Does anyone else get as pissed off as I do every time you see the Sea World commercial with the two trainers trying convince themselves of the bullshit they are reciting about what a great place Sea World is for whales and other sea creatures? Yeah, that.
Honestly, it makes me just want to punch the screen. Really. Let's take a look at what they say, and what it really means.
They haven't captured whales from the oceans in over thirty-five years. What that really means is that most every one of their whales has never had the chance to actually swim in the ocean. They have spent their entire life within the Sea World compound. They are sea creatures who have never experienced swimming in the sea.
Our whales are thriving. Is there anyone alive who can really believe that creatures who are meant to live without boundaries and can travel 100 miles a day, are really "thriving" in a tank with a maximum depth of 50 feet and about 350 feet in length. Or think about a 100 mile play area vs. 1.5 acres. Yeah, I'll bet they're thriving.
Our whales live as long as their wild counterparts. Well hold on there Nelly, 30- 50 years is considered the average life expectancy in the wild, with females living considerably longer than males. Orcas in captivity have a median age expectancy of 12-16. While the Sea World whales are living longer than before, their quality of life is nothing but dismal. There can be no justification for having an intelligent mammal confined to swimming in circles for its entire existence, only to be brought out for shits and giggles in front of throngs of vacationers too giddy to think of the environment the animal has to endure.
We love them. And we know you love them too. You know, I think that is the part of the commercial that bothers me the most. That toothy smile on the woman who ends off the commercial is such a bullshit psychological ploy it makes me sick. No, I don't love the whales, I respect them as fellow creatures on this planet who should live as they were meant to live.
What is the old saying... If you love someone, set them free. Yes, I wish they would.
Go Kat! Sic 'em. I'm so glad my kids are all old enough to understand why they've never been to Sea World. I was just a really mean mom for a few years there. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks Tracy, the whole Sea World thing makes me really, really angry.
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