Avoid Deadly Destinations This Summer

Summer vacation is almost here, and we know you're dying to get out of the house and have some good old fashioned fun (roller coasters? Yes, please!)—but while you're off celebrating your newfound freedom, be sure that you're not contributing to the imprisonment of others. Sometimes it's hard to choose which destinationsare the deadliest..

Disney's Wild Animal Kingdom (Orlando, Florida)

Before the park even opened, 31 animals died because of neglect—including two cranes who were run over by safari trucks, four cheetah cubs who swallowed toxins, and two otters who ate poisonous seeds from trees planted in their exhibit!

SeaWorld (San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California; Orlando, Florida)

Not only do dolphins and whales at SeaWorld live in a virtual bathtub, at least 36 orcas and 54 dolphins havedied at U.S. SeaWorld facilities. The aquarium industry worldwide has claimed the lives of at least 150 orcas and thousands of dolphins (that's a lot of deaths, guys!).

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo, California)

Since 1995, eight elephants have died at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Elephants at Discovery Kingdom are even forced to perform tricks and give rides to park visitors (I know—elephant rides?!). Elephant handlers and visitors to the park have been injured by elephants on three separate occasions, but Discovery Kingdom World keeps on. Don't they know that elephants never forget?

Six Flags Wild Safari (Jackson, New Jersey)

In one three-month period, 26 animals died at Six Flags Wild Safari, with causes of death ranging from neck and skull fractures to hypothermia, tetanus, pneumonia, and drowning. As if that isn't enough, Wild Safari has sold "surplus" baboons to biomedical researchers— definitely not okay.

Saint Louis Zoo (Saint Louis, Missouri)

Born at the zoo in 1983, a chimpanzee named Reuben was torn from his family when he was only a year old and sent to another zoo. Two years later, he was transferred to yet another zoo, where he spent the next 14 years of his life totally alone before the zoo acquired other chimpanzees. In 2005, zoo workers didn't to properly lock the chimpanzees' cage after cleaning it, and all four chimpanzees inside escaped. Reuben was killed when he was shot nearly a dozen times—just another reason not to go to zoos.

The good news? You don't have to support these companies! Go kayaking, canoeing, camping, hiking, skiing, or biking with your friends and family! You could also hit the beach, check out museums, or go to amusement parks that don’t use animals. The opportunities are endless!