Joyce Tischler, of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, described keeping a six-ton orca in Sea World’s tanks as akin to keeping a human in a bathtub for his entire life. David Phillips, director of the International Marine Mammal Project for the Earth Island Institute, which led the efforts to rehabilitate the orca Keiko – made famous by the movie Free Willy – said “Orcas deserve a better fate than living in cramped pools.”
而且，对逆戟鲸来说，游乐园用来圈养的那种水泥池给它们造成了一种极端的幽闭感。因为对于这种习惯在广阔无垠的海洋里成群结队地长途迁徙的动物来说，再大的池子也是无法满足需要的。在动物合法权益保护基金会工作的乔伊斯·提斯勒（ Joyce Tischler ）指出，把一条 6 吨重的逆戟鲸囚禁在海洋世界游乐园的水池子无异于把一个人困在浴盆里一辈子。而地球岛屿研究所（即致力于使那条因电影《人鱼的童话》而出名的叫做 Keiko 的逆戟鲸重新恢复正常生活的机构）的国际海洋哺乳动物研究项目的主管大卫·菲利普斯（ David Phillips ）则指出“逆戟鲸应该生活在更好的环境里，而不应该在狭窄的池子中。”