In the wake of yesterday’s tragic death of trainer Dawn Brancheau at Sea World in Orlando, there will be a great deal of angst and hand-wringing.  Brancheau, 40, drowned after she was dragged underwater by one of the orcas she was responsible for handling, and there are already emotional calls for change.

Whenever a human is killed or injured by a captive animal, there is an outcry against the practice of keeping wild animals in captivity.  We saw it when a tiger escaped at the San Francisco Zoo, we saw it when Roy Horn was attacked by one of his white tigers, and we will see it again in the wake of this incident.  Once the emotion of the moment is allowed to fade, it makes sense to have a reasonable discussion on the future.

I have fond memories of my interactions with trained whales as I grew up.  Marineland of the Pacific, once located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, was the home to orcas Corky and Orky, as well as a trained pilot whale named Bubbles.  All three served as “animal ambassadors,” introducing the wonders of the ocean and its creatures to countless people who might never otherwise have a chance to interact with it.  My own love of the sea is rooted in trips to Marineland and Sea World in San Diego.

But much as I enjoyed the shows, I was aware of the challenges and controversies.  In 1987, Marineland closed and the whales moved south to Sea World, where Orky died a year later and stirred a discussion much like the one that will ensue now.  Killer whales have a very long life span, and forcing them to spend it in what is in effect a large fishbowl is seen by many as cruel.

To me, there are really two issues.  As with any animal that would normally roam over a great area, killer whales face a very different life in captivity as they would in the wild.  Much like elephants and other large animals, it is difficult to replicate the orca’s natural environment.  They seem to do quite well in captivity – the orca involved in yesterday’s incident has lived in tanks for nearly 20 years – but there’s no way to replicate the social interaction that would normally occur in a wild pod.  At the same time, the captive orcas continue to serve in an educational role, and I have no doubt that wild orcas benefit from the protections given them by a society that was introduced to the species by their captive brethren, and their sacrifice on behalf of their species may be justified.

The real issue to me is the idea of continuing to train and perform with the orcas.  While entertaining, it is a throwback to a less-enlightened time, when elephants and bears were chained to a pole and made to dance.  The trainers are skilled and the orcas intelligent, and for many years the two have worked together to entertain many people.  But it is the interaction between the trainer – an inherently unnatural pairing – that led to this tragedy.

It is worth noting tht simply releasing the orcas back into the wild “Free Willy”-style is not practical.  While the money provided by filmmakers and others allowed researchers to determine and locate the pod from which Keiko, the film’s star, was originally taken – facilitating the successful release – most captive whales could never be so happily reunited with the familial pod.  Simply releasing them in the wild alone would be no better than what they face today.

I believe the best path forward is a compromise.  End the trained whale shows and minimize the interaction between humans and orcas, allowing the whales to swim as freely as they can within their confines and make their own choices as to what they want to do.  At the same time, convert the current pens (as much as practical) into viewing opportunities for the public to continue to enjoy – and learn from – the captive orcas.  If pens can be developed that better meet the needs of the orcas, the display practice can continue – if not, it dies out with the eventual death of the orcas.

This solution won’t please the park operators, and it certainly won’t please PETA, but it is the only solution that guarantees the long-term health of the orcas while allowing them to continue to educate the public.  It is a legacy worthy of someone who dedicated her life to the species.