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143 reviews for:
Death at Seaworld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity
David Kirby
4.22 AVERAGE
143 reviews for:
Death at Seaworld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity
David Kirby
4.22 AVERAGE
The problem with "Death at Sea World" is that odds are, you're picking up the book because you already agree with the chief point (that the captivity of orcas for human entertainment is wrong). Therefore, while you might be educated by the book, you really won't find yourself undergoing a major mental shift by this work--you progress little from your first beliefs.
"Death at Sea World" offers little suspense--from the very title, you know what you are going to get. Chapter after chapter, Kirby offers a deeply researched damnation of the practice of keeping orcas for public amusement, appealing to the reader's humanity (there's no doubt about it, what is being done to these animals is absolute cruelty) and intelligence (there's also no doubt about it that they can, and will, kill the humans around them, even if accidentally). The writer is very careful in describing thoroughly (very, very, very thoroughly) all of the studies, research, business practices, etc.
But ultimately, all of that research is just difficult to swallow. It appears we are dealing with the same point one thousand times over--the author has proven his point by the first chapter, and proven it decisively. Everything after that is (well-researched) bonus.
"Death at Sea World" offers little suspense--from the very title, you know what you are going to get. Chapter after chapter, Kirby offers a deeply researched damnation of the practice of keeping orcas for public amusement, appealing to the reader's humanity (there's no doubt about it, what is being done to these animals is absolute cruelty) and intelligence (there's also no doubt about it that they can, and will, kill the humans around them, even if accidentally). The writer is very careful in describing thoroughly (very, very, very thoroughly) all of the studies, research, business practices, etc.
But ultimately, all of that research is just difficult to swallow. It appears we are dealing with the same point one thousand times over--the author has proven his point by the first chapter, and proven it decisively. Everything after that is (well-researched) bonus.
Thanks to this book and the documentary Blackfish, I now have all sorts of feelings about whales that I never had before.
A very well-written and thorough explanation of the problems people have with SeaWorld.
It is, however, fairly spectacularly one sided. I do doubt that SeaWorld could have come up with answers to the problems I found most troubling - the comparative death rates and the inherent problems with keeping wide-ranging animals in captivity - but I would have appreciated an attempt at presenting the other side of the argument.
It is, however, fairly spectacularly one sided. I do doubt that SeaWorld could have come up with answers to the problems I found most troubling - the comparative death rates and the inherent problems with keeping wide-ranging animals in captivity - but I would have appreciated an attempt at presenting the other side of the argument.