I’m writing to urge the University of Central Florida’s administration to stop perpetuating marine animal exploitation at SeaWorld by ending the sale of tickets to the park.
I was disappointed to find out that UCF sells SeaWorld tickets to its students at 30% less than the regular price. The university is advertising a company that denies marine animals—including orcas, other dolphins, and whales—a natural life in the ocean, where they could swim freely and choose their own mates. Instead of encouraging students to learn meaningfully through institutions like museums, through films, and out in nature, UCF is choosing to support the outdated, cruel practice of exploiting animals for entertainment.
Animals don’t exist to entertain us—they shouldn’t be confined to tiny tanks and forced to perform for most of their lives, just to provide humans with fleeting moments of amusement. Respect, equity, innovation, and stewardship are self-proclaimed core values of UCF, and they need to be applied to this situation.