SeaWorld ends all orca breeding

[jdc12192]

If you took that as an attack towards you I'm sorry because it wasn't meant to be that way.

 

You said to GAcoaster -

 

 

And it seems like you haven't seen Blackfish, because former workers explain why they stayed.

Which my response was I suggest you look into blackfish.

 

I suggest that because even myself, someone who has been around animals for some years now, and worked for 2 people who were seaward & orca trainers, saw blackfish and immediately thought oh wow and thought the movie was truth. They made it very well to come across that way and that is why I feel majority of the people are against seaward- because they think the movie is all truths. Being that I believed a handful of stuff, I 'looked into blackfish' and just as if you were, you would find out-

 

The trainers that the film relies on have little or ZERO experience working with the killer whales and some who haven't worked at SeaWorld for nearly 20 years. Several had no experience with whales or with Tilikum, and several never even performed with the whales in the water. All of the cast is unfamiliar with the current conditions and techniques used at SeaWorld.

 

This is just some stuff on the topic of the trainers in which you can't even consider them a reliable source. Again like i said i didnt mean for it to come across as an attack, I'm just suggestion you research blackfish because just like you, I myself, did feel convinced after watching it but looking into the film proved otherwise.

[Matt Kaiser]

It is a very convincing film. I was also heavily convinced by it. I did have a few doubts, which is what lead to me looking further into the film. Even the way the cinematography is displayed is misleading without you even knowing it. They use clips out of sequence and out of context to make everything appear the way they want.

 

I'm still not saying SeaWorld is fully right, but I really can't trust PETA and similar organizations at all. There are good points on both sides, the difficult part is validating them and determining the best course of action from the mistakes that were already made in the past, while acknowledging the benefits to future research.

[YoungPup]

Jdc, you said "some" of the workers didn't do ___, exactly, SOME. But some of the people in the movie did, and there's videos of them. Matt, you mentioned the cinematography, that's your fault if you took the cinematography a certain way. I listened to what the people in the movie said, and I did research. I also looked up Seaworld's defense thing they posted on their site, and they didn't really have anything besides "The movie shows someone riding a whale, and it's not the woman who's being interviews, it's me" and the funny thing about that, is that the movie never said it was the woman being interviewed. There's a reason why Seaworld is banned from breeding and having workers in the water, and there's a reason why there are problems with their whales. I'm not going to be responding anymore, I said what I needed to say.

[Password121]

^There's a reason there are problems with their whales? I don't mean to call you out but that's complete BS. If you seriously believe SeaWorld's whales are not in good hands and suffer because of the world class treatment they receive with these amazing people that care about these whales more than anything you're seriously missing the mark.

[Matt Kaiser]

Matt, you mentioned the cinematography, that's your fault if you took the cinematography a certain way.

 

It's not really about me taking it a certain way. It's made to be taken that way - it's propoganda.

[YoungPup]

Last thing, Seaworld is banned from breeding and having workers perform in the shows for a reason. You can try to make it like there's nothing wrong with Orcas being in captivity, but there's research done by actual marine biologists. I'm guessing us.whales.org is also propaganda too, right? http://us.whales.org/wdc-in-action/captivity

Edited March 22, 2016 by YoungPup

[29yrswithaGApass]

I don't really care to jump in the conversation but I found the first thing I looked at interesting. In the lower right they mention collapsed dorsal fins and claim it is 100%. They then go on to state it happens to all males and some females. How is that 100%?

 

 

[GAcoaster]

It's not like they are saving them from the wild though. They have been breeding them for the last 40 years since they stopped capturing them. Also I would mention that their breeding program is not good for the whales. I am aware they cannot be released into the wild anymore but we wouldn't be having this problem if they didn't continue the breeding, which was done for no other reason other than profit. Now I am not saying the whales are treated badly or anything but like I said these whales are not meant to be in captivity and the effects of that have been shown in their behavior.

 

And I am well aware to be skeptical of PETA and other organizations like that that stretch the truth and I also know that Blackfish is also not entirely true. But that doesn't change the fact that whales were never meant to be in captivity.

They are helping whales in the wild through research and building awareness. The breeding program was a way to not have to keep capturing wild animals. Yes, it was for profit but also for research that cannot be done in the wild. Also, SeaWorld is not the same company that they were back when they did capture whales in the wild. It's just like when people today bring up the Haunted Castle fire at Great Adventure. There is a completely different company in charge and different management and you cannot tar them with the same brush for having to deal with the legacy.

 

You are correct, whales were not meant to be in captivity, but NO ANIMAL was meant to be in captivity when it comes down to it. However, we keep animals in captivity to learn from them or to use for our own purposes. That's the way it always has been.

 

How could they do research on a wild animal, that isn't in the wild? Seaworld has lied and said its normal for Orcas to have collapsed dorsal fins, and they've said the average life of an orca is __ amount of years (decades shorter than orcas in the wild).

