Even people who support captivity know that it is a wrong, and they justify it with a variety of rationalisations. The most common justifications are:

  • Children learn so much from being up close to such a big animal, and they develop an empathy and caring for the specie: this animal is her specie's ambassador to the human race;
  • Society has learned so much from captivity that our understanding and relationship to these animals has been transformed;
  • There are more scientific studies to be done which will enable us to better protect the specie in the wild; and
  • The whale show is necessary to maintain the revenue the Aquarium requires for its operation.

    Each of these justifications has an element of truth in it. However, the counter view is morally much more persuasive:


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