In her June 17 Metro column "Dolphins in tanks whip up a generational divide," Petula Dvorak suggested that millennials are anti-captivity, saying we are the "Free Willy" generation and oppose cetacean captivity. I say otherwise. "Willy," a.k.a. Keiko, died shortly after his release. He was on his own in the wild, never eating or socializing with other wild whales. He craved human attention but died alone because humanity wanted a fairy-tale ending.
I support SeaWorld and all accredited zoological facilities, and I am proud of it. Nothing compares to being inches away from a killer whale, not even whale-watching in the wild. The recent trend among facilities housing cetaceans to close the exhibits is very disturbing and depressing. Places such as SeaWorld and Baltimore’s National Aquarium inspired me to love and care about animals.
The decision to end a successful breeding program or retire animals to sea pens signals a bad omen. Forget the animals in captivity currently; all animals will be in serious danger when we stop connecting with them in zoos and aquariums. I fear for the future of conservation and education, and that we will cause the extinction of far too many species. Please prove me wrong, my fellow millennials.
Daniel Frank, Arlington
