Is SeaWorld Good or Bad?

Is SeaWorld Good or Bad?

Zoey Terry, Staff Writer

To most people, Seaworld is a place to see cool animals, do exhilarating things they never thought they’d be able to do, or to simply have fun and enjoy the animals’ glorious looks and behavior.

Although Seaworld seems to bring fun and joy to people, Seaworld is an animal’s hell. But why? Well, imagine this: you’re a wild animal and because of your beautiful looks and unique behavior, you’re taken from your family and home and put into a tank or cage to keep others entertained. Sounds awful right? Now imagine how the animals feel. Probably miserable and scared.

Although many people are against Seaworld, there are still some positive sides in the concept. Seaworld may not be the best place for animals, but the animals are well taken care of when it comes to food and their healthcare. Usually, in the wild, animals would have to capture and find food themselves. Seaworld, zoos, and other similar places, give animals the benefit of not having to do that, which can also protect them from being harmed by other animals, or being hunted for commercial-hunting. Seaworld is also convenient for animal research: those who like to study animals can’t just go to the ocean or the wild and find an animal just like that. Seaworld and zoo’s help make research easier.

But with animals being put in cages and tanks, their life spans are greatly shortened due to stress and/or depression. Humans are driving these animals crazy because we’re pointing, yelling, and banging on the glass all day. Leading the animals to harm people or even themselves. Researchers say killer whales have hearing like dogs, so they can hear from miles aways. So, the filtration systems the orcas in Seaworld are living in make a lot of noise, affecting the whales sensitive hearing. For instance; in the 1980’s an Orca at Seaworld named Tilikum, a 12,000 pound killer whale, killed two people, and in 2010, so far, one person has been killed by Tilikum as well. Overall there have been 10 deaths and over 50 injuries from orca whales, making Seaworld seem less fun and more dangerous.

Thus Seaworld turns out to be a place of misery and confinement. A place where animals are taken from their homes and families. They’re used for our entertainment and amusement. Yes, the majority of the time they’re receiving proper care, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re missing out on the lives they were supposed to be living, the lives they were made to live.