The company should team up with Sea Shepherd instead, the conservationists say

Jan 11, 2014 23:51 GMT  ·  By
Sea Shepherd hopes Southwest Airlines will agree to cut all ties with SeaWorld, team up with the organization instead
   Sea Shepherd hopes Southwest Airlines will agree to cut all ties with SeaWorld, team up with the organization instead

Just a few days ago, Southwest Airlines was handed a petition that was signed by over 27,000 people and that urged the company to cut all ties with marine park SeaWorld.

The company refused to give into this demand, and instead issued a statement explaining why, contrary to what some might think, the partnership between Southwest Airlines and SeaWorld boils down to “travel and bringing families together,” and is therefore to remain in place.

Green group Sea Shepherd was quick to blast Southwest Airlines' view on the matter at hand, and pointed out the fact that, by not dropping its marketing partnership with the marine park, the company is becoming an accomplice to SeaWorld's abusing marine mammals.

“The statement [says] that Southwest’s relationship with SeaWorld is based on ‘travel and bringing families together.’”

“This makes perfect sense, if by 'travel' they mean the thousands of miles that captive marine mammals are forced to travel between the ocean and their new aquarium prison cells, or between marine parks,” the conservationists write on the organization’s website.

Sea Shepherd goes on to argue that, although it is true that people often visit SeaWorld facilities as a family, the fact remains that the marine mammals on display at this marine park have all been brutally separated from their families in the wild.

Hence, it would perhaps be best if families were to choose some other location to spend quality time together.

“Unless you want to teach your family that it’s okay to steal whales and dolphins from their ‘real’ families and homes in the wild, deprive them of their natural food, and force them to perform stupid tricks for humans, it’s probably best to pick a different family outing,” Sea Shepherd writes.

Lastly, the organization blasts Southwest Airlines for saying that the marine park helps promote conservation efforts.

It also stresses the fact that, despite SeaWorld's claims that it no longer captures animals from the wild, the marine park still allows other groups to do so for them.

The organization urges that, instead of continuing to support the marine park and its cruel ways, Southwest Airlines agrees to team up with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society USA.

“If they’re looking to support an organization that actually helps to 'maintain the natural world,' we welcome instead their support of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society USA.”

“We will be more than happy to show them our vital marine conservation work for our clients: the whales, dolphins, seals, sharks, and others,” the conservationists say.

So far, Southwest Airlines has not responded to Sea Shepherd's offer to strike a partnership with this green-oriented organization and cut all ties with SeaWorld.