As everyone knows, Seaworld has been in the spotlight through many lawsuits and I don't believe it will change anytime soon. Ever since the documentary "Blackfish" came out on Netflix, it brought criticism towards the park. The park had made claims that the sea creatures were kept in large tanks and were treated kindly. That is a lie. Three trainers have died in the hands of the orca's and it's not the orca's fault. The whale that caught the eye of people was Tilikum, an orca that had been captured around 1983 when it was only two years old. The orca was put into solitary confinement for a year for killing its third victim. The period of isolation completely disrupted the orca’s mental capabilities. The stress of being separated from his family members and the ocean had driven the orca to exhibit aggressive behavior. 

Stripping an orca from its natural habitat and forcing it to acquire new habits was one of the reasons why the orcas had grown aggressive towards other tank mates and trainers. The modification of the orcas to the extent that they forget their natural habits and act as a new orca was quite unnatural and not something that was out of the ordinary. Orca's exhibited odd behaviors when kept in captivity such as they would hurt themselves by rubbing their face against the walls or bang their heads on the pool walls out of boredom. When one of the orcas killed a trainer by the name of Dawn Brancheau, SeaWorld hid the reports concerning the cause of death. The company officials stated in a news report that the trainer had slipped and fallen into the pool. However, later reports said that Tilikum had dragged Brancheau by her ponytail before drowning her and her ponytail was seen lying on the bottom of the pool. 

Animals at the zoo aren’t forced to perform tricks every day while in SeaWorld the orcas were trained seven hours a day throughout the week to have them perform in front of the crowd. SeaWorld was more of a circus than a park from the way the shows were carried out. The company has been making money off of animal abuse and it needs to be shut down immediately. It can be said that the inhumane treatment of the orcas is reason enough to shut down SeaWorld. Sea creatures are not meant to be kept in cages or small spaces as they need to swim freely. By help shutting down water-themed parks, a change can be made in the treatment of sea creatures and people can be kept out of harm’s way. Sea creatures cannot be forced to acquire strange habits such as performing tricks and eating food that is not suitable for their health. The life of animals and trainers matter a lot as both are living, breathing beings with rights of their own and should not be put in a situation where they can hurt another or be hurt by another. The cruelty of SeaWorld forces one to think that we as human beings do not consider animals as anything but commodities meant to entertain others and increase the ratings of the shows. Severe actions need to be taken against SeaWorld so that it shuts down completely and does not harm any more sea creatures for its reasons. It is important to realize that the orcas are not meant to be treated as assets as they are not used to being kept in cages and pools. 

Please sign this petition to send the captive marine animals to sea sanctuaries, and to help prevent them from being snatched away from their homes and put in cruel circuses in the future, and to stop Tilikum's tragic story from being repeated ever again.