Serial Podcast "The Good Whale" Q+A With Dave Phillips
Q+A About "The Good Whale" Podcast
Dave Phillips, Executive Director, International Marine Mammal Project and Founder, Free Willy Keiko Foundation
Keiko was so young when he was captured. Was he really the right candidate for release?
Every single captive whale is the right candidate for release to either seaside sanctuaries or to the wild. At the International Marine Mammal Project, we are working to end the practice of holding whales in captivity worldwide, and we urge Serial’s audiences to join us in the effort. It was the audience who insisted on Keiko’s freedom in 1993. It can be the audience - YOU - who insists on freeing the whales in captivity today.
That said, I appreciate the empathy and concern in this question. People want to know, is sending a captive whale back into the wild somehow harmful? Are they being set up for failure? The answer is that, when done properly, putting whales on the path to freedom is always better for their wellbeing. Captivity is inhumane. Whales suffer and die in captivity. They are meant to live freely, in natural ocean water. I think on a gut level we as humans understand that.
Keiko was under two years old when he was captured. But the truth is virtually all captive whales are taken at that age. Aquariums and other for-profit entertainment companies find whales are easier to move and train when they are young. They take them from their mothers and force them into captivity, just as they did with Keiko. The only way to overcome this trauma is to liberate whales from the confines of their holding cells and help them adapt back to the ocean.
Would it have been better to leave Keiko in a protected whale sanctuary or sea pen?
As listeners of “The Good Whale” will learn, Keiko’s journey to freedom involved many steps. By the time we got to know Keiko and were invited by Warner Bros. to prepare a plan for his rescue and relocation, Keiko had already spent 14 years in a tiny concrete tank in Mexico City.
Our first step was to move Keiko to a state-of-the art rehabilitation facility at the Oregon Coast aquarium. Once he regained his health after years of confinement, we were able to send Keiko to a large sea pen in his native waters of Iceland. Another step allowed Keiko to roam across a netted-off bay, an expansion of his sanctuary. After that, Keiko had the chance to swim with wild whales in Icelandic waters. And, when he was ready, Keiko swam across the North Atlantic to Norway, where he lived out the rest of his days. At every turn, Keiko demonstrated to us – a team of veterinarians, biologists, and other animal welfare experts – that he was ready for the next step.
In theory, we could have stopped our efforts at any point along the way. Stopped after the rehab facility. Stopped after the pen. Stopped after the bay. To that, I always pose the question, would you stop in the middle of a rescue effort? Our operation took years. We wanted to be responsible, helping Keiko heal, learn, and adapt to his surroundings. But it was indeed a rescue operation.
We had the resources and the knowledge to be able to set Keiko truly free. And Keiko had the courage and resilience to journey home. Keiko’s story is an odyssey that changed global attitudes about keeping whales in captivity. And his legacy lives on.
Isn’t it worth keeping some whales in aquariums as a way to get more people excited about whales?
No. Captivity is cruelty. Keeping orcas in captivity is inhumane, plain and simple. The stress, the boredom, the cramped quarters, and the overwork tear down a whale’s immune system and shorten its life. After regaining his health, Keiko lived to be 27. But had he not been stripped from the ocean he would have lived to 35 or 50 or even longer. Meanwhile, during the years it took to rescue Keiko, 17 other orcas died in captivity, along with other whales and dolphins.
Don’t get me wrong; I understand the temptation. Whales evoke wonder. Seeing them up close is something special. For me, it was life changing. But we have to remember whales don’t exist for our entertainment. They aren’t meant to be captive amusements or token specimens. Whales are incredible, highly intelligent creatures who are meant to live free in natural sea water.
What are your thoughts about SeaWorld?
SeaWorld is the last remaining U.S. entity holding whales captive. There are 55 captive orcas in countries around the world, and SeaWorld has 18. Though they claim that captive whales thrive in their facilities, this is simply not true. We know that whales suffer and die prematurely. At least 53 orcas have died at SeaWorld, including eight who died during the time we were caring for Keiko. It’s time we had federal legislation to outlaw the cruel and unusual practice of holding orcas, belugas, and dolphins captive.
Who are Wikie and Keijo?
Wikie and her son Keijo are the last two orcas living in concrete tanks in France. Their fate currently hangs in the balance, and we are in a race against time to save them.
As a sign of Keiko’s ongoing impact, the French government passed a law ending the public display of whales and dolphins due to animal welfare concerns. As a result, Marineland Antibes, the private company that owns Wikie and Keijo, must relocate the two whales. It is up to the French Ministry to make the final decision to follow the official recommendation of the French Inspector General and send the whales to a new ocean-water whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia or allow the company to send them off to an aquarium in Japan where they will face separation, even smaller tanks, and a forced breeding program.
What You Can Do:
We are calling on listeners of “The Good Whale” to join the good fight and free Wikie and Keijo. We need as many people from the U.S., France, Canada, and around the world to pressure the French government to insist Wikie and Keijo be rescued and sent to the whale sanctuary. You can go HERE to sign the petition today.