Dolphin Show Part 1 SeaWorld, San Diego, CA

Dolphin Show Part 1 SeaWorld, San Diego, CA. This was taken June 28, 2008

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Seaworld
• Dolphin
• Show

[metridium]

All too often, behind the facade of conservation, education and 'family entertainment',

the grim reality of captivity consists of blaring piped 'muzak', demeaning tricks

performed by increasingly traumatised and sickly whales, along with a growing litany of

'accidents', illnesses, stillbirths and premature deaths. WDCS

[BanWolfHunting]

@missnoodles996 Maybe at this particular place. But where were the adults taken from?

So now they have slaves giving birth to slaves... intelligent animals who will never know the freedom of the seas, and will be unable to be what they were born to be-- natural long-distance swimmers of the oceans.

It's like keeping a bird that was born to fly in a cage. A tragedy so sad it breaks the heart.

And so many stupid morons out there actually think it's ENTERTAINMENT.

Now that's REALLY sad.

[missnoodles996]

@journeyman47 And the whale pools are 7 million gallons, kept at a whale-friendly temperature with saltwater. They should never have been taken from the wild in the first place, but releasing them would be like a death sentence or it would stress them out even more. SeaWorld actually have the best facilities in the world, and some of the best trainers too. They're with their family, are kept stimulated, and actually enjoy interacting with the trainers. All the evidence shows they're happy.

[missnoodles996]

@journeyman47 I'd love to see them in the wild, and I'll make sure I do one day. I checked last week, and a one week whale watching trip costs the same as 3 weeks in Florida, including flights and park tickets. SeaWorld isn't lame either -- have you ever been, or just made assumptions? They donate MILLIONS to conservation, and have their own fund and rescue staff too. Whilst the PeTA were flying aeroplanes over their park, they were busy rescuing a manatee that would not have survived othrwise.

[journeyman47]

@missnoodles996 First of all, going to see orcas and whales in the ocean doesn't "stress them out". they often doze on the surface next to the boats. I had a memorable experience of seeing 4 fin whales, side by side, all lolling together near our boat while we stared in amazement.

You won't get THAT at some lame amusement park.

As for not seeing anything wrong with keeping highly intelligent and social mammals captive in crappy, bleached swimming pools, well, you must be blind. I pity you.

[missnoodles996]

@journeyman47 I'm going to Florida in 2 weeks, and I'm not skipping out on SeaWorld just because I could be seeing them in the wild. I enjoy all of it -- rides, shows, interacting with the animals. I see no problem with captive animals, just as long as they're not capturing from the wild and they're well looked after. Captive orcas are truly used to people, they're not stressed by interacting with them. Should we really be stressing the wild ones out just because we disagree with captivity?

[journeyman47]

@missnoodles996 Actually, I've been VERY inspired by some documentaries-- ex: The Academy Award-winning "The Cove", "Sharkwater", "Blue Planet", "The Animals Movie"... the list goes on. Perhaps you're watching the wrong documentaries.

And if you REALLY love orcas, you'll pay the price to go see wild ones, knowing that you didn't support the captive marine mammal industry, and saw truly wild, free orcas-- a memory to last a lifetime. Much better than going to some stupid touristy theme park.

[missnoodles996]

@journeyman47 Do you really think documentaries are going to inspire anything? All they do is show footage and tell you facts. They educate, but they don't INSPIRE people to help with conservation. A trip to see killer whales in the wild costs as much as a whole 3 weeks in Florida, including flights! People don't go to SW just for the whales, it's part of a whole holiday that usually includes other big parks.

[journeyman47]

@missnoodles996: I disagree. I think it's more important to LEAVE THEM ALONE, the "public" doesn't need to be "shown" how beautiful and intelligent they are by keeping them captive and making them perform silly, unnatural tricks. There are many beautiful nature documentaries that show them in the wild, and if people want to see them, they can go on whale/dolphin watching cruises. They were born to swim free in the ocean, and that's where they belong. Period.

[journeyman47]

@metridium Very true indeed!

[missnoodles996]

@BanWolfHunting Sorry, I tagged this up accidentally. I agree that the adults should not have been taken and the wild is best. However, I also know that at SeaWorld at least, they are happy and well taken care of, and certainly NOT forced to do anything. I would never see it as entertainment, I just think it's important to show the public how beautiful and intelligent these animals are, and make them more aware of the many conservation funds there are to help them.