Should Wild Animals Be Kept in Captivity?

A political cartoon of an elephant squished into a cage. Much like in real life, the onlooker in the drawing comments that the wild is only “slightly” different.

Photo courtesy of Tony Auth of The Philadelphia News.

A political cartoon of an elephant squished into a cage. Much like in real life, the onlooker in the drawing comments that the wild is only “slightly” different.

Torie Farhar, Columnist

Wild animals are called “wild” for a reason. Animals that were in the wild should not be put in captivity; it’s like kidnapping someone and putting them in a circus. Although some people may say it’s to help injured or endangered animals, helping them would intrude Natural Selection. If an animal is dying, then it’s genes are inferior to others, which is where evolution comes into play.

Yes, wild animals can be cute, cool, and a learning experience – but they’re wild for a reason. Animals that are a potential danger to people should definitely not be allowed in captivity. A prime example of this is the famous whale, “Shamu.” Shamu is not just one whale – over the years, the SeaWorld theme parks have named multiple whales Shamu to keep the magic going after one has died. Shamu has been featured in countless shows at the parks including Believe, One Ocean®, Shamu Celebration: Light Up The Night, and A Shamu Story, and more, all in recent seasons.

In the news recently, it has been made evident that the harm the whales are doing to their human trainers are direct results of the trainers changing the whales mentally. But, it’s not the whale’s fault. Yes, of course, they did cause harm, but who put Shamu in captivity in the first place? A killer whale is an extremely dangerous and wild animal. I would never go into the ocean and swim with one, so why should we put it in captivity and swim with it there? Just because an animal is in a different environment does not at all change the ways in which their brain is wired – killer whales, and many other animals, are not meant to be in a cage.