Remove the stipulation that seaworld can't breed orcas in its california locations
The Issue
On Thursday (8th October 2015) the California coastal commission approved SeaWorld’s application to expand its orca facilities at its san Diego location which is a tremendous victory for the company and their orcas. However, in a devastating crumble to the pressure of the bullying PETA the commission attached a last minute amendment to the application to stop the breeding of orcas at this facility thereby denying all the orcas at SeaWorld San Diego from becoming parents ever again. I urge the commission to overturn this amendment as this would be a devastating blow to the orca population and to the economy of California as this will eventually lead to the loss of orcas in SeaWorld San Diego. I also believe that this amendment is beyond the commissions power which is stated on Wikipedia as a quasi-judicial regulatory oversight over land use and public access in the California coastal zone. This does not say that they have the power to regulate what animals breed on the land the govern. It is also stated on the website of the commission that their mission is to “To protect, conserve, restore, and enhance the environment of the California coastline” how is leaving a thriving family of orcas die out protecting? Or conserving? Or restoring? All this is doing is permitting the extinction of an entire family...
Since the release of the documentary “Blackfish” in 2013 SeaWorld has faced heavy criticism as to the treatment of their killer whales and their business practices in general.
I felt the need to write this letter as SeaWorld is enduring horrible and undeserved criticism from people who watched one documentary and now believe themselves to be animal welfare advocates. SeaWorld and other aquaria parks are the reason these people feel so passionately about these intelligent marine mammals as if it wasn't for companies like SeaWorld 95% of the people who petition for the release of the killer whales would never have seen them and would feel indifferent towards these animals.
In the following report aims to highlight the pros and cons of keeping killer whales in parks like SeaWorld and aims to broaden peoples minds as to the propaganda like theme that blackfish had against SeaWorld in particular.
In relation to Blackfish there were a few inaccuracies in the film,
1. Killer whales live longer in the wild: killer whales do not have a shorter life expectancy under the care of man, as a matter of fact in a recent independent report it was found that killer whales life expectancy is relatively equal both under the care of man and in the wild.
2. The treatment of orcas in captivity led to the death of Dawn Brancheau: Dawn spent her life dedicated to these animals and what happened her was an extremely tragic event. Tillikum is an extremely disturbed whale and this probably stems from the bullying he was subjected to at sea land of the pacific at the hands of the matriarchal female killer whales there.
3. SeaWorld mistreats its killer whales: SeaWorld’s animals are among the best cared for animals in the world, at SeaWorld the animals benefit from acclimatized pools & specially caught fresh fish that is hand selected and faces extensive quality control. animals at SeaWorld also have access to the best veterinary team in the world and trainers whose lives are dedicated to their animal’s health and wellbeing.
4. SeaWorld’s animals are forced to do shows and food is withheld if they don't perform: This is a vicious lie, the animals participate in shows of their own free will and a regular guest of the park will know that on many occasions the Shamu shows (killer whale shows) are cancelled because the trainers feel that the animals are not up to performing. In fact the shows actually benefit the animals as this is their opportunity to practice their behavior’s. regardless of show participation the animals still receive their full quota of fish for the day.
5. The trainers who were interviewed for the documentary were all ex trainers: Ex trainers who may have had a bit of bad blood with SeaWorld regarding their termination and may have felt that blackfish was the perfect way to bring down their former employer.
6. “Raking” only occurs at SeaWorld: this is untrue, raking is a process by which whales show dominance and while it does occur at SeaWorld it also occurs in the wild.
While blackfish had a lot of inaccuracies there are also some truths in blackfish,
1. Killer whales were captured: the key word here is were, SeaWorld and many other companies in the 1970s accepted animals from the wild. While this was a traumatic event for the whales, the companies did not act against the law and in fact they received federal permits allowing this process to take place. Blackfish leads the viewer to believe that SeaWorld still engages in the practice of capturing whales from the wild which is untrue as SeaWorld hasn't taken any whales from the wild in over thirty years. SeaWorld has since taken the virgin pledge to never accept animals from the wild.
