Controversial movie 'Blackfish' has central Washington ties
Controversial movie 'Blackfish' has central Washington ties
»Play Video  YAKIMA, Wash. -- A new documentary stirring a
national controversy has ties to Central Washington. The film
Blackfish looks at killer whales in captivity. A local doctor
was a trainer at SeaWorld in Florida and is featured on screen.
For eight years, Doctor Jeffrey Ventre spent his time as a
trainer. He had two different stints working with killer whales
at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida.  "I was like a rookie bucket
scrubber," Dr. Ventre said. "Basically, a guy that put on the
microphone and did the lines of the show. But, then when I went
back the second time I was one of the primary show people."  He
tells KIMA being a primary killer whale trainer opened his eyes
to a side of the business he didn't want to be a part of. He
believes the captivity makes whales violent.  "I realized that
it probably wasn't a good idea for the killer whales so I ended
up going back to school," Ve