Seaworld: Slavery, Salvation or So What?

     When one thinks of Sea World, they may imagine an exciting entertainment environment including sea life, shows, rides and wild animal interaction.  There are a variety of feelings that are associated with theme parks such as Sea World, pertaining to its practices of holding wild animals in captivity. Some in support of Sea World's practices may argue that education, conservation and research are critical goals that take priority.  Others opposed to the idea of wild animals in captivity feel many of these animals are taken violently from their families in the wild, are not offered stimulation, are used for consumer amusement, and are not treated as well as they should be.  Then there is a third group, one that has no clear position on the issue of holding animals like whales and dolphins in captivity.  Many of these undecided individuals see the animals rights issue not entirely relevant to their lives, and would not be swayed to stop attending or supporting theme parks like Sea World.
     Some viewpoints may seem a little harsh or drastic, such as PETA, or People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals.  In the Los Angeles Times section, L.A. Now, the article, "Animal rights group's suit to allege Sea World keeping orcas in slavery," describes a suit against Sea World claiming that the whales' 13th amendment rights are being violated.  PETA states the 13th amendment does not clarify if animals are excluded.  While the suit calls for the release of whales currently being held in captivity, and that I feel Sea World should no longer keep large, wild animals in tight quarters with no stimulation, I do feel that referring to orcas as slaves may be seen as offensive and over-the-top, limiting understanding among civilians.  This may diminish support for the activists' fight, invalidating their efforts.  Great heart, wrong way to go.
     Jason Garcia with the Orlando Sentinel wrote about the SeaWorld Orlando captivity polls.  He describes how a study was done asking people how they felt about whales and dolphins in captivity.  This study led to findings of people with strong views opposed to captive animals, strong views supporting captive animals, and a group of people that had no strong opinion at all.  It was a good effort to obtain information from citizens to get a better idea of this animal rights issue.  A positive about it is that regardless of how people answered, at least the study shed light on the topic gaining newspaper coverage and striking up new conversation about wild animals in captivity.
     Regardless of where one stands on the issue of wild animals in captivity, it is important to see the situation from an animal's point of view.  Hopefully one can ask themself, "what is the best case scenario for this animal?"  With compromise, community awareness, education, and humane animal treatment as a necessity, theme parks such as Sea World can be depicted as a place for entertainment, and a place that supports humane standards and respect to animals and wildlife, and not see them as money makers.

Resources:
"Animal groups, marine parks release competing captivity polls," Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel.
"Animal rights group's suit to allege Sea World keeping orcas in slavery", L.A. Now, L.A. Times.