Almost anyone you ask who has seen CNN’s documentary "Blackfish" (which is streaming on Netflix now), will tell you that, since viewing it, they have vowed to never go to SeaWorld. In fact, many people who haven’t seen the documentary, but who have heard about it from friends, have also vowed not to go to SeaWorld. Why? Because the chilling video and oral testimonies from the film demonstrate how inhumane it is for the whales — and the trainers — to keep them in captivity. From the howling of the mother whales who lose their babies to captivity, to the mental distress of the captive whales, to the mutilation and killing of a SeaWorld trainer, there is no good reason to hold whales in captivity except that they bring slavering tourists with their wallets wide open and their brains completely shut off to the horrors of captivity.
So why, when the Orlando Business Journal posted a poll asking its readers: “Has CNN’s ‘Blackfish’ documentary changed your perception of SeaWorld?” did a staggering 99 percent side with SeaWorld and say “no”? Well, for one, the poll was taken by Orlando readers, many of whom likely benefit from the tourism dollars that SeaWorld brings in. But the other reasons, perhaps, is because 54 PERCENT OF THE VOTES WERE FROM SEAWORLD.
Indeed, in investigating the votes, journalist Richard Bilbao discovered that 54 percent of the votes came from one IP address, and that IP address was located in SeaWorld. For the record, SeaWorld doesn’t deny the accusation. In fact, when called on it, a SeaWorld spokesperson said, “Our team members have strong feelings about their park and company, and we encourage them to make their opinions known.”
Of course, there’s nothing illegal about stuffing the ballot of an unscientific newspaper poll, but really, it goes to show you the lengths the people at SeaWorld will go to cover up the fact that their amusement park is abhorrent and inhumane. Then again, it doesn’t say much for the company’s business practices, either, that it allows employees to vote while on the job. Shouldn’t they be busy counting and collecting the money they receive from exploiting sea wildlife?
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