Frohes Neues Jahr ihr Lieben und Alles Gute für's Neue Jahr! Hoffentlich hattet ihr alle ein paar wundervolle Wochen! Wir wollen das neue Jahr mit unserer ersten Aktion in Gang setzen! Erinnert ihr euch noch daran, als BA verkündet hat, dass sie keine Gründe dafür sehen ihre Partnerschaft mit SeaWorld zu beenden, zum Teil weil SeaWorld doch von der "Association of Zoos and Aquariums" (AZA) und der "World Association of Zoos and Aquariums" (WAZA) akkreditiert ist? Nun, vielleicht können wir etwas daran ändern! AZA überprüft derzeit die Mitgliedschaft von einigen Einrichtungen, SeaWorld San Diego und SeaWorld Orlando mit inbegriffen. Beamte von AZA werden die aufgeführten Parks zwischen Oktober und Januar besuchen und die Mitgliedschaft im März 2015 erneuern, vorrausgesetzt, dass die Parks alle Beglaubigungsstandards von AZA befolgen. AZA erlaubt öffentliche Kommentare für die Beglaubigung, die SO SCHNELL WIE MÖGLICH zur Begutachtung abgeschickt werden sollten: https://www.aza.org/upcoming-reviews/ Ich habe mir die Standards auf https://www.aza.org/uploadedFiles/Accreditation/AZA-Accreditation-Standards.pdf angeguckt und bin der Meinung, dass SeaWorld 7 dieser Standards nicht einhält. Lasst uns also schnellstmöglich eine E-Mail an AZA abschicken, in der AZA sehen kann, dass SeaWorld ihre Standards nicht einhält und daher nicht mehr länger von AZA akkreditiert werden sollte! Am Ende dieses Updates könnt ihr eine vorformulierte E-Mail auf Englisch kopieren und abschicken. Vergesst bitte nicht am Ender der E-Mail mit eurem Namen zu unterschreiben! Wenn ihr mit Englisch gut klarkommt, könnt ihr sehr gerne auch eure eigene E-Mail verfassen. Beachtet dabei euch auf die angeführten Standards zu beziehen und Fakten aus der Literatur anzufügen, da persönliche Meinungen ohne Angaben von Fakten über SeaWorld AZA wenig interessieren werden. Ich habe selbst 7 Standards gefunden, die SeaWorld meiner Meinung nach nicht einhält. Meine E-Mail war über 6 Seiten lang und ich habe versucht diese englische Kopierversion auf das Wesentliche zu beschränken. Vielleicht findet ihr noch mehr? Bitte schickt eure E-Mail auf Englisch an: jdinenna@aza.org Hier ist die Standard E-Mail auf Englisch zum Kopieren (bitte Unterschrift am Ende nicht vergessen!): - - - - - Dear Ms. DiNenna, I am writing to you in regards to the Accreditation and Certification Review for March 2015. I am very concerned about renewing the membership for SeaWorld. SeaWorld San Diego and SeaWorld Orlando are due for a review. Having familiarised myself with AZA's accreditation standards, I believe that SeaWorld fails to meet at least 7 of your standards. The Preamble states that “if the facility has an education program, and/or hosts public groups on a regular basis, all related standards must be met.“ Since SeaWorld has to have an education program by law and hosts public groups regularly in form of school visits, they must meet all related standards from your list available at: https://www.aza.org/uploadedFiles/Accreditation/AZA-Accreditation-Standards.pdf I believe that SeaWorld does not meet the following accreditation standards of AZA: 1) Preamble: “Animals must be managed as appropriate for long-term genetic viability of the species, which means careful planning of resource allocation, exsitu breeding, and ex-situ/in-situ conservation and research.” 14 of 30 orcas living at SeaWorld, including the 6 at Loro Parque listed as SeaWorld's property, have no conservation value due to being hybrid breeds of two different populations or inbred, including Kalia's new calf. Hybrids have gene pools foreign to that of wild orcas and cannot be released back into the wild. For a list of hybrid and inbred orcas at SeaWorld, please see: http://captivecetaceans-tragicallysad.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/stand-with-seaworld-pro-conservation.html 2) “1.5.2. All animals must be housed in enclosures and in appropriate groupings which meet their physical, psychological, and social needs.” SeaWorld regularly separate their orcas for breeding purposes as early as age 4-6 on average whilst wild orcas from resident populations often stay together for a life time. One orca named Keet was separated from his mother Kalina when he was just one year and eight months old and still had a very strong bond to his mother. Weaning age of calves ranges from one to two years. It is possible that Keet was not yet weaned with less than 2 years of age