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Free the whales!

January 12, 2019

In the Spanish holiday resort Tenerife, orcas, so-called killer whales, are trained to perform in shows. Mercedes Hernandez is fighting to stop these shows. Her son, an orca trainer, was killed during a show.

https://p.dw.com/p/3BRpo

Orca shows are a big tourist attraction in the Loro Parque theme park on the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife. But animal rights campaigners argue that keeping these killer whales cooped up in small pools is cruel. Mercedes Hernandez would also like to see an end to orca shows. Her son was an orca trainer and was killed by one of them. She dealt with her grief by becoming an expert on orcas, and she believes the attack on her son occurred not because the whale was inherently aggressive but because it was kept in captivity. Loro Parque’s operators reject her theory. A report by Michael Altenhenne.