--- title: Former SeaWorld Orca Trainer Speaks Out Against Parks' Practices description: "Captivity is always captivity, no matter how gentle the jailer." canonical: https://time.com/3757778/former-seaworld-trainer-speaks-out/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-25T13:29:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:32.321Z og:title: Former SeaWorld Orca Trainer Speaks Out Against Parks' Practices og:description: "Captivity is always captivity, no matter how gentle the jailer." og:url: https://time.com/3757778/former-seaworld-trainer-speaks-out/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c59bc80a095042a/6987852506f2c19c5e33497e/rtr3htgh-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3500 og:image:height: 1969 og:image:alt: An Orca killer whale performs during a show at the animal theme park SeaWorld in San Diego on March 19, 2014. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Former SeaWorld Orca Trainer Speaks Out Against Parks' Practices twitter:description: "Captivity is always captivity, no matter how gentle the jailer." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c59bc80a095042a/6987852506f2c19c5e33497e/rtr3htgh-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Former SeaWorld Orca Trainer Speaks Out Against Parks' Practices > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=ffacad38-d6ce-46c9-b115-323b4d5b9999&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Inside the Canine Mind [Watch (HLS stream): Inside the Canine Mind](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/dTemQHb7.m3u8) (2:08)  _Published 2009-09-11. Professor Brian Hare at Duke University studies people's pet dogs to understand how canines think_ by [Kelli Bender / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Kelli Bender / People Contributor Mar 25, 2015 1:29 PM UTC  An Orca killer whale performs during a show at the animal theme park SeaWorld in San Diego on March 19, 2014. An Orca killer whale performs during a show at the animal theme park SeaWorld in San Diego on March 19, 2014. Mike Blake—Reuters by [Kelli Bender / People](https://time.com/author/people/) ## Kelli Bender / People Contributor Mar 25, 2015 1:29 PM UTC For years, animal activists have attacked SeaWorld for keeping orca whales in captivity, and now one of the park’s most talented trainers is joining the fight. John Hargrove performed with and trained killer whales for 14 years, mostly at SeaWorld, until he could no longer handle the conditions of the job. [In a radio interview with NPR’s _Fresh Air_](http://www.npr.org/2015/03/23/394730076/former-orca-trainer-for-seaworld-condemns-its-practices), Hargrove explains how he grew to love all the animals he worked with and couldn’t stand seeing the irreversible harm captivity caused them. “As I became higher-ranked, I saw the devastating effects of captivity on these whales and it just really became a moral and ethical issue,” Hargrove told _Fresh Air_‘s Dave Davies about working at SeaWorld. “When you first start to see it, you first try to say, ‘Okay, well, I love these animals; I’m going to take care of them.’ … You think, ‘I can change things.’ And then all these things, of course, never improve and then you start … seeing mothers separated from their calves; you start seeing trainers being killed, and then they blame \[the trainers\] for their own deaths.” Hargrove plans to reveal the sad realities of a captive whale’s life and how this unnatural situation can put trainers in harm’s way in his new book _Beneath the Surface_. In the tell-all, Hargrove says that being stuck in captivity can cause orcas to become understandably aggressive, which can lead to injuries and even death for the animals and the trainers who work with them. Hargrove explains it was SeaWorld’s lack of support and ignorance of the inherent dangers of his job that caused him to leave and urge others to stay away from the park. “SeaWorld refuses to change its business model,” Hargrove told [WKMG](http://www.clickorlando.com/news/former-seaworld-killerwhale-trainer-they-are-not-healthy-they-are-not-thriving/31976298). “They want to say, ‘No, no, these animals are healthy and they’re thriving.’ I can personally tell you from being there for 14 years, they are not healthy and they are not thriving.” _Beneath the Surface_ includes Hargrove’s firsthand accounts of being injured on the job, watching calves be separated from their mothers, and seeing the stressors SeaWorld’s whales have to endure. This is not the first time Hargrove has spoken out against his former employer. He was one of seven trainers who appeared in the documentary _Blackfish_ about trainer Dawn Brancheau’s death and SeaWorld’s allegedly inhumane practices. The trainer says he plans to continue sharing these experiences until SeaWorld acknowledges its wrongdoing and makes changes. “I finally came to the realization that if I had to live their lives, it would be hell,” Hargrove writes in his book. “Captivity is always captivity, no matter how gentle the jailer.” In response to Hargrove’s book, SeaWorld has released a statement claiming the former trainer is spreading incorrect information: “Despite the false claims from John Hargrove and other extreme animal rights activists like PETA, we provide the highest standards of care as noted by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and are highly regulated by the federal government. Anyone doing their research will find that not only does the book contain statements that are either purposefully misleading or demonstratively false, much of the content is contrary to Hargrove’s own previous statements.” SeaWorld has also launched a new ad campaign to shoot down the negative claims made in _Blackfish_ and by animal activist groups. [The spots feature the parks’ medical professionals](http://time.com/3755562/seaworld-ads-peta-blackfish-lies-killer-whales-orca/) defending the care and protection SeaWorld’s animals receive. _This_ [_article_](http://www.peoplepets.com/people/pets/article/0,,20910104,00.html) _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://www.people.com)_._ ## Transcript >> Henry. >> Henry. >> Henry. >> Henry. >> Okay. The mission of the Duke Canine Cognition Center-- >> One, two, three, go. >> is to understand dog Psychology in a way that people really haven't been looking at dogs until very recently. Dogs have shared an evolutionary history with us over the last 10, 000 or 15, 000 years at least. They solve problems more like we do, in many cases, more like we do than our closest relatives, Chimpanzees and Bonobos. We wanna study people's pets because there's no dog on the planet that's more sophisticated than a dog that has to manipulate or understand what its owner wishes, and what its owner is trying to get it to do. >> Henry. >> One of the games that we are presenting is a very simple game to try to understand how dogs understand our gestural communication. >> Here we go. Good job, Henry. >> The question is how do dogs understand that information and how do they use it? We wanna understand what, is the effect of domestication on dog psychology. >> We'll let them meet and then we could know, and then maybe he'll calm down. >> Hello. This is Bruno. >> Why is it that some breeds solve problems differently than others? >> Where is it? I don't have it. >> Since he's doing so good we're just gonna use his gaze or which cup he's standing closest to as his choice. >> The goal of all the research is really to understand what is it about our species that is so unique or different? >> Bruno! [ unk ] or dad? Boy, this is crazy business you're making me do. He's like, why don't you just give me the food? Bruno! Okay bye, Bruno. >> Bye, Bruno! >> Bye! Thanks for coming! Here you go-- one more for the road, Bruno, one more for the road. There you go big guy. 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