?

Terrible tragedy for the woman who died and for the captive orca. I hope what the interviewee says is true, that she was already dead from drowning before the horrific injuries were inflicted.

this must be the most annoying interviewer/ host of all times. Always interrupting and talking over her. Besides, they both have horrible opinions, the animals belong in the sea, everything else, esp these tanks, is torture for them.

$$$STOP EN$$$SLAVING ANIMALS PEEEEERIOOOOOOOD!!! YOU DEMONS$$$$! YOU ARE THE TRAGEDY!!!

Seaworld was deceiving their trainers and the audience just being interested in profit. Wild animals derserve to live in the wild. I live in Canada and still there are people who think wild animals are friends and start feeding them and then they get killed. Wild animals need to be left alone and admired from the distance. People need to respect nature.

Keeping a Killer Whale in a fishbowl, when they are meant to travel thousands of miles in open seas is really cruel to the animal. They probably go a bit crazy from time to time. They should just be left out in the ocean. Seeing videos of them would be good enough for most people.

Humans are better off in prison because they don’t have to go to work to be fed three times a day and provided with medical care too. I can’t with this woman. Willfull ignorance and delusion. Ahhh I’m screaming

We don’t do waterworks with Tilikum, “for various reasons”. Those reasons being that he killed a person. Why won’t she say it? It’s not a secret. And why is she defending captivity?!?! Ffs they don’t live good lives. And the breeding program?! They will breed if they’re made to! And she calls ppl naive?! Shame on them. What would Dawny think?

Theyy aren't human though

Im sorry but she’s gross, so cringe!

We learned a lot about the negative effects of captivity on orcas, thanks to Seaworld. You can't say you believe in God then turn and say the habitat that God created for them is less than ideal. Apex predators do not belong in captivity.

I hope the family sued sea world. The whale probably did this because he was stolen from his family and basically had to become a slave to humanity.