Trainer Death Sparks New Call to Free Killer Whales

Captivity is cruel, and accidents are unavoidable, activists say
By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 25, 2010 12:07 PM CST
Trainer Death Sparks New Call to Free Killer Whales
Three killer whales swim in tanks at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla., on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010.   (AP Photo)

The death of a SeaWorld trainer is being met with the inevitable calls to free Willy, and end orca captivity once and for all. “These behemoths are denied all of their natural, instinctual inclinations,” one tells the Christian Science Monitor. “We humans tend to think, ‘Well, this is just a bad animal.’ But it is a wild animal.” The writing is on the wall, says another. “This isn’t the first time that stressed-out orca whales have injured or killed people, and unfortunately, it is not likely to be the last.”

The blogosphere was also quick to weigh in on the issue, and few failed to point out that killer whales are called “killer whales.” Sea World says it “will conduct a thorough review of its procedures,” Joe Weisenthal writes on the Business Insider, but it should really “end these ridiculous spectacles once and for all.” Mansfield Frazier is more philosophical on the Daily Beast. “When people flagrantly ignore the universal rules that govern the interactions between man and other creatures on the planet and fail to comprehend there will sometimes be a price to pay, I’m dumbfounded.” (More killer whale stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X