2. There have been killer whale incidents under the care of man: More than thirty incidents since 1960 some being fatal but the trainers of these animals understand the risks involved with the job of being in close contact with such powerful animals. The trainers are so dedicated to the animals that they can even be prepared to work over major holidays when everyone is at home with their families, the SeaWorld trainers will be with their cetacean family. Thirty-five incidents over a period of fifty five years is not the worst case scenario considering that there are hundreds of people in close contact with killer whales every day for the past fifty five years, that’s over twenty thousand days of extremely close contact and only thirty five incidents. While the ideal situation would be zero incidents unfortunately accidents do happen as they can in any environment. How many people have died from car accidents since 1960? Millions. Blackfish's creators and PETA would have you believe that there have never been any incidents with killer whales in the wild but this is again untrue. There have been several reported incidents of killer whales attacking humans in the wild since 1910 while this is of course a lot less than under the care of man it is seven incidents where people are not in close contact with these animals and these people didn't spend every day with these animals.
Another argument that SeaWorld’s protesters make is that the whales live in bathtub sized tanks. While this is not true SeaWorld still has stepped up and is pledging 100 million euro per park to update its orca tanks through their blue world project.
The Blue World Project allows for the expansion of the current orca exhibits pools and the building of a new ten-million-gallon salt water pool with various enrichments including 1.5 acres of surface area, a fifty-foot-deep pool, an artificial fast water current that simulates ocean currents and an immersive viewing experience that is four stories high. This is set to be a great advance in killer whale care and stimulation.
SeaWorld is not only a world leader in veterinary and animal care, it also helps save millions of animals every year through its animal rescue program where every year the rescue team saves hundreds of animals. SeaWorld’s animals in its parks are also vitally important to animals in the wild. Scientists cannot study marine mammals properly in the wild in marine mammal parks scientists can study and research these animals in ways that don’t upset the animals in any way while at the same time the animals are educating the public about their species.
PETA would have all killer whales released but they would also have everyone in the world never eat meat or buy a dog. PETA are the extremists of the animal world and they have called for SeaWorld to be shut down and the orcas released back into the sea. The Blackfish director herself though has said that she does not want to see SeaWorld shut down but wants these animals to be released into an open sea sanctuary. While this is a great compromise it is one that is still unfeasible, the animals under the care of man at parks like SeaWorld are used to acclimatized pools and regular feeding and are unable to hunt and would probably die.
A tragic example of this inability to survive is the case of Keiko. After the film Free Willy was released in 1993 Keiko the orca that starred was the topic of much controversy as to the prospect of him still being under the care of man. In 1998 the preparations for his release began and he was trained in hopes of reintegration into the wild. While Keiko was able to feed himself on his journey he travelled from pod to pod of whales but was rejected from each of them. Keiko travelled to Hallsa in Norway and again it is said that he sought out human contact which he received as boats often travelled with tourists to see Keiko and feed him. Hallsa municipality received pressure from PETA and eventually made it illegal for the townspeople to interact with Keiko. in 2003 Keiko died near Hallsa from suspected pneumonia but is safe to assume that Keiko died a lonely death as a result of his release and abandonment.
Killer whales in the wild are now becoming an endangered species. If the situation deteriorates any more it may signal the beginning of the end for killer whales. If the animals are released now they may have to be recaptured in a couple of years to prevent the species going entirely extinct. I know PETA would be the first to cry out if any species went extinct and that reason alone is the reason I support the humane keeping of animals in zoos and aquariums subject to rigorous standards and constant evolution in the care to attempt to imitate the wild practices of these animals.
On Thursday (8th October 2015) the California coastal commission approved SeaWorld’s application to expand its orca facilities at its san Diego location which is a tremendous victory for the company and their orcas. However, in a devastating crumble to the pressure of the bullying PETA the commission attached a last minute amendment to the application to stop the breeding of orcas at this facility thereby denying all the orcas at SeaWorld San Diego from becoming parents ever again. I urge the commission to overturn this amendment as this would be a devastating blow to the orca population and to the economy of California as this will eventually lead to the loss of orcas in SeaWorld San Diego. I also believe that this amendment is beyond the commissions power which is stated on Wikipedia as a quasi-judicial regulatory oversight over land use and public access in the California coastal zone. This does not say that they have the power to regulate what animals breed on the land the govern. It is also stated on the website of the commission that their mission is to “To protect, conserve, restore, and enhance the environment of the California coastline” how is leaving a thriving family of orcas die out protecting? Or conserving? Or restoring? All this is doing is permitting the extinction of an entire family...
Thank you for reading I hope this has at least opened your mind to the fact that films and media outlets are not the most reliable source and that marine mammals are safe in the care of man.
sincerely:
A SeaWorld supporter and animal lover.
