When discussing our holiday to Orlando the first thing we had to do was decide which parks we wanted to visit. Top of my list is the Harry Potter parts of Universal and then Disney (how can you go and not see Disney World?), but definitely not on my list is Seaworld.
My partner has been to Seaworld on his previous visits and he enjoyed it, and would go back again to feed the dolphins and watch the shows.
However, even though I have never been, I will not visit Seaworld or any of its sister companies. Why? Well they keep sea life that should be in the wide oceans of the world in tiny tanks. You can thank Free Willy for installing that view in me. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see a dolphin and killer whale up close, but not in that environment.
We discussed with friends who have been, our difference in opinion. They told us we had to watch Blackfish before we made a decisions. We went online in hunt for the film since we no longer have a Blockbusters (I do miss the hunt for a good DVD in an actual video rental store!).
We watched it in almost total silence.
Well that cemented my feelings on Seaworld. I knew a killer whale had killed one of the trainers recently but the rest I didn't. Not wanting to spoil it for anyone (you may want to skip ahead if you don't want to know) but that wasn't the first time that killer whale had killed someone and he wasn't the only one. It also showed the conditions they had to put up with and how they were caught from the wild. They are not living in captivity because they were hurt or at risk in their own environment, they were taken from their families purely for entertainment purposes. Seaworld are nothing about conservation. Even their staff are not clued up on their sea life.
So that is it. Both of us agree that we are definitely not giving any of our money to Seaworld, Discovery Cove, Busch Gardens or any other Seaworld company. I am sure many people will disagree with me but sometimes you have to stand up for what you believe is right.
Have you been to Seaworld? Would you go again? Have you seen Blackfish? I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.