(Reuters)
SeaWorld doctor says close human contact good for killer whales
By Barbara Liston
SANFORD, Fla | Fri Nov 18, 2011 3:33pm EST
(Reuters) - A SeaWorld veterinarian testified on Friday that the company's hands-off policy with killer whales following a trainer's death in 2010 might have contributed to the death later that year of 25-year-old killer whale Kalina.
Kalina died at the SeaWorld Orlando park in October 2010 after a sudden illness, park officials reported at the time.
Dr. Chris Dold said trainers who previously had close physical contact with Kalina had often recognized when something was wrong with her on prior occasions even before lab tests revealed an inflammation.
"I don't know that it (close physical contact) would have saved her life, but it would have warned us," Dold said.
Dold was testifying during a hearing over SeaWorld's challenge of federal safety charges filed as a result of trainer Dawn Brancheau's death. Brancheau, described as one of the Orlando park's top trainers, was drowned after being dragged by her ponytail into a pool by Tilikum, a 12,000-pound bull orca.
The most serious charge filed by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is classified as a "willful violation," meaning SeaWorld showed "plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health."
SeaWorld faces a $75,000 fine and might be forced to end physical interaction between trainers and killer whales, which traditionally has been the highlight of shows at Shamu Stadium, a company lawyer has said.
Immediately after Brancheau's death, SeaWorld stopped allowing trainers to enter pools with killer whales. But the company argues that behavioral training for the whales enabled park staff to better care for the animals.
Government lawyer John Black noted that the hands-off policy was SeaWorld's decision, not OSHA's.
Dold said the whales cooperate freely with veterinarians because of the training the animals have received, allowing medical procedures to be performed stress-free.
"That is a remarkable thing," Dold said. "It is good for the animals' health. It is good for safety."
Dold testified that the whales continued to enjoy good quality medical care despite the contact restrictions adopted after Brancheau's death.
SeaWorld called as its expert witness Jeffrey Andrews, a former killer whale trainer for SeaWorld who is now associate curator of mammals at the San Diego Zoo.
Andrews said safety was paramount at SeaWorld parks, and that other parks typically follow the company's example.
"They set the bar for the industry," Andrews said.
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