Petition Closed
The Issue
On Thursday (8th October 2015) the California coastal commission approved SeaWorld’s application to expand its orca facilities at its san Diego location which is a tremendous victory for the company and their orcas. However, in a devastating crumble to the pressure of the bullying PETA the commission attached a last minute amendment to the application to stop the breeding of orcas at this facility thereby denying all the orcas at SeaWorld San Diego from becoming parents ever again. I urge the commission to overturn this amendment as this would be a devastating blow to the orca population and to the economy of California as this will eventually lead to the loss of orcas in SeaWorld San Diego. I also believe that this amendment is beyond the commissions power which is stated on Wikipedia as a quasi-judicial regulatory oversight over land use and public access in the California coastal zone. This does not say that they have the power to regulate what animals breed on the land the govern. It is also stated on the website of the commission that their mission is to “To protect, conserve, restore, and enhance the environment of the California coastline” how is leaving a thriving family of orcas die out protecting? Or conserving? Or restoring? All this is doing is permitting the extinction of an entire family...
Since the release of the documentary “Blackfish” in 2013 SeaWorld has faced heavy criticism as to the treatment of their killer whales and their business practices in general.
I felt the need to write this letter as SeaWorld is enduring horrible and undeserved criticism from people who watched one documentary and now believe themselves to be animal welfare advocates. SeaWorld and other aquaria parks are the reason these people feel so passionately about these intelligent marine mammals as if it wasn't for companies like SeaWorld 95% of the people who petition for the release of the killer whales would never have seen them and would feel indifferent towards these animals.
In the following report aims to highlight the pros and cons of keeping killer whales in parks like SeaWorld and aims to broaden peoples minds as to the propaganda like theme that blackfish had against SeaWorld in particular.
In relation to Blackfish there were a few inaccuracies in the film,
1. Killer whales live longer in the wild: killer whales do not have a shorter life expectancy under the care of man, as a matter of fact in a recent independent report it was found that killer whales life expectancy is relatively equal both under the care of man and in the wild.
2. The treatment of orcas in captivity led to the death of Dawn Brancheau: Dawn spent her life dedicated to these animals and what happened her was an extremely tragic event. Tillikum is an extremely disturbed whale and this probably stems from the bullying he was subjected to at sea land of the pacific at the hands of the matriarchal female killer whales there.
3. SeaWorld mistreats its killer whales: SeaWorld’s animals are among the best cared for animals in the world, at SeaWorld the animals benefit from acclimatized pools & specially caught fresh fish that is hand selected and faces extensive quality control. animals at SeaWorld also have access to the best veterinary team in the world and trainers whose lives are dedicated to their animal’s health and wellbeing.
4. SeaWorld’s animals are forced to do shows and food is withheld if they don't perform: This is a vicious lie, the animals participate in shows of their own free will and a regular guest of the park will know that on many occasions the Shamu shows (killer whale shows) are cancelled because the trainers feel that the animals are not up to performing. In fact the shows actually benefit the animals as this is their opportunity to practice their behavior’s. regardless of show participation the animals still receive their full quota of fish for the day.
5. The trainers who were interviewed for the documentary were all ex trainers: Ex trainers who may have had a bit of bad blood with SeaWorld regarding their termination and may have felt that blackfish was the perfect way to bring down their former employer.
6. “Raking” only occurs at SeaWorld: this is untrue, raking is a process by which whales show dominance and while it does occur at SeaWorld it also occurs in the wild.
While blackfish had a lot of inaccuracies there are also some truths in blackfish,
1. Killer whales were captured: the key word here is were, SeaWorld and many other companies in the 1970s accepted animals from the wild. While this was a traumatic event for the whales, the companies did not act against the law and in fact they received federal permits allowing this process to take place. Blackfish leads the viewer to believe that SeaWorld still engages in the practice of capturing whales from the wild which is untrue as SeaWorld hasn't taken any whales from the wild in over thirty years. SeaWorld has since taken the virgin pledge to never accept animals from the wild.
