Auditions for 2014 SeaWorld Performers will be held: Friday February 21, 2014 At SeaWorld Human Resources Training Center 2 10500 Sea World Dr., San Antonio, TX 78251
Paul--or Paul's intern--get your pimping ass outta here.
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
~ Muhammad Ali
"Of the 158 captive killer whales that have died, more than 2/3 didn’t make it passed 10 years in captivity. Less than 30 orcas survived more than 20 years in captivity. Average time in captivity has improved steadily over the decades, but is still very low." The average lifespan of a wild orca ranges from 30 to 90 years old.
Then again when you're feeding questionable quality frozen fish to animals who normally hunt live fish or (in the case of transients) do not eat fish, then have to stuff them with vitamins and gelatin to attempt to give them nutrition and hydration, on top of keeping them in incredibly small, bare tanks that keep them constantly exposed to blazing sun (not to mention at least two whales who have died from West Nile Virus, thanks to Florida mosquitos), all without the normal physical activity and socialization they would achieve in the wild except when they are forced to perform amidst blaring music and noises (just to name a few things)... yeah, I would imagine their life expectancy in captivity is drastically reduced.
Seaworld slaps a fake smile on an industry that is abusive to humans and animals. At least 3 trainer deaths, at least one trainer permanently paralyzed, and countless injuries to trainers, volunteers and other people they allow to interact with the whales. 158 dead whales, almost all well below their normal life expectancy, and all forced into a life that is not even a fraction of what they deserve and would lead in the wild.