Friday, December 01, 2006

Shamu and Pitbulls, A Contrast

Contrast, if you will, the reaction to the recent orca attack on a trainer at SeaWorld Adventure Park in San Diego, and the typical reactions to any pitbull attack on a human across the country.

In the recent “Shamu” attack you hear laments about keeping “wild” orcas in capitivity, or, as a former senior trainer at SeaWorld stated, "She’s an amazing animal. This incident doesn’t make her a bad whale. People need to understand that animals can get upset or frustrated just like people and just like your cat or dog."

If “Shamu” was a pitbull, in all likelihood you would be hearing calls for putting the dog down, not for understanding that it can get upset or frustrated, or that it’s a “good” dog.

The contrast here is striking.  Though dogs are supposedly man’s best friend, and have been domesticated for thousands of years, society has swallowed, whole, the anthropomorphism of orcas, killer whales, in a matter of decades, and “Shamu” gets a pass.

Posted by John Venlet on 12/01 at 06:01 AM
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