Orcas in the wild can also have collapsed dorsal fins, it happens. SeaWorld's standards for orca lifespan come from the NOAA (a division of the US Government). Lifespan claims by PETA and other groups are based on non-scientific conjecture. Supposedly there is a 103 year old orca out there somewhere, but there is no way to prove how old she is, only that they thought she was about 50 years old 50 years ago. Like any animal there is a range for lifespan. Just because some people live to 114 doesn't mean we all will, some will die young and some will live longer.

 

 

I suggest you do a bit of research before telling someone else to do research http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-02-26/news/os-big-animals-big-cages-20100226_1_iceland-coast-orca-network-killer-whales

Killer whales EXPERTS say to release tillikum. It's not a guarantee he'll survive, but it's also not a guarantee he'll die.

That Orlando Sentinel article is an OPINION PIECE by an animal rights advocate. It is his opinion only, not scientific fact.

 

Those same experts said Keiko would survive and thrive in the wild and they were WRONG.

 

 

 

Link where her family says they support seaworld (in the past 3 years). The family said Dawn wouldn't have worked there if the whales weren't taken care of (they did not work there, therefore they cannot comment on the whales care) and they said they're grateful for the movie showing the whale's welfare.

Dawn's family runs the Dream Big Foundation, a charity to honor Dawn's life and work. They partner with SeaWorld for events constantly. And, if anyone had a right impetus to sue, it was Dawn;s family and they did not. Any court would have given them anything they asked for if they did sue.

 

Last thing, Seaworld is banned from breeding and having workers perform in the shows for a reason. You can try to make it like there's nothing wrong with Orcas being in captivity, but there's research done by actual marine biologists. I'm guessing us.whales.org is also propaganda too, right? http://us.whales.org/wdc-in-action/captivity

SeaWorld is not banned from breeding whales, the California Coastal Commission made it a condition for expansion of the habitat in the California park, which they had no legal ability to do and it was unenforceable. Marine biologists come to SeaWorld to study whales and other sea life. And, that website is yet another animal rights group, just like PETA. It has no government affiliation, it is a non profit animal right group just like so many others that makes money by fighting SeaWorld and other aquariums.

 

If it was not for SeaWorld and other marine life parks, we would not know so many things we do about these animals and more important, people would not make the connections that inspire them to care about the world we share. That is something that only happens when people can see these animals up close and really appreciate them. Seeing the on TV or a computer is not the same. That's why zoos and aquariums are so important in helping to make people care as well as for research and species preservation.

[jdc12192]

If it was not for SeaWorld and other marine life parks, we would not know so many things we do about these animals and more important, people would not make the connections that inspire them to care about the world we share. That is something that only happens when people can see these animals up close and really appreciate them. Seeing the on TV or a computer is not the same. That's why zoos and aquariums are so important in helping to make people care as well as for research and species preservation.

Beat me to it. If it wasn't places like SeaWorld, Safaris, Zoos etc, a lot less people who are inspired to save animals probably wouldn't be or even know that certain animals are endangered. Having a one on one interaction, or even seeing animals in person instantly connects people to them which makes them want to help them.

 

Our Safari alone has many many animals on the verge of extension and one even which is extinct. If people were to see or hear about it on tv, I'm sure certain ones would feel sad but it wouldn't give them drive as much as seeing the animals in person. It must be that connection people get and then the realization of wow this animal I'm looking at might not even exist throughout my lifetime which drives them to want to help.

[YoungPup]

I don't really care to jump in the conversation but I found the first thing I looked at interesting. In the lower right they mention collapsed dorsal fins and claim it is 100%. They then go on to state it happens to all males and some females. How is that 100%?

 

 

 

100% of males.

 

 

GACoaster, you pretty much copied and pasted what Seaworld has been saying about this Blackfish controversy, especially about people seeing whales up close. Go to a whale sanctuary if you want to see whales. https://www.thedodo.com/community/SamLipman/seaworld-science-strange-in-th-491661897.html(read the full article, but he's a small taste of what the original owner had to say about Seaworld)

 

 

"SeaWorld was created strictly as entertainment. We didn't try to wear this false façade of educational significance."

 

 

Now I really am done responding. But just know that this whole thing with Seaworld stopping the shows, is because of the people against animal captivity.

[GAcoaster]

GACoaster, you pretty much copied and pasted what Seaworld has been saying about this Blackfish controversy, especially about people seeing whales up close. Go to a whale sanctuary if you want to see whales. https://www.thedodo.com/community/SamLipman/seaworld-science-strange-in-th-491661897.html(read the full article, but he's a small taste of what the original owner had to say about Seaworld)

 

 

"SeaWorld was created strictly as entertainment. We didn't try to wear this false façade of educational significance."

I did bring up what SeaWorld has said because those a verifiable facts supported by scientific experts, not opinions from people who project their own feelings on animals and create their own data with no substance. Anything posted by "The Dodo" is just rehashing of PETA and other animal rights groups agenda with little to no basis in fact or truth.

 

Absolutely, SeaWorld was started as pure entertainment, but it has evolved and will continue to evolve over time.