SeaWorld Enslaves Orcas?

Natalie McKittrick
Article: 3

NC Times

PETA accuses SeaWorld of enslaving orcas

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_3aa50631-64cd-58ec-953d-fc3b73b92e0f.html

SeaWorld Enslaving Orcas

Should animals have the same rights as humans? PETA has accused the popular amusement park of enslaving their orca whales. PETA believes that in this trial the animals should not be deprived of rights 5-8 like a speedy trial, excessive fines, public trial etc. They believe that under the definition of slave ( slaves - kidnapped from their homes, kept confined, denied everything that's natural to them and forced to perform tricks for SeaWorld's profit) that the animals should not be denied these rights and they should be released back into the wild because "They don't seem to adapt to captivity. I would say they're miserable." said Naomi Rose, the Humane Society's marine mammal biologist. Where as SeaWolrd believes that "I think they are in better conditions here than in the wild," said Jenny Raymond who was visiting from Switzerland.

This connects in many ways to what we are learning in class. We have learned about the Bill of Rights and all of the things that the rights 5-8 protects you from. We have also read many situations and had to write whether it applied to the situation and what right it protected. But, in those cases they always had applied to the people and their belongings. In this case they are trying to extend  those rights to making them apply to other animals as well.

This, (beleive it or not) connects to my life as well. I have been to see the Shamu shows as a child. The orcas preforming did not look in fact malnourished at all. They got love and attention from the trainers, not to mention treats. Also, it is all voulentary if they did not want to do the trick they did not have to. They just like the treats!

I do not beleive this is nessesary. The animals look happy and fine, and looking at the article PETA did not have much evidence. They just kind of reapeated the same things over and over again so that they got their points across. I do not think that SeaWorld should have captured one in the first place. But, the rest of them (the ones that were born there) that is there home, that is the only place they know, it would kill them to set them free at this point in their lifetime.