The Seacats: We Should Be Free

I wrote a new SEACATS book about killer whales, and since it is for such an important cause for me, maybe I should explain why.

What's one of the saddest things I see on social media every now and then? A picture of someone's kid posing with a poor, imprisoned "smiling" dolphin or orca in a tank in the background. They're kids and they don't know any better — what is taking them to marine parks to watch orcas do tricks for food really teaching them?

Whales and dolphins are highly intelligent animals — they are self-aware, and their brains are more complex than our own. Unlike us humans, they have a part of the brain dedicated solely to emotions. Is it fair to keep them essentially as slaves so kids can see one up-close? Why not take the kids whale-watching instead? In Maine or Hawaii or Prince William Sound? Or anyplace other than a place where you're paying for tickets to see an animal that's medicated, has chipped teeth and is so fed up it's probably contemplating killing its trainer? We all know that's happened before — watch Blackfish.

If you can't afford a whale-watching trip, The Whale (an amazing movie) is far cheaper than tickets to a marine park; it's more entertaining and more educational by far!

As a parent I can tell you there is nothing educational about these marine parks. The only thing you're really teaching your kid about the animal, is that it's okay to keep it in a swimming pool.

Some say they're already in the tanks and would die in the wild. Some say Keiko (the Free Willy whale) died after being released, and use that as an argument to keep more whales in captivity. But that's nonsense — Keiko was freed because the vet at the marine park he lived at gave him six months to live. He would have died in Mexico. But they freed him, and he lived free for five years. He fed himself just fine.

I'm not sure what the answer is, but I know kids should not be raised thinking this practice is okay. These intelligent animals should not be slaves to entertainment. They have a social structure, dialects and culture, and they are being denied these things in a tank. We, as parents and as humans, need to change that ... because what kind of people will we raise if we teach kids that taking advantage of others is okay? These whales and dolphins are essentially slaves. And nowadays — knowing what we do about these animals — that's really, really sad.

By the way, you can read We Will Be Free for ... well, free ... on Kindle Unlimited!

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