I really can't remember the first time I visited Sea World, but my parents took my brother, sister, and I to Sea World several times when growing up, and I absolutely loved it every time. I have always been fascinated by animals and animal behavior, and this park has it all - animals, rides, shows, etc. I remember thinking that being an animal trainer must be the most awesome job in the world, and I had the fleeting idea that I would want to be an animal trainer someday! I remember reading about the requirements, and while I don't recall all of the details, I remember one of the qualifications was you had to be a very strong swimmer. A strong swimmer I am not, and so that thought ended, but I remained mesmerized by the animals and their abilities and willingness to complete various behaviors. There also seemed to be a genuine relationship between the trainers and the animals.
While I have always loved visiting aquariums and zoos, I have had some concerns and reservations about animals being kept in captivity. I think like many things though, I have tried to keep my concerns in context of a bigger picture. I have been fascinated with biology most of my life, but it wasn't until I studied biology in college that I became aware of so many issues ranging from habitat destruction to poaching to climate change. I know there are views all over the spectrum on most issues, but I think it is most important for individuals to be educated and informed. In our very busy, civilized lives, it is easy to get disconnected from the natural world, and when we are disconnected, it is easy to forget about how fragile everything is. I don't mean to make it sound like I view Sea World, zoos, or aquariums as the natural world, but honestly, that is as close as it's going to get for most people (in terms of seeing wild animals and developing an appreciation). I'm amazed at the diversity of individuals who visit Sea World, and hopefully after spending the day there, at least some of the visitors come away with a greater appreciation for the wildlife and the importance of conservation.
This year it seemed like Sea World had more exhibits dedicated to recycling, conservation, animal rescue, etc. They even featured Jack Hanna and Bindi Irwin in a short conservation presentation before the orca show. Talk about pulling out the big guns! I have no doubt this is to help combat the negative publicity from the Blackfish "documentary." I haven't seen the full documentary yet, but I have seen small parts and read about it. It sounds like even some of the people who were interviewed for the documentary regret participating because they felt like their input was taken out of context. In visiting Sea World several times over the past two decades, I have never seen a protester, but this weekend there were about 50 with signs protesting at the entrance to the park. I'm not sure why it upset me so much, but it did. I respect the right to protest and for free speech, but I guess it kind of perplexed me in so many ways. Where have the protesters been for the last 50 years? Why Sea World and not so many other zoological settings with far worse conditions? Why not protest other actions that affect so many more animals with no benefit? In my opinion, in an ideal world there would be no animals in captivity, but there would be lots of things very different than they are.
So...that pretty much sums up my view on this issue. Like so many very complicated issues, I am torn, but I believe at least for now the benefit outweighs the cost. On a positive note, the boys had a wonderful weekend.
In closing, I want to share one of my favorite quotes by the environmentalist, Dr. Baba Dioum.
"In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we have been taught."
No comments:
Post a Comment