Friday, April 15, 2016
SeaWorld’s end to captive breeding gives it the chance to make amends.
www.slate.com: Things just keep getting worse for SeaWorld: In the wake of the damning 2013 documentary Blackfish, the once-beloved marine park has been beset by public outrage, declining ticket sales, and lawsuits. Last month it made a historic announcement: It will stop breeding orcas of its own volition. That decision may soon be reified with the passage of the Orca Protection Act, a bill inspired by Blackfish and first introduced by California lawmakers two years ago, which passed in a state committee on Tuesday. If it makes it through further committees, the bill will permanently outlaw breeding and display of orcas, effectively ensuring that the park could never go back on its word—in California, at least.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I didn't know that Sea World even had a rehabilitation program, and that that was how it got most of it's animals for shows. I also had no clue that they had so many animals in captivity. 80 whales? That's a huge number. I likewise had no clue that the Navy had a sea mammal program, and used them for...flagging underwater mines? Interesting.
There's a lot of debate about the ethics of keeping animals in captivity, especially those animals who, like orcas, are social and need the company of a family group to survive. Are the animals they are holding used for educational purposes, even those who are entertaining and doing shows? The article mentioned that there was doubt about how many people would come to see exhibits of animals that were being rehabilitated with release in their future, but I think there is no question about it. If Sea World really wants to educate it's visitors about marine life, it can do that more completely and accurately by showing the rehabilitation process for animals affected by human waste and environmental damage, while also educating them about how to prevent this from happening. Seeing a dolphin do flips doesn't teach people about what the dolphin faces in the ocean, and how deeply they are affected by human behavior.
I feel like Sea World is always in the news for one thing or another and it was refreshing to read how not everything they do is so amazingly wrong. I also liked how this article showed and discussed a broader topic about animal cruelty and that laws that are and aren’t there to protect them. I also have a hard time believing that after everything sea world went through that they won’t make significant improvements in the way they treat all of their animals, not just the ones that there are laws protecting. The national aquarium in Baltimore had dolphin shows and I wonder how those dolphins were treated. It is weird to me that animals who are cared for by professional animal handlers could be so mistreated. Its obvious that there was some serious neglect and it is good to see that Sea World is trying to make amends (and boost their ticket sales).
It still confuses me how orcas were chosen to be trained for entertainment in the first place. Just because they are similar in shape and genetic makeup to dolphins does not change the fact that they are 12,000 pound predators. And what amazes me even more, is that after the 70's, when numerous attacks and deaths were imparted upon trainers, nothing was done, and they simply kept the whales performing at parks. Not only that, but simply taking them from the wild. I have never seen Blackfish, because I'm always skeptical of things propagating such heavy claims, and would rather do the research myself, but if the documentary has incited this much change, I feel like I should watch it now. But, from my own research, orca whales are going extinct, in part due to climate change, and also the "rescuing" that places like Seaworld do, which is in fact simply capturing. So, I'm glad they're shutting down orca entertainment. And while yes, sea lions and dolphins are much more human friendly animals, but they need to provide better care for their animals regardless.
I'm glad that this organization, hell bent on making money without care for their trainers or animals is finally being forced to change their ways.
Ever since Blackfish was released Sea World really hasn't been able to catch a break in the media, so it's definitely a little reassuring to see something positive about them again. The rehabilitation and housing of unreleasable animals is important, and seems like it would be a great place for Sea World to step in. Assuming that this program is only backed by goodwill and isn't focused on profits it would be a great way for the company to survive and redeem themselves in the public eye. However, this article made it seem like currently this program is merely a financial endeavor. The fact that only 0.006 percent of Sea World's money on this program as of right now is shocking to me. It really reinforces the idea that they are simply using this program as a way to get animals for free. If the law preventing orca breeding passes then his will become their only way to get animals, so I really hope that will mean that this program will be further developed to the point where its main focus is animal welfare and not money.
I remember scrolling through Facebook and passing by a video from Sea World saying that this was it. That there will be no more Orca shows. That they were going to be released and the training of orcas would be no more. That made me very happy. It is true what Megan said, after Blackfish came out, Sea World wasn't really viewed in the best way and many people even protested against the conditions they kept their animals. I am really looking forward to see how this company furthers their efforts to change the way they manage their animals and trainers. As this will most definitely increase ticket sales, Sea World needs to make sure they are doing everything right for the animals because they will be getting so many people who would want to see housing and training conditions.
This is great news that I, honestly, did not see coming. SeaWorld’s reputation has been in a downward spiral for quite a while now due to social media protesting, the film Blackfish, leaked videos from employees, and a whole slew of other negative media. SeaWorld has spent a ton of money on marketing, including a $10 million campaign to combat Blackfish. Slowly, the world is eating away at this company. I’m thinking that the only reason why SeaWorld voluntarily decided to stop breeding orcas was to give the public something they wanted in order to draw attention away from all the other animals that they breed in captivity. This was a large sacrifice for SeaWorld; they make a lot of money on their orca shows. I hope the public keeps the pressure on SeaWorld. Hopefully, they won’t be around in another 20 years. I’m not some huge crazy animal-rights activist, but I do care deeply about marine animals. If you’d like to see some and can’t make it out to the ocean, please visit an aquarium, not SeaWorld.
Post a Comment