SeaWorld has always been treating their animals poorly, recently it has improved, but it is still nowhere even close to where it needs to be. SeaWorld was able to originally get away with this poor treatment, but until recently when the BlackFish documentary was released details and “the truth” about how their animals are actually treated were released. Ever since then, more sources have come out and are now also exposing the truth about how these animals are being treated, which completely contradicts how SeaWorld has been telling how they treat the animals.
This article discusses the problems that lie inside Seaworld, that many people are not very aware of. More specifically the article talks about the animal’s habitats and how confined and cruel they are, it also touches on the treatment of these poor animals and their horrible lives that mainly consist of performing the same show, hour after hour, everyday. The source, PETA’s campaign is the largest, non-profit, animal rights organization. They have more than five million supporters and post articles regarding certain issues dealing with animal’s rights.
According to PETA, “often housed in lonely isolation or with incompatible tankmates, dolphins, whales, and other animals at SeaWorld are regularly drugged to manage stress-induced aggressive behavior and relieve the endless monotony of swimming in circles. They break their teeth chewing on the metal bars and concrete sides of their tanks, and they’re forced to perform tricks for tourists in exchange for food—all in the name of “entertainment” (PETA 1). This really comes to show how these animals have no rights, and are truly being forced to act in certain ways and do basically anything the company wants or needs. But, the long lasting effect, or perhaps not so long lasting for animals in captivity, is the effect that these horrible treatments do to the animal’s life span. Statistics have come to show that, “these captive animals do not live as long as their wild cousins. While wild male orcas live an average of 30 years and up to 60 years and females an average of 50 years and up to more than 100, 38 orcas have died on SeaWorld’s watch at an average age of only 13. Not one has reached the maximum lifespan of an orca in nature. More than 100 other dolphins have also died, alongside countless other animals” (PETA 2). This is really shocking for many people, because zoos and amusement parks give off this image of being so helpful and conserving species, when in reality they are doing everything but that. They make loads of advertisements promoting things that are not such, because in the end, “Seaworld touts its conservation efforts in advertisements, it spends only about 3% of its profits on conservation. It’s a business first and foremost, and it chooses profit over the best interests of marine mammals” (PETA2). Overall, this source really relates to my topic because it covers dozens of different issues with the animal’s lives, my topic being about the effects being in captivity does to animals, this source is very helpful in providing those specific details and explanations of the animals lives in captivity, specifically those at Seaworld.
Future Research Question: How did the movie Blackfish affect the public's opinion of Sea World? How did it affect profits & attendance?
This article discusses the problems that lie inside Seaworld, that many people are not very aware of. More specifically the article talks about the animal’s habitats and how confined and cruel they are, it also touches on the treatment of these poor animals and their horrible lives that mainly consist of performing the same show, hour after hour, everyday. The source, PETA’s campaign is the largest, non-profit, animal rights organization. They have more than five million supporters and post articles regarding certain issues dealing with animal’s rights.
According to PETA, “often housed in lonely isolation or with incompatible tankmates, dolphins, whales, and other animals at SeaWorld are regularly drugged to manage stress-induced aggressive behavior and relieve the endless monotony of swimming in circles. They break their teeth chewing on the metal bars and concrete sides of their tanks, and they’re forced to perform tricks for tourists in exchange for food—all in the name of “entertainment” (PETA 1). This really comes to show how these animals have no rights, and are truly being forced to act in certain ways and do basically anything the company wants or needs. But, the long lasting effect, or perhaps not so long lasting for animals in captivity, is the effect that these horrible treatments do to the animal’s life span. Statistics have come to show that, “these captive animals do not live as long as their wild cousins. While wild male orcas live an average of 30 years and up to 60 years and females an average of 50 years and up to more than 100, 38 orcas have died on SeaWorld’s watch at an average age of only 13. Not one has reached the maximum lifespan of an orca in nature. More than 100 other dolphins have also died, alongside countless other animals” (PETA 2). This is really shocking for many people, because zoos and amusement parks give off this image of being so helpful and conserving species, when in reality they are doing everything but that. They make loads of advertisements promoting things that are not such, because in the end, “Seaworld touts its conservation efforts in advertisements, it spends only about 3% of its profits on conservation. It’s a business first and foremost, and it chooses profit over the best interests of marine mammals” (PETA2). Overall, this source really relates to my topic because it covers dozens of different issues with the animal’s lives, my topic being about the effects being in captivity does to animals, this source is very helpful in providing those specific details and explanations of the animals lives in captivity, specifically those at Seaworld.
Future Research Question: How did the movie Blackfish affect the public's opinion of Sea World? How did it affect profits & attendance?
