If you’ve been caught up on recent news, you’ll know that in July of 2015, a well-known and equally adored lion living in the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, Cecil, was shot dead with a rifle by an American dentist hailing from Minnesota, Walter Palmer. It is no doubt that the beautiful and intelligent animal was the victim of a trophy hunt, meaning that the lion was killed for the sole purpose of earning bragging rights. There is the matter of whether the hunt was legal or not, but that falls short compared to the moral standing of the hunt. People from all over the world were outraged by the indecency of this man to take the lion’s life. It seems to be so selfish to end a beautiful creature’s life early for the entertainment of a human. Therein lies the issue of SeaWorld.
With the production of the documentary "Blackfish," SeaWorld has been earning a lot of negative attention recently. It’s proved that their killer whales and other animals are in poor standing health-wise, which has led them to experience a depression so severe that whale trainers have died from attacks by restless whales. SeaWorld’s popularity has decreased, their stocks have plummeted, and more and more people are recognizing that SeaWorld can be nothing but a negative living environment for these beautiful and intelligent creatures.
So, let’s look at some facts. The first SeaWorld park was opened in San Diego in 1964, and the company has since expanded to locations in Orlando, San Antonio, and a location expected to open in the Middle East sometime in the future. SeaWorld prides itself in the way they “care for their orca whales” and rehabilitate injured animals. This sounds wonderful to your average human. What could be better than multiple locations that help care for creatures so beautiful, and then later use these creatures for our own selfish gain?
The truth is that no one can justify forcing a wild animal to live in an area with dimensions that are so much smaller than what they’re meant to live in. SeaWorld can have the best veterinary care, be the most popular amusement park, and rehabilitate thousands of living creatures, but all in all, whales are meant to live in the ocean, not in glass tanks.
The production and gaining popularity of "Blackfish" has informed people all over the world of the facts that SeaWorld doesn’t reveal on their own. Their orca whales have dorsal fins that are flopped over, which does not typically occur in nature. Orca whales are also known to be incredibly social animals, much more social than humans, and they live in families that can reach up to 30 whales for their entire lives. More people are getting informed, and SeaWorld is growing afraid. Their new marketing campaign SeaWorld Cares features a television commercial displaying how much they care for their animals, and an entire website separate from the standard SeaWorld website laden with points they have made against the facts presented in "Blackfish," all for their own selfish gain. They play off our natural human desire to want to avoid placing the blame on ourselves. If you’ve ever been to SeaWorld, you’re likely to be embarrassed of giving your money to this company. They try to justify the fact that they hold whales in captivity so you will feel more stable about your decisions.
So what does SeaWorld have to do with Cecil the lion? Cecil the lion was killed brutally by a man for entertainment and selfish pleasure. So many people were so deeply angered by the death of this lion that Walter Palmer received multiple threats against his life. SeaWorld promotes death of intelligent, beautiful creatures for entertainment and selfish pleasure. SeaWorld is just better at hiding the death of their whales with marketing ploys. Stop giving SeaWorld money, and get informed about the truth of SeaWorld.
