jennytablina
They Call Him Flash, Flash, Flash, Flashbeagle~
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2008
I don't guilt anyone, IMO if people want go to Seaworld, then who am I to stop you or tell you how awful you are to have a good time? I've been to Seaworld myself and won't deny that I have enjoyed my visits, though I already knew years before "Blackfish" that the ways Orca's had gotten to the parks was fair from being in the interests of the animals safety.
As the old saying goes, ignorance is bliss. I was one of those people too before. I'm hardly any hippy tree hugging sort who goes on regular protest. But reading about the subject (and trust me, I've tried not to follow any "angle" but what I've seen of these "incidents" like the captures and stuff that's happened at the parks) I have to be honest, I don't see the real benefit for the Orcas or any consideration for them where it's needed.
Heck even the doc isn't suggesting that anyone is a bad person for wanting to care for the whales, the former trainers themselves say they stayed at Seaworld *because* they cared about the Orcas and thought they were making a difference. If anything the doc focuses more on how Seaworld covered up Tilly's involvement in Katie Holmes' death at Sealand, and various incidents that the other trainers were given zero details about. Though they do also discuss how the dysfunctional mixing of Orca's also resulted in many injuries and at least one Orca death.
The whole thing reminds me of another intelligent creature that was given plenty of care but not what he really needed. Project Nim. Tale of a chimpanzee who was saved from an early death at a lab by a family, who tried to raise him like a kid, the guy then shuttled him between "trainers" after divorcing, usually just by telling them to never come back and giving the poor chimp no means of adjusting. On top of all that, when he matured and became sexually active, there was no way to relieve all the frustration that came with that. The guy later sold him back to the labs her had originally spared the chimp from at birth, all because he got tired and suddenly didn't want to fund Nim's needs anymore. Eventually he was freed and got to spend the rest of his days in a ranch enclosure.
Long story short, he attacked 2 of his female trainers, one while in a rage. The other being his original female caretaker, who hadn't been to see Nim in over 30 years. Grabbing her by the legs and bashing her about his enclosure. Both of those trainers hadn't done anything wrong, outside the latter abandoning the animal years before. The animal was just angry, and had a right to be angry at being abandoned. Heck the female trainers even admitted he had every right to mad at them for something. But that anger was not something they could manage or control. When Nim was angry, all they could do is hope they were not in his way when he was *really* ticked off.
With that in mind, an Orca is much bigger, and hard to avoid if your in it's vicinity and it's ticked off. People seem to have this idea that, because an animal is intelligent, you can stop it from getting angry ever somehow (man if there's a magic trick to stopping a really bad blues day, I'ld love to know!). Orca's are not like puppies where at worst, it'll give you a nasty nip, an angry Orca can do serious damage without even really trying.
This is assuming that someone's personal goal is that all animals never be hurt or die at the hands of a human ever. This catch all argument in this discussion is something I've seen a few assume of cetacean anti-caps when this generally isn't the case.
I eat meat, I have no shame in admitting that. But I look for things like "free range" when I choose meat. I'ld rather the animal I eat at least lived enough of a life before seeing the chopping board. Naturally there are people who don't feel that strongly, or people who feel that isn't enough.
People petition for cetaceans because they are proven to be incredibly intelligent species. Most animals thrive in captivity, because they can adapt and they are small enough that Humans can create the habitats they need or provide the care they need to be happy. Of course for wild animals, nothing quite makes up for the real thing. But most animals are happy enough to be provided for long as their needs are accounted for.
Of course if your animal is something that can grow big, and might cause harm later on, then you need to consider what is in yours, your employees and the animals best interest. If it's violent or prone to rages, your maybe shouldn't keep it near humans that it could easilly hurt, if they used their full strength against them.
Catacean's are different though, their habitats are HUGE. The entire ocean is pretty much their home. Their pods are their families which is enormously important to them. Seaworld can't provide any of that, or if they were serious about making sure the orca's were happy, they'ld try and expand the pools for the Orca's benefit, or allow them to go to sea pens near where their Pods are regularly seen and a chance to go "home".
IMO I wouldn't have a problem if I thought catacean needs could actually be covered in a man-made park. But happy Orca's shouldn't be constantly raking and hurting others in their artificial "pods", they also shouldn't be dying earlier in captivity than they would in the wild, suffering from lost/worn teeth due to chewing walls and gates in boredom. Or dealing with intensely un-natural and stressful situations like separations from their calves.
I told DH that it was the "Blackfish Effect". He doesn't buy it, but it's as good an explanation as any. I've never gotten more than a 10% discount before. I guess they want their camps 100% full, and I'll bet that this does it!
Are you including yourself in the future Wall E group?
I couldn't agree more. My kids are passionate about marine life because of SeaWorld. We live on the coast of FL. SeaWorld is out here all the time rescuing manatees, sea turtles and more. At SeaWorld camp, my kids get taken behind the scenes to see the rescue and rehab facilities for the manatees. They get to see what happens to the orphaned and injured manatees after SeaWorld comes and gets them from our area and they learn about what we need to do to keep them safe. We are hoping to see a manatee release this year, although SeaWorld does NOT publicize these unfortunately.
