SeaWorld killer Tillikum performs in public again

TILLIKUM, the captive killer whale who drowned his trainer at Orlando's SeaWorld last year and has been implicated in two other deaths, is to return to performance duty today.

Since the attack, SeaWorld trainers have not been allowed in the water with any killer whales, but the shows go on and it appears that taking part in them is a form of rehabilitation for Tillikum.

In a statement, a spokesman for the marine park said: "Participating in shows is just a portion of Tillikum's day, but we feel it is an important component of his physical, social and mental enrichment."

The five-and-a-half tonne orca was withdrawn from SeaWorld shows last February after he dragged 40-year-old trainer Dawn Brancheau, who was sitting on the poolside, into the water before shaking her violently. Brancheau drowned in the attack. A post-mortem found her spinal cord had been broken and her arm severed.

As First Post columnist Alexander Cockburn pointed out at the time, Brancheau was not the first person to be killed by Tillikum. In 1991, the killer whale was one of three who killed a female trainer at Sealand in Victoria, Canada. The woman fell into the water and was tossed around by the killer whales, eventually drowning. Then one morning in 1999, a homeless man was found floating, dead, in Tillikum's tank at SeaWorld.

The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined SeaWorld $75,000 for safety violations after Brancheau's death, although the company is challenging the citation.

Trainers are no longer allowed anywhere near Tillikum - even massages are carried out with a high pressure hose - and guard rails have been installed around pools to stop trainers being pulled in.

However, SeaWorld's decision to bring Tillikum back into the public eye has attracted the criticism of a former dolphin trainer, who told the Orlando Sentinel: "If you had a friend who had a dog that had mauled three people, would you go play with that dog? These people only care about the show. They never learn."

SeaWorld has not yet said that it will allow its trainers to start performing with killer whales in shows, but the company does seem to be heading in that direction. Among the safety improvements the company is planning is a fast-rising platform on the bottom of pools. This contraption would remove whales and trainers from the water within a minute, although whether this would have been sufficient to save Dawn Brancheau is open to debate. ·