Sea World

[landrews]

Peeps aren't using their critical thinking skills. Sea World is the largest research, conservation, and rehabilitation facility for marine mammals in the world. Captive-born whales can not be "returned" to the wild.

:doesn'tunderstandpeepswhotakeonesourceatfacevalue:

Comments

[landrews]

See- that's what I don't get- what the protester said. Sea World is definitely not anything circus-like. Their entertainment is the roller coasters and a 'arctic helicopter' ride. And the helicopter ride is built to space the guests out for visiting their arctic exhibit. Yes- they do a dolphin/seal show and the orcas have a show, but they have evolved from acts to being more education-oriented. Especially the whale act- they used to do silly stuff with costumes and brushing their teeth (though that does play off of needing them to open their mouths and allow things to be inserted for vet care), but for years now, it's been an educational show geared towards conservation and respect for our natural world. The 'entertainment' portion is what makes the money to support all the rescue, rehab, and conservation they do. It benefits all the marine animals living in the wild. But as the knowledge of about large marine mammals have grown, so has the respect with which they are handled AND the facilities in which they are kept.

Circuses do not, in general, give back to the world in science and rescue, though Gunther Gebel-Williams did a lot towards improving the lives of all circus animals through his work and enlightened the public to the actual needs, abilities, and intelligence of elephants and wild cats in particular. So, no, I don't see a comparison between circuses and the shows that Sea World puts on.

If the protestors prevailed and Sea World closed their 'active' exhibits which involve trainers working with animals in public, the trainers would still be working the animals that weren't euthanized to meet the realities of a decreased budget. All animals in captivity require physical and mental stimulation daily and most thrive with a daily routine. Deprived of that stimulation, especially intelligent and social animals like whales and dolphins, captive animals become depressed and physical ill. Sea World just opens that routine activity up to the public, including physical interaction with the dolphins. Sure, they dress it up more with lights and music, but the money they make benefits thousands of animals living free through all their other science and education projects.

If the protestors don't mind a decrease in response to mass strandings or boat-injured manatees or turtles with cracked shells, than by all means, they should try to keep cutting Sea World's profits and hope that donations to small non-profits and universities with marine programs can fill the gap. If upper-class celebrities who can afford to see orca hunting salmon in the wild want to deprive the vast majority of the rest of the population the ability to see these magnificent animals for themselves, then by all means, euthanize all the captive born whales to end their 'suffering'.

Hee! I'm still ranting, aren't I? Don't get me started on judges and OSHA personnel stepping on the toes of trainers, behaviorists, biologists, and scientists who have spent their lifetimes working physically with captive large marine mammals and think they know and understand the complex working relationships involved better than those people doing it everyday.

[perpetual]

Well, I've only been to Sea World once, and it was as a child. I'm sure the circus atmosphere has diminished a lot, and I understand the need to put on a good show to fund the rest of the operation. But what I don't know is whether they're still catching wild whales, and, if they are, if there's anything that could justify that.

If that practice is still going on and it's for no reason beyond replacing an animal for a performance, and let me emphasize that I have no idea whether this is the case, then I think it's worth it to put some pressure on the parks. I'm not in support of releasing the whales that are already in captivity, or leaving them without stimulation. I just think that if an old whale in a tank leaves this world, there's no need to replace him with a young whale from the ocean.

[landrews]

No. The US outlawed live capture in 1972? I think 1972. The only catching of wild whales now is by a couple of different countries that have tried unsuccessfully to establish their own population (Japan and Russia) and Iceland, which finally has at least limited the number of live captures now - Keiko was an Icelandic capture). The captive breeding population cannot sustain itself at this point, but might in the future with new techniques. That's why public access to captive whales will end on its own over time- catching wild whales is no longer acceptable (to Americans and parts of the rest of the world) and the captive population is dying faster than they are being born. It will be too bad that so many people in the future will never see an orca in person.

Sea World has changed A LOT even over the last ten years. They are hugely oriented towards education.

[perpetual]

Way back in the seventies?! Okay, part of the gap here is definitely that the laymen like me aren't getting that fact. It makes a lot of difference.

Aside from educating ourselves, though, I think our responsibility is to accept that depriving Sea World of its whales means that we can't go to Sea World and see a whale. That doesn't call for a boycott, it calls for supporting the park when it does something right - paying the price for a ticket even though the show's become less spectacular.

(Sorry, been absentee for probably obvious reasons. Merry Christmas!)

[landrews]

Happy New Year! And yes- getting all the facts seems like a basic thing before protestors and others get all hot under the collar and yet... peeps don't! And they let ten year olds dictate school functions instead of teaching them research skills to hone their critical thinking skills and let them make independent decisions after perusing several sources :sigh: (I'm referring to a schoolgirl who saw 'Blackfish' and managed to convince her teacher and the school admin to cancel the class overnight to Sea World in San Diego. And her parents and her teacher were all 'wow, she's so good and a great leader and we want to support her stand' , COMPLETELY missing the opportunity to actually teach a subject thoroughly, get both sides of the issues, and depriving her classmates of making up their own minds as to whether or not they would like to take their own stand to either side in the process. :grumpygrumpgrump:

[perpetual]

Ouch. Not surprised, though. I could complain on and on about the school system.