Captivity is very stressful for orca

The Orca Research Trust policy is that orca should not be kept in captivity for entertainment or profit.  For those orca who are kept in captivity, an authentic and genuine seaside sanctuary is a solution that would allow them to live out the remainder of their lives in a natural ocean environment.  There are various sanctuaries being developed at the moment, some of which Dr Visser is an advisor.

We acknowledge that at times it may be appropriate to house orca temporarily if they are injured or require help, but this should only be done with the ultimate goal of return to the wild.  Springer the orca is a perfect example of how such a project can work – In 2002 she was held in a seapen and released after her recovery.  She has since successfully raised two calves and in 2021 was confirmed to be pregnant again.

Dr Ingrid Visser advocates for all orca who are held in captivity. She was part of the team, along with Jean-Michel Cousteau, that helped document the notorious Whale Jail in Russia.  The efforts of the team resulted in those orca being returned to the wild, instead of being shipped to entertainment theme parks in China.

The reports and testimonies of Dr Visser have been used in a number of court cases, legislative reviews and ongoing efforts to help captive orca.  As part of that work she is the co-founder of the Free Morgan Foundation.

She is also a member of the Jane Goodall Institute Cetacean Committee, which lists as part of its mission, the ethical treatment of these cetaceans and for which the Committee advocates against practices like whaling and captivity.  The committee collaborates with Dr. Jane Goodall and the Jane Goodall Institute to not only raise awareness and but to also influence policy changes related to cetacean conservation.  In 2025 Dr. Jane Goodall released a video about cetaceans in captivity, which she narrated, which features a number of clips from Dr Visser.

Research into, and raising the profiles of, the issues for captive orca is a vital part of the advocacy work that Dr Visser conducts as she has the perspective of what is ‘normal’, from her work with free-ranging, wild orca.  You can learn more about these projects in some of the documents below.

The scientific papers, conference posters, submissions and reports she has authored and co-authored have been used around the world to raise awareness of the issues that captive orca face.  Many of these are included on this page, but see also the Free Morgan Foundation for additional documents.