"Blackfish" (on CNN)

[Baz]

Watching it right now.....disgusted at Sea World and those who do such unconscionable things to these magnificent creatures....human beings are indeed the inferior species.....

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[Baz]

Sea World can go to hell as far as I'm concerned......greedy bastards.

[matt f]

Don't you just love how SeaWorld et. al. misuse the term " conservationists " to justify this type of treatment of species that are best left in their natural environment.
Same excuse the Japanese use, along with " scientific research " to continue to " harvest " protected species of whales.

[Rusty Heap]

I watched about 20-30 minutes of it before I had to turn it off.

While I'm not defending SeaWorlds practices, that Blackfish show was so overly one-sided full of whiny tree hugging liberal hippy dudes.

SeaWorld is about entertainment, nothing different than a zoo full of animals in cages, or circus elephants next to juggling bears riding bicycles.

[Baz]

Sea World was asked repeatedly to participate in the documentary but refused.

The documentary includes interviews with several former Sea World trainers who share their opinions and offer commentary.

If to some it appears "one-sided" it could be because Sea World declined to participate.

Otherwise it is an eye-opening piece.

I didn't realize Orca's natural life expectancy in the wild was similar to humans. Except of course for those in captivity - where it drops to about 35 years.

Did you know that Sea World in their "infinite wisdom" separated on more than one occasion a mother and calf.....even though in the wild they never part from each other....just to reduce the distraction for their "performances"? The mother whales didn't know what was happening....their children were taken away.....and they shutdown....and cried and cried.

Ever hear a whale cry? It's one of the saddest sounds you will ever hear.

Only when primitive-thinking, immoral, and greedy humans get involved.

[Chocaholic]

Is it possible they refused to be interviewed because it was obvious they were being set up to look like villains? That's my guess. Like Al Sharpton asking to interview Ted Cruz.

How is this different than zoo's, circuses and even homes with exotic birds, monkeys, fish, reptiles, etc.? Not supporting any of them, but looks a lot like a Greenpeace whale-saver effort.

[pegasus9]

It is barbaric to keep these wild mammals in captivity.

Seaweird is up there with Monsanto imo.

[Baz]

Did you see it yet? It's 2 hours long and on CNN.

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Is it possible they refused to be interviewed because it was obvious they were being set up to look like villains? That's my guess. Like Al Sharpton asking to interview Ted Cruz.

Yes absolutely........they were obviously afraid to go in front of a camera to answer questions they did not want to answer.

There is no way to humanely keep a Killer Whale in captivity.

None!

The atrocities against these Killer Whales being held in captivity are very sickening. I don't know how anyone could defend such cruelty when asked about it in front of an audience.

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

How is this different than zoo's, circuses and even homes with exotic birds, monkeys, fish, reptiles, etc.? Not supporting any of them, but looks a lot like a Greenpeace whale-saver effort.

Another good point - there are plenty of other facilities which also violate a natural creature's right to live a humane and healthy life.

The reason for my post is I saw this documentary about Killer Whales and Sea World and was appalled by it!

But you are right....this is not the only scenario where wild creatures are tortured for profit.


http://www.marineconnection.org/docs/orcacalf.mp3

This calf was split from its mother during the Taiji Five capture when the pod was split; it died shortly afterwards.

[slakjaw]

Originally Posted by Baz

Another good point - there are plenty of other facilities which also violate a natural creature's right to live a humane and healthy life

the animals at the zoo are well fed so they won't starve to death, cared for when sick, and have NO predators. That's pretty humane and healthy so let's drill down with this some more.

Do you have any other knowledge of killer whales? Or did you just see this and decide to take issue with sea world? Have you seen killer whales kill and eat seals? It's not very humane.

Must have been a well made show.

[BeyGon]

The problem I have is that these animals are so big and in real life travel so much, they are in a small CAGE. It would be like you living in solitary, a 8x10 cell and for not doing anything wrong. I was in the aquarium in Vancouver and saw the whales there, they made a point of telling us the animals wouldn't be able to make it if returned to the ocean, it didn't make me feel better. My wife went to Canada for some Orca studies a couple years ago, I think some animals are just TOO BIG to be kept. Let them go and see if they make it.

[Chocaholic]

I think it's a matter of applying human emotions to animals. I certainly don't condone cruelty to any animal, but I'm guessing the whale doesn't have any opinion about its captivity. How about cattle at the feed-lot, or pigs, lambs, or bunnies in cages?

As indicated, all are fed, and treated for illness, etc. To think they actually are crying based on a human-llike emotion or otherwise feel sorry for themselves is really a stretch. It's likely that taking a whale that's been in captivity for 10+ years and then releasing it into the wild is probably the most cruel thing you could do. Shark food.