when SeaWorld sent his mother to another facility in Orlando severely compromising his social needs: http://www.orcahome.de/swprofiles1.pdf “Keet was born on February 2, 1993 to Kalina and Kotar. Kalina (Keet's mother) was moved to SeaWorld Orlando in October 1994. Kalina and Keet still showed a close bond at the time of the move.” Another example of SeaWorld not holding orcas in appropriate groupings meeting their psychological and social needs is that of Kohana who was born in SeaWorld San Diego in 2002. In 2006, Kohana was separated from her mother Takara at around the age of 4 and sent to Loro Parque in Spain on a breeding loan where she had two calves, Adan and Victoria. She rejected both calves. Adan had to be hand raised by trainers while Victoria died at the age of just 10 months. Having been separated from her mother at the age of 4, Kohana had no chance to be taught by her mother or elder nursing females like her sisters how to nurse and bring up a calf. In the wild, calves are brought up not just by their mothers but grandparents and siblings as well. Furthermore, captive orcas suffer from poor dental health. Tooth wear is well documented in SeaWorld's own profiles and staff state that tooth wear can be so severe that teeth have to be drilled down to the gums. In such a case, the affected teeth require flushing with chemicals up to 3 times a day to avoid infections which can be fatal to orcas. The Orca Project wrote about the issue here with SeaWorld's documents attached: http://theorcaproject.wordpress.com/2010/09/25/the-hidden-cost-of-captivity-oral-health-of-killer-whales-exposed/ “Keet, M, 19— Dental work done on 11 teeth and missing part of another. Unna, F, 15— Nine teeth drilled. Wear on lower teeth. Katina, F, 37— Two badly chipped teeth and another broken at the base. Kasatka, F, 36— Missing three teeth on lower back right jaw. Orkid, F, 23— Had one tooth removed in 1995. Corky II, F, 45— Worn teeth on lower and upper jaw. Many decayed and discolored. Kyuquot, M, 20— No teeth drilled- small chip on one. Extensive erosion and yellowing of lower teeth and back upper teeth at and below gum line.” 3) “1.5.4 Explanation: Also, providing program animals with choices and control over their environment (e.g., whether they want to participate in a program on any given day), where and when appropriate, is essential to ensuring effective care and management.” Dr. Jeffrey Ventre, a former SeaWorld trainer, states that orcas at SeaWorld sometimes only get half of their daily food requirements before VIP shows to make sure that the animals are motivated to participate. We could speak of a choice being made if the animals would have a regulated food plan that does not prioritise participation in such shows. http://de.whales.org/node/11384 4) "1.5.7. The animals must be protected from weather or other environmental conditions clearly known to be detrimental to their health." There is growing scientific evidence that captivity itself is detrimental to the health of orcas. The life span of captive orcas is reduced by approximately 2.5 times compared to that of wild orcas which suggests that captivity itself causes suffering to this intelligent, sapient, sentient and self-aware species. The symptoms of captivity are outlined in this paper by Dr. Naomi Rose, a marine mammal biologist at the Animal Welfare Institute: https://awionline.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/AWI-KillerControversy-OrcaCaptivity-03272014.pdf 5) "1.7.1. Institutions that acquire aquatic animals from the wild will make a good faith effort to determine that collecting procedures are done in a sustainable manner." SeaWorld conducted captures through Don Goldsberry and Ted Griffin between the 1960s and 1970s from the Southern Resident orca population near Puget Sound without conducting research into how the removal of 45 orcas would affect the population. They captured primarily juveniles from a population that had just over 100 members. The Southern Residents have been listed as endangered since 2005. The impact is described by the Centre For Whale Research here: http://www.orcahome.de/impact.htm 6) "1.7.2. Institutions dealing with commercial collectors must determine that the collectors are properly permitted to conduct legal collections of animals (including aquatic animals) from the wild." Whilst permits were issued for the Penn Cove captures from the 60s and 70s, during the capture