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One of the blogs I follow, vegan.com,reiteratesPETA's response to the horrific news of a killer whale killing a trainer at Sea World. As a vegan and an animal lover, I agree: the practice of confining giant animals in tanks, and harassing them with commands to entertain onlookers, is cruel and dangerous. Thereportin the L.A. Times indicated that the whale in question, Tilikum, had not responded to command in the show earlier in the day.
The report also indicated that that killer whale had actually been involved in two human deaths in the past. So, even if you are not an animal rights advocate, or a vegan, you have to ask: What the hell was an animal that had already been allegedly involved in the deaths of humans, doing in a Sea World tank, with a trainer? You can argue about whether the animal should have been put down, or released into the wild. But it's clear that he had no business interacting with people.
You also don't have to be an animal rights advocate to ask: "Where is the government regulation?"
Born Free USAreports:
"There is minimal state and federal protection for animals used in entertainment. Many of the animals used for human amusement are not even covered by the federal Animal Welfare Act."
This is yet another example where the conservative argument that we need to rely on the "market" to regulate business practices, rather than legislation, falls short.
