"a tragedy that didn't have to happen"

Quote from CNN coverage of the death of Sea World's trainer Dawn Brancheau.. seems a bit redundant; I mean, aren't most tragedies ones that didn't really have to happen?

Especially those involving massive wild animals we hole up in bland pocket-sized compartments for our convenient viewing and entertainment?

Quotes that I especially love from this article:

"'we went down to look at his full body underneath the isolation tank,' she said. 'Everything seemed calm and OK. The trainer was laying down on him and kissing his nose and rubbing him.' But the scene changed quickly, she said."...Hmm, maybe the whale didn't interpret kissing and rubbing quite like we humans might.

"Jeffrey Ventre, a former SeaWorld trainer, described...Tillikum (that's the whale by the way, 'Shamu' is just his stage name apparently) as 'a great animal' who has sired 13 offspring. 'He's huge, he's impressive; people just see him and they go 'Wow!' He's a money stream as well.'" ...Wow, awesome example of the way the zoo-community views its animals even while, wait for it...:
"Fred Felleman, a marine consultant in Seattle, Washington, said keeping the social animals in what amounts to isolation is bound to cause problems. 'The fact is we don't have the facilities to adequately accommodate not only the physical needs, the psychological and social needs of these animals,' he told CNN affiliate KIRO-TV." ...Huh, mind-blowing conundrum we've found ourselves in here... Reminds me of elephants. And polar bears. And any other large, cuddly, impressive mammal we rip from their natural environment for their own good...oh wait, no, for the fact that we want to rape the environment of all its natural resources.

Quote from a CBS article:
"Chuck Tompkins, curator of zoological operations at SeaWorld Orlando indicated that the marine park plans to continue using Tilikum in its shows. 'We need to evaluate our handling procedures and how we interact with him .... I can guarantee we will make any change necessary,' he said." ...Um no you won't; because you can't afford to make all of the necessary changes. And the millions and thousands of dollars you put into safely parading your impressive inmates could be put to much greater use in conserving their natural environments so we don't have to resort to captivity.

Sorry for the rant, I just needed to release some of my frustrations w/ human ignorance towards captive wild animals.

And p.s. I in no way want to lessen the loss of  Dawn Brancheau by this post. My rantings are in response to the timeless ignorance that society has displayed when addressing issues of conservation and animal use.