To the editor:

I was sorry to hear about the death of the killer whale trainer at Sea World last week.

Now, I am not one of those animal rights activists who believes that KFC should find a more humane way to chop off the heads of those cute little chickens so we might be more comfortable with our choice of crispy, original recipe or baked poultry.

I don’t wish to make light of the tragic death of the Sea World trainer but can only say that if you put me in a concrete tank for 20 years, feed me a few frozen herring as a reward for my performance before some well-paying customers, I too might become a bit cranky.

A Sea World spokesman said that the trainer made a fatal mistake by getting too close to the whale’s mouth, as if riding across the arena on its nose for the amusement and entertainment of spectators was not considered “too close.”

In a TV interview, the victim’s sister said that she and her sister visited Sea World when they were 9 years old and her sister said that was what she wanted to do when she grew up. It leads me to wonder how many youthful Sea World attendees we may have encouraged to become “bait” for killer whales in the future.

For the price of admission to Sea World, why not charter a boat and let your children see these wonderful creatures in their natural habitat?