Yearwood has joined a growing list of celebrities and bands (Heart, Cheap Trick, Barenaked ladies, Willie Nelson, etc) who have canceled their appearances at SeaWorld because of the revealing look at the inner workings and treatment of orcas. SeaWorld has mounted a PR campaign for twenty years to make us all believe it’s just fine and dandy with the happy whales at SeaWorld. Nothing could be farther from the truth. People won’t watch Blackfish but they should – it’s important to know why there are so many complaints against the billion dollar corporation. Chief among them its inhumane and shameful treatment of the big black male orca, Tilikum. Used for sperm and breeding purposes only after killing trainers, he was ripped from his mother when he was a baby and has been forced to perform tricks and survive in tiny bathtubs his entire life. Why wouldn’t that make a normally harmless (to humans) whale turn psychotic – it would do that to any animal, but especially to such intelligent creatures as these. As smart as we humans are we have turned a blind eye to our own barbarism for too long. It’s time to stop SeaWorld. Here’s hoping Oscar nominates the film so that more people become aware of this pressing issue.
