Sea World may be doing more harm than good for the animals in captivity. When you think of Sea World, you probably think families, laughter, excitement, and entertainment. But what about what the whales think? Fear, anger, confusion, and confinement: these are emotions I can only imagine the animals in captivity go through.
There was a time when I innocently thought of the whales as happy creatures, willingly performing for the paying audiences of Sea World. However, upon reading articles and seeing documentaries on the subject of the treatment of animals in captivity, I was enlightened to the fact that we are more often than not hurting the animals rather than helping them.
Killer Whales, in nature, choose the pack they follow, though in captivity, they have no choice but to interact with whales they, quite frankly, might not even like. This stirs aggression between the whales, which could lead to dangerous encounters between the trainers and the animals.
Recently, PETA filed a federal complaint against Sea World for, “failing to keep incompatible whales apart.”
This complaint was stirred by an incident on Sept. 20th where Nakai, a killer whale at the park, lost a “dinner plate sized chunk,” (as described by PETA) out of her chin, from what was believed to be another whale within the same holding tank.
Although Sea World has fired back, stating that the whales in captivity get along extremely well, whether or not we are being told the truth remains unclear until further investigations have been conducted.
So, before you spend your money on a show that supports the exploitation of animals that have been removed from their natural habitat, think about all the fun you may have at the cost of an animal’s life.