[BeyGon]

watch cattle, lots of animals, take their baby away, they don't show any noticeable emotion, do that to an Elephant, Dolphin, Whale, Orca, they know what's happening, they aren't the same. Keeping a cow or a pig in a pen is not the same. at least not on the same level. I am sure they would all rather run free.
Keeping an animal that should be traveling ten thousand miles a year in a small circular pool is not good. They may do tricks, if you were in a 8x10 cell you would do tricks.
as a human, do you want to live in a cage and let the government feed you, take care of you, or would you rather go out, even for only a day and do something on your own.

[skinnerd]

I'm right there with you on this one Baz.

Orca's simply do not need to be in captivity.....for any reason.

No matter what Sea World may publicly state, an Orca's only purpose in their facilities is to generate money.
Anything they may spout off about conservation is a bunch of lies and BS.

Originally Posted by Baz

I didn't realize Orca's natural life expectancy in the wild was similar to humans. Except of course for those in captivity - where it drops to about 35 years.

Cutting an Orca's life in half is just not OK for the sake of our entertainment and making Sea World a buck.

And for one, I do believe some animals do have emotions of some sort.
Perhaps nothing we could recognize as human, but that doesn't make their type of feelings any less valid.
They are known to be extremely intelligent mammals.
They travel in pods, communicate with each other, etc, etc.
We understand so little about them....how can we know what is best for them?

There are times that the cruelty, selfishness, arrogance, greed and callousness of humans is quite startling.
We do it constantly to our own species....to our own children at times.
Sick that we do it do other species who can't fight back.

I think that Sea World does have something to hide.
In my experience with our beloved Federal government, lack of transparency ALWAYS means something bad is taking place behind the scenes.
Same here....

Crazy world man....

[Baz]

Originally Posted by skinnerd

I'm right there with you on this one Baz.

Orca's simply do not need to be in captivity.....for any reason.

No matter what Sea World may publicly state, an Orca's only purpose in their facilities is to generate money.
Anything they may spout off about conservation is a bunch of lies and BS.



Cutting an Orca's life in half is just not OK for the sake of our entertainment and making Sea World a buck.

And for one, I do believe some animals do have emotions of some sort.
Perhaps nothing we could recognize as human, but that doesn't make their type of feelings any less valid.
They are known to be extremely intelligent mammals.
They travel in pods, communicate with each other, etc, etc.
We understand so little about them....how can we know what is best for them?

There are times that the cruelty, selfishness, arrogance, greed and callousness of humans is quite startling.
We do it constantly to our own species....to our own children at times.
Sick that we do it do other species who can't fight back.

I think that Sea World does have something to hide.
In my experience with our beloved Federal government, lack of transparency ALWAYS means something bad is taking place behind the scenes.
Same here....

Crazy world man....

Doug: Thanks for your intelligent post.

Orcas are not like any other animal and do not belong in captivity.

That is the point of the documentary.

Meanwhile the arrogance and stupidity of mankind, ironically lives on....

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[mikesride]

I fell asleep before the end. It was interesting I was just so tired. The part that got me was how they kept breeding with the most violent of the males. That's absolutely nuts. I have been to seaworld and enjoyed it, I have gone to a few zoo's and also enjoyed it. A part of me enjoys seeing these creatures up close but another part of me hates to see them cooped up.

[Moses]

Originally Posted by mikesride

I fell asleep before the end. It was interesting I was just so tired. The part that got me was how they kept breeding with the most violent of the males. That's absolutely nuts. I have been to seaworld and enjoyed it, I have gone to a few zoo's and also enjoyed it. A part of me enjoys seeing these creatures up close but another part of me hates to see them cooped up.

I can't go to zoos. It's cruelty no matter how "natural" the enclosure. I'd rather watch a well produced film of animals in nature or go hiking in the woods.

[afterburn 549]

It is brutal RAPE when they take the young !
They took them out of Pen Cove, Wa State early 1970s
One was found dead later all wrapped, but had surfaced latter anyway.
On top of that as regular visits to this waterway in Puget sound they never have come back as a herd. NEVER !
NEVER !
They remember what happened there. Humans trapped their young.
How cruel, how sad, .
Should be OUTLAWED !
and - I have never gone to a zoo to see them, to perpetuate these and like crimes !

[Baz]

Yes afterburn....they talk about that. When the trapper boats first came after the Orcas - the herd separated into 2 groups. One the males...the other the mothers with their calves. The boats went after the males because they didn't see the other group. But they had spotter planes which did see the mothers and their young. The Orcas were smart but against humans and their machinery a wild animal can only do so much sometimes before greed prevails.

In the documentary one of the interviewed trappers recalls that after several of the trapped calves died they were told to cut them open, fill them with rocks, wrap an anchor around them, and sink them.

He said it never occurred to him at the time they were doing anything illegal.

Orcas are very social and highly intelligent. They do not belong in captivity.