Cruel Amusement Park Fails to Educate Children About the Natural World, Says Group
For Immediate Release:
April 4, 2011
Contact:
Shakira Croce 202-483-7382
Orandao, Fla.--PETA has learned that SeaWorld, feeling the pinch from bad public relations and declining attendance, is offering a "Study Pass" to Florida teachers as an incentive for them to plan field trips to the amusement park. Once the students are there, SeaWorld hopes to increase revenue in selling concession stand items. In response, TeachKind, PETA's humane-education division, has sent an urgent letter to Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Ronald Blocker urging him to block these trips. In the letter, PETA points out that the tricks that marine mammals at SeaWorld are forced to perform not only are unnatural, uncomfortable, and repetitive but also do nothing to educate students about the animals' natural lives and behavior. The animals the students would see have been kidnapped from their natural environment and families—a sorry lesson, indeed, in human domination.
"SeaWorld keeps huge orcas in what are basically cement boxes, depriving these smart, social animals of everything that is natural and important to them, including the sea and their families," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "Children love animals, and they would never want to visit SeaWorld if they knew about and understood this abuse."
PETA will also be contacting nearby school district superintendents. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
PETA's letter to Ronald Blocker, superintendent of Orange County Public Schools, follows.
April 4, 2011
Ronald Blocker
Superintendent
Orange County Public Schools
Dear Mr. Blocker:
I'm writing on behalf of TeachKind, the humane-education division of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). We understand that SeaWorld is promoting itself to Florida schools by offering teachers the opportunity to obtain free passes and by encouraging schools to schedule field trips to the park. I would like to share some information with you about SeaWorld's history of cruel treatment of animals in the hope that Orange County Public Schools will ban field trips to SeaWorld.
At SeaWorld, marine mammals are denied everything that is natural and important to them. In the wild, orcas swim up to 100 miles a day, but when captured, they are confined to small tanks in which the reverberations from their own sonar bounce off the walls, driving some of them insane. Not only are the tricks performed by marine mammals at SeaWorld unnatural, uncomfortable, and repetitive, they also do not educate students about the natural lives and behaviors of these amazing animals. Instead, these parks teach children that it is acceptable to imprison animals for the sake of entertainment.
After Tilikum—an orca frustrated by a lifetime in captivity—attacked and killed his trainer at SeaWorld Orlando last year, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited the park for major safety violations, including for willfully exposing employees to life-threatening hazards when interacting with orcas. OSHA gave SeaWorld the maximum penalty—a $75,000 fine. Despite these serious repercussions, SeaWorld continues to put employees and animals in danger while breeding more orcas. Please take a moment to read a CNN.com blog post by former SeaWorld trainer Dr. John Jett, who calls whale captivity "grossly unjust": http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/03/former-sea-world-trainer-whale-captivity-grossly-unjust/.
As someone who works with children, you know that they identify with animals and would never want to attend SeaWorld if they knew about and understood this abuse. Instead of patronizing venues that put animal abuse on display, we should be educating students about the countless ways that they can help protect wildlife. Luckily, you have the power to make sure that Orange County Public Schools does not support this cruel industry and that your students are exposed to more positive experiences with animals.
Considering this information, I am sure that you agree that SeaWorld parks not only lack any educational value for students but also are dangerous for trainers and miserable for the animals kept captive. Will Orange County Public Schools please commit to banning field trips to SeaWorld and send the message that your schools do not support animal abuse as a form of education? Please contact me at 757-622-PETA, extension 8331, or ElizabethG@peta.org so that we can discuss this important issue. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Graffeo
TeachKind Program Manager
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals