The height of the summer season is here, which means that families are setting off on their yearly getaways. Many popular destinations include beach spots and amusement parks; the SeaWorld resorts continue to be very popular with families and young children.

But I have now come to realize that SeaWorld and other such animal themed amusement parks are sad places. It breaks my heart to see an animal trapped in a small enclosure when it should be free in its natural habitat, most notably SeaWorld’s infamous orca or killer whale enclosures. Therefore, I feel that the orca performances at SeaWorld are immoral and I am very glad that they have shut them down at their San Diego Park earlier this year. While I believe that SeaWorld should discontinue the captivity of the orcas and work towards setting them free, cancelling the performances is definitely a step in the right direction.

I personally feel that this was a stunt done to appease the media and animal rights activists. SeaWorld could be classified as a big business and the owner’s main goal is to make as much money as possible. The orca shows probably generated a lot of revenue. Therefore, I find it a little hard to believe that SeaWorld cancelled the shows out of genuine concern for the poor animals.

Converting the performances into exhibits that show the orcas in their habitat is a much better alternative. Visitors are given the chance to learn about the whales and their home in the ocean. That’s preferable to having the mammals go through potentially abusive training for a mindless entertainment routine. In my opinion, it’s always better to educate yourself about an endangered species than to regard them as cheap entertainment. It would also be a great way to foster an interest in conserving the environment and protecting endangered species among young children and their families.

Just phasing out the killer whale performances, however, isn’t enough. SeaWorld should think about discontinuing the breeding of captive orcas all together. It’s questionable that an animal that big should be cooped up in a small enclosure at all. They are very smart and complicated creatures that need a lot of room to roam. A confined space is undoubtedly damaging to the orcas, both physically and psychologically.

All you have to do is look at the movies “Blackfish” and “Free Willie” to understand that problem. Both movies are about the dangers of keeping killer whales in captivity for an extended amount of time and it’s not a pretty picture. They become temperamental, demanding and pretty violent. “Blackfish” talks about how three people died when one orca went berserk during a performance. In essence, it’s not only the well-being of the killer whales that we should be concerned about, we also need to worry about the safety of the park’s employees, trainers and guests. I feel that there would be less of a safety risk if there were no orcas at a park.

Although I find it very unlikely that SeaWorld cancelled the orca shows out of concern for their health, I think that it was a commendable decision and a good first step. Hopefully the whales will be finally set free and the park will cease to breed them in captivity. But that’s still a long way off. In the meantime, we can focus on making sure that our orca friends are treated humanely and with respect at the ocean-themed amusement parks.