2. There have been killer whale incidents under the care of man: More than thirty incidents since 1960 some being fatal but the trainers of these animals understand the risks involved with the job of being in close contact with such powerful animals. The trainers are so dedicated to the animals that they can even be prepared to work over major holidays when everyone is at home with their families, the SeaWorld trainers will be with their cetacean family. Thirty-five incidents over a period of fifty five years is not the worst case scenario considering that there are hundreds of people in close contact with killer whales every day for the past fifty five years, that’s over twenty thousand days of extremely close contact and only thirty five incidents. While the ideal situation would be zero incidents unfortunately accidents do happen as they can in any environment. How many people have died from car accidents since 1960? Millions. Blackfish's creators and PETA would have you believe that there have never been any incidents with killer whales in the wild but this is again untrue. There have been several reported incidents of killer whales attacking humans in the wild since 1910 while this is of course a lot less than under the care of man it is seven incidents where people are not in close contact with these animals and these people didn't spend every day with these animals.
Another argument that SeaWorld’s protesters make is that the whales live in bathtub sized tanks. While this is not true SeaWorld still has stepped up and is pledging 100 million euro per park to update its orca tanks through their blue world project.
The Blue World Project allows for the expansion of the current orca exhibits pools and the building of a new ten-million-gallon salt water pool with various enrichments including 1.5 acres of surface area, a fifty-foot-deep pool, an artificial fast water current that simulates ocean currents and an immersive viewing experience that is four stories high. This is set to be a great advance in killer whale care and stimulation.
SeaWorld is not only a world leader in veterinary and animal care, it also helps save millions of animals every year through its animal rescue program where every year the rescue team saves hundreds of animals. SeaWorld’s animals in its parks are also vitally important to animals in the wild. Scientists cannot study marine mammals properly in the wild in marine mammal parks scientists can study and research these animals in ways that don’t upset the animals in any way while at the same time the animals are educating the public about their species.
PETA would have all killer whales released but they would also have everyone in the world never eat meat or buy a dog. PETA are the extremists of the animal world and they have called for SeaWorld to be shut down and the orcas released back into the sea. The Blackfish director herself though has said that she does not want to see SeaWorld shut down but wants these animals to be released into an open sea sanctuary. While this is a great compromise it is one that is still unfeasible, the animals under the care of man at parks like SeaWorld are used to acclimatized pools and regular feeding and are unable to hunt and would probably die.
A tragic example of this inability to survive is the case of Keiko. After the film Free Willy was released in 1993 Keiko the orca that starred was the topic of much controversy as to the prospect of him still being under the care of man. In 1998 the preparations for his release began and he was trained in hopes of reintegration into the wild. While Keiko was able to feed himself on his journey he travelled from pod to pod of whales but was rejected from each of them. Keiko travelled to Hallsa in Norway and again it is said that he sought out human contact which he received as boats often travelled with tourists to see Keiko and feed him. Hallsa municipality received pressure from PETA and eventually made it illegal for the townspeople to interact with Keiko. in 2003 Keiko died near Hallsa from suspected pneumonia but is safe to assume that Keiko died a lonely death as a result of his release and abandonment.
Killer whales in the wild are now becoming an endangered species. If the situation deteriorates any more it may signal the beginning of the end for killer whales. If the animals are released now they may have to be recaptured in a couple of years to prevent the species going entirely extinct. I know PETA would be the first to cry out if any species went extinct and that reason alone is the reason I support the humane keeping of animals in zoos and aquariums subject to rigorous standards and constant evolution in the care to attempt to imitate the wild practices of these animals.
On Thursday (8th October 2015) the California coastal commission approved SeaWorld’s application to expand its orca facilities at its san Diego location which is a tremendous victory for the company and their orcas. However, in a devastating crumble to the pressure of the bullying PETA the commission attached a last minute amendment to the application to stop the breeding of orcas at this facility thereby denying all the orcas at SeaWorld San Diego from becoming parents ever again. I urge the commission to overturn this amendment as this would be a devastating blow to the orca population and to the economy of California as this will eventually lead to the loss of orcas in SeaWorld San Diego. I also believe that this amendment is beyond the commissions power which is stated on Wikipedia as a quasi-judicial regulatory oversight over land use and public access in the California coastal zone. This does not say that they have the power to regulate what animals breed on the land the govern. It is also stated on the website of the commission that their mission is to “To protect, conserve, restore, and enhance the environment of the California coastline” how is leaving a thriving family of orcas die out protecting? Or conserving? Or restoring? All this is doing is permitting the extinction of an entire family...
Thank you for reading I hope this has at least opened your mind to the fact that films and media outlets are not the most reliable source and that marine mammals are safe in the care of man.
sincerely:
A SeaWorld supporter and animal lover.
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Petition created on 9 October 2015