Important to note that I’m a huge animal lover. I’ve rescued a handful of stray dogs and two stray cats from the streets, however I am not a vegan or vegetarian.

I’ve been dating this guy for close to six months now. Everything’s been going really well except he recently surprised me with tickets to Sea World. Although I appreciated the gesture, I explained that I don’t think I would want to visit a place that is so cruel to its animals and was surprised he didn’t know the living conditions of the animals there. He got defensive and said that Sea World rescues animals from the ocean and that it’s hypocritical of me to say all this when I eat meat (he’s sort of a pescatarian—only eats sushi a couple times a year). He said he had already spent the money and the ticket isn’t refundable, so either way, Sea World has already benefited from the money whether we like it or not and we might as well go if that’s the case (he said we won’t have to eat any of the food there and won’t buy any souvenirs—essentially we won’t be giving them any more money than he’s already spent).

Still, I don’t feel right going to Sea World because I don’t support the establishment. I understand that the money has been spent and it’ll go to waste if we don’t go, but I told him I just didn’t want to go. He doesn’t seem to understand this and keeps saying that Sea World isn’t all that bad and that they help animals too. I’m frustrated that he doesn’t see the cruelty behind their actions and because I love animals, I’m really considering breaking up over this. I can’t tell if I’m overreacting or not but all I know is I’ve always wanted an SO who, at the very least, cares about animals.