By Tanishka Tewari
The Cougar Star
Clague MS
In 2010, trainer Dawn Brancheau died at the hands of killer whale Shamu in Orlando. During an orca dine-in show Shamu dragged trainer Brancheau underwater, drowning her. Brancheau wasn’t Shamu’s first victim, but his third. The pair was performing in front of a crowd to show off marine animal entertainment. But that’s the problem; animals shouldn’t be used as marine entertainment.
Keeping animals in captivity makes them too dependent on humans. Keiko the killer whale was the star of a movie, “Free Willy,” that inspired people to release killer whales. As the trainers were trying to release him (nine years after the movie was shot), he wouldn’t go because he didn’t know how to catch food, swim far or the things a normal killer whale does. Animals should only be in captivity as long they need to be. In the end, Keiko died of pneumonia.
Another animal that should not be used for entertainment is dolphins. Dolphins have attacked people before, (not as dangerously as orcas) but dolphins are wild animals, so they still will attack occasionally. In Ireland, for instance, Dusty the dolphin broke three ribs, damaged lungs and made Valerie Ryan (a woman who was there to swim with the dolphins) have six spinal fractures. This just goes to prove, dolphins are meant to live in the wild where they can attack things because that’s what it’s like out there, it’s a part of their survival.
Animal entertainment like Seaworld makes a lot of money, lots of people watch it. Sure, it looks great to see, but people do not know the reality behind it – dolphins are getting hurt. Seaworld makes about 1.4 billion dollars and can make money from their rides, or find other ways to make money instead of using animals. Patrons are amazed at all the tricks the animals. The expectation there is dolphins are having a great time and they love it like that but most don’t. They are forced to swim in endless circles, the intelligence that they use is taken away from them and they can get diseases from not living in their natural habitat. These animals have needs that most of these places don’t meet, which affects them a lot. If these animals have injuries or health problems take care of them and try to let them out in the wild. Also the tricks will hurt them even more than they are right now. “SeaWorld is committed to animal care, rescue, rehabilitation and return,” is Seaworld’s slogan. Seaworld should be allowed to help these animals, and return them to the wild, but the ones that stay in the parks for entertainment need to go back where they came from.
Yes, getting rid of animal entertainment would affect the economy, but animals are getting hurt. People can learn about these animals while they watch shows such as shows of marine animals in their natural habitat. You don’t just get entertained, you will experience them in their normal life and you have knowledge about these animals. There is a difference of living in a huge pool, than living in the open ocean. People can build sanctuaries that are off the coastline in the ocean, or help people raise money for sanctuaries, so that animals can live a free and happy life while people watch from a distance. A website you can visit to get more information is: https://wildlife-rescue.org/services/advocacy/animals-in-entertainment/
1st Place
Division MS, News Writing
NW-09. Feature Columnist
Each entry must:
- have two (2) columns (feature or opinion) from different publication dates
- have both columns submitted together in the same entry form
- have the same standing head
- be authored by the same writer(s) (both columns in the entry should have the same byline)
- carry bylines or other writer identification to indicate the personal nature of the content
FOR ONLINE ENTRIES, submit the URL to one column in the URL field and the other in the Additional Information field.
Judges want to see the writer’s consistent quality in more than one column. A student media outlet may submit a second entry in this category, but it may not be written by the same columnist. Columns related to sports must be submitted under the Sports Columnist category. Submit a PDF of the print pages on which the columns were published or the URL to the columns on an online news site.
JUDGING CRITERIA
- Sharp attention-getting leads
- Expresses personal opinions; uses consistent style
- Reflects thought/research, freshness, individuality
- Effective use of facts/quotes or supporting material
- Informative, interesting, entertaining
- Upholds journalistic integrity
- Sentences, paragraphs of varied length; written clearly, concisely and vividly
- Proper diction/grammar