Fatal orca attack raises questions of whether wild animals should be tamed to entertain

Orca attack raises question of captive animals

ORLANDO, Fla. — The latest attack by a trained, captive animal raises anew the question of whether some beasts, especially the biggest ones, have any business being tamed to entertain.

Last week, a 40-year-old trainer at SeaWorld Orlando was drowned by a massive, 12,000-pound killer whale.

Before that, Rocky, a 700-pound grizzly considered one of the most gentle of all Hollywood’s performing beasts, killed a veteran trainer. Illusionist Roy Horn was severely mauled by a show tiger in Las Vegas. In Indonesia, an elephant had trampled its handler.

Some say animals like orcas, elephants and grizzly bears should be left in the wild. Others say the captive animals serve to educate people and foster a desire to see their wild habitats protected.