illegal catching methods were used. The hunters used explosives to scare the orcas into a cove and when some of them drowned in the nets, they slit open their bellies, filled them with rocks, attached an anchor to their tails and sank them to the bottom in order to hide from the public that some orcas died during the captures. The incident is also well documented in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUlbZifjoqo and this article by Orca Network about Lolita's capture: http://www.orcanetwork.org/captivity/lolitacapture.html 7) “The animal is used in a respectful, safe manner and in a manner that does not misrepresent or degrade the animal.” SeaWorld uses information on their official websites that is scientifically incorrect. In regards to orca's life spans they claim that “The issue of killer whale lifespan is one that is often misconstrued and overly simplified. The simple truth is that no one knows.” Then they claim that “The data we do have show that killer whales at SeaWorld are living as long as their counterparts in the wild”. http://seaworld.com/en/truth/killer-whales/lifespan/ Researchers know that the average age for female orcas in the wild is around 45 years and 30 years for males with an estimated maximum of 50-60 for males and 80-90 for females. In comparison, at SeaWorld merely 5 out of 80 captive orcas have so far survived beyond the age of 30. Additionally, the “scientific evidence” SeaWorld use to back up this claim is an apparently “independent research” by the Associated Press claiming that some of SeaWorld's mammals, such as bottlenose dolphins and sea lions, live longer at SeaWorld than their counterparts in the wild. SeaWorld used this article to claim that their captive orcas live as long as their wild counterparts. What the article really states is that: “Killer whales born in captivity at SeaWorld parks have a survival rate nearly equal to their counterparts in the wild, according to AP’s analysis of data from the federal Marine Mammal Inventory Report. However, the survival rate of all SeaWorld’s orcas, including those captured in the oceans, is lower than estimates of those living in the wild.” http://juneauempire.com/not-web/2014-07-04/some-seaworld-mammals-live-longer-captivity There is a second example of sheer misrepresentation of the scientific evidence in SeaWorld's letter to debunk the claims made in the movie Blackfish. http://da15bdaf715461308003-0c725c907c2d637068751776aeee5fbf.r7.cf1.rackcdn.com/adf36e5c35b842f5ae4e2322841e8933_4-4-14-updated-final-of-blacklist-list-of-inaccuracies-and-misleading-points.pdf In regards to dorsal fin collapse, SeaWorld published in point 42 that dorsal fin collapse happens in “one quarter of adult male southern residents” citing a paper by Dr. Ingrid Visser and claiming that there is no scientific evidence to back up the claim that it occurs in less than 1% of wild orcas. Two aspects are not only misrepresented but clearly used to mislead the reader. Firstly, there is scientific evidence that less than 1% of wild killer whales have collapsed dorsal fins: “Ventre's statement of fact is based on the literature, personal conversations with Visser and other scientists, and his own field experiences with Orca Survey in 1996.” http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/seaworld-put-on-notice-by-orca-scientist/article/384814 Secondly, Dr. Ingrid Visser's information is misused as she does not study the Southern Residents. She studies orcas in New Zealand who hunt rays and sharks in shallow waters and her research found that around 27% of New Zealand orcas have abnormal fins meaning bent or collapsing or twisted but not collapsed. SeaWorld use Dr. Visser's statement to claim that a quarter of adult male Southern Residents have abnormal fins which is incorrect. A study from 2005 comparing dorsal fins of false killer whales to that of other cetaceans shows that less than 1% of orcas studied in New Zealand and in British Columbia and Canada had major dorsal fin disfigurements: https://40.media.tumblr.com/64ad29da83d4b2036dda45e1e94efbaa/tumblr_n4s35oESed1rczo97o1_1280.jpg Based on the cited evidence showing that SeaWorld fails to meet 7 of AZA's standards, I ask you to not renew SeaWorld San Diego's and SeaWorld Orlando's accreditation and to also not renew SeaWorld San Antonio's accreditation when it is due for renewal. Thank you for your time and consideration of public comments. Kind regards,