The documentary Blackfish has caused a rage among animal activists when it was released on Netflix in December. The documentary shows the lives of killer whales held in captivity in Seaworld. When they’re not in the pool doing shows, the killer whales are kept in a tank where they can barely move. This causes them to develop physiological problems which has resulted in horrifying incidents. One killer whale, Tilikum, has killed three humans at Sea World. Although many people believe orcas to be very dangerous, there has never been a reported human killing by a killer whale in the wild. They are not naturally dangerous animals, until they are kept under harsh conditions, which isn’t their fault.
“SeaWorld is proud of its legacy of supporting marine science and environmental awareness in general and the cause of killer whales in particular,” it stated in the letter (from SeaWorld). This quote shows the lies that SeaWorld told. Luckily, since the documentary, there has been a lot of protesting against Seaworld. I think impact that the documentary made is incredible! This documentary really shocked me because I would've never thought that these horrible things were happening in Seaworld. Although I know it’s usually better to keep animals in the wild, I couldn’t believe Sea World, a place that advocates for environmental awareness, could be so cruel. This also reminded me of the article Ms. McWilliams posted about the dolphins that were slaughtered in Denmark.
Blackfish Documentary
We rely on animals to entertain us which can be fun at times but when the evidence adds up to leaving them in the wild I think we should let the animals be. We shouldn't have to sacrifice humans for the enjoyment of others. It seems like sometimes we fail to look at the situation from the other side of the "tank." If we were kept up in cages and tanks we would probably become just as vicious out of frustration alone.
ReplyDeleteHuman treatment of animals is just too cruel! How can we think of them as our lower-being puppets when out lives depend on their existence?
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