Wednesday, 12 October 2016
Monday, 10 October 2016
Keep Calm and Know What is Good
Although it is easy to get wrapped up in what is wrong, it is also important to recognise the positives that have happened recently as direct a result of campaigns against orca captivity:
1) After the release of Blackfish in 2013, SeaWorld's shares went down by 30% and overall profits dropped by a massive 84%.
2) Theatrical orca shows are being phased out in San Diego, with promises from SeaWorld that their parks in San Antonio and Florida will follow.
3) In March 2016, SeaWorld made the announcement that it had ended its breeding program. Making this the last generation of orca whales in captivity.
4) Student Travel Association (STA) has stopped selling and promoting trips to marine parks.
5) People and mainstream media across the world are now beginning to recognise the issue and are starting to boycott places like SeaWorld that engage with keeping orcas captive.
1) After the release of Blackfish in 2013, SeaWorld's shares went down by 30% and overall profits dropped by a massive 84%.
2) Theatrical orca shows are being phased out in San Diego, with promises from SeaWorld that their parks in San Antonio and Florida will follow.
3) In March 2016, SeaWorld made the announcement that it had ended its breeding program. Making this the last generation of orca whales in captivity.
4) Student Travel Association (STA) has stopped selling and promoting trips to marine parks.
5) People and mainstream media across the world are now beginning to recognise the issue and are starting to boycott places like SeaWorld that engage with keeping orcas captive.
Saturday, 8 October 2016
Keep Calm and Boycott SeaWorld
Despite there being marine parks worldwide that are responsible for the captivity of orca whales - SeaWorld positions itself as the leading culprit for the mistreatment of these majestic animals with 23 orcas currently being housed at their parks across America. In addition to this, SeaWorld has 6 of its orcas being held at Lorca Parque marine park in Spain which is said to be a 'loan' by SeaWorld representatives.
Everything about how orcas came to perform at SeaWorld is diabolical. These beautiful animals endured relentless chasing by those instructed to capture baby orcas off the coast of Iceland. The process of capturing these orcas included separating the mothers from their calves by using ships, boats and even air crafts to locate and seal off any route of escape. This is an example of an anthropocentric activity in which humans believe they have the right to invade a habitat that is not their own.
The case against orca captivity is obvious - these animals are too big, too intelligent and too socially complex to survive in such a confined space. In the wild, orcas swim up to 100 miles a day and they are renowned for their social behaviours that allow them travel in large groups - known as pods. Each pod has its own set of vocalisations that are used for long and short range communication with one another. In addition to this, each pod has their own unique hunting tactics and methods of feeding. Therefore, it is and has been proven to be disastrous to put these animals in pools with orcas not from their pods. This type of forced interaction is damaging and dangerous for orcas as it is completely unnatural in the wild.
The display of orca's at marine parks is animal exploitation in its cruelest form. SeaWorld claims that the inclusion of orca's at their parks serves an educational purpose. But what is educational about manipulating visitors into thinking that this is the way we should observe and treat these creatures? Of course, the educational claim is not the reason SeaWorld chooses to hold these orcas captive. The real reason is the huge financial benefits these corporations gain by charging admission tickets to their parks.
The financial aspect is how you can differentiate between good and evil in this battle for orca's freedom. Campaigns such as 'Free Tilly' are not for profit organisations that only have one agenda - to ensure that these orcas have the opportunity to live out the duration of their lives in a sea pen that is far away from the damaging confinements of marine parks. In light of this, it becomes abundantly clear that those working selflessly and tiresomely to demand justice for non human beings are the people who should be trusted, not SeaWorld.
Boycott SeaWorld and make this the last generation of orca captivity.
Everything about how orcas came to perform at SeaWorld is diabolical. These beautiful animals endured relentless chasing by those instructed to capture baby orcas off the coast of Iceland. The process of capturing these orcas included separating the mothers from their calves by using ships, boats and even air crafts to locate and seal off any route of escape. This is an example of an anthropocentric activity in which humans believe they have the right to invade a habitat that is not their own.
The case against orca captivity is obvious - these animals are too big, too intelligent and too socially complex to survive in such a confined space. In the wild, orcas swim up to 100 miles a day and they are renowned for their social behaviours that allow them travel in large groups - known as pods. Each pod has its own set of vocalisations that are used for long and short range communication with one another. In addition to this, each pod has their own unique hunting tactics and methods of feeding. Therefore, it is and has been proven to be disastrous to put these animals in pools with orcas not from their pods. This type of forced interaction is damaging and dangerous for orcas as it is completely unnatural in the wild.
The display of orca's at marine parks is animal exploitation in its cruelest form. SeaWorld claims that the inclusion of orca's at their parks serves an educational purpose. But what is educational about manipulating visitors into thinking that this is the way we should observe and treat these creatures? Of course, the educational claim is not the reason SeaWorld chooses to hold these orcas captive. The real reason is the huge financial benefits these corporations gain by charging admission tickets to their parks.
The financial aspect is how you can differentiate between good and evil in this battle for orca's freedom. Campaigns such as 'Free Tilly' are not for profit organisations that only have one agenda - to ensure that these orcas have the opportunity to live out the duration of their lives in a sea pen that is far away from the damaging confinements of marine parks. In light of this, it becomes abundantly clear that those working selflessly and tiresomely to demand justice for non human beings are the people who should be trusted, not SeaWorld.
Boycott SeaWorld and make this the last generation of orca captivity.
Keep Calm and Research
In order to be fully informed about the worldwide campaigns for orca release from capvitity and the long standing legal battles against SeaWorld and other marine parks, visit these websites and blogs that are constantly advocating for the humane release of these beautiful animals:
https://theorcaproject.wordpress.com/page/6/ - The Orca Project is a brilliant long standing blog that has documented the battle against SeaWorld for many years.
http://us.whales.org/blog/2014/02/can-captive-whales-or-dolphins-be-returned-to-wild - Whales and Dolphins is a website dedicated to educating people about marine animals as well as advocating for the release of orcas in captivity.
http://www.takepart.com/feature/2016/06/14/killer-whales-new-life-after-seaworld - A article written by 'Death at Seaworld' author David Kirby that is a continuation of his argument that orcas are should not and should have never been forced into captivity and new plans to release these animals to a sea pen.
http://www.thestranger.com/features/feature/2015/09/30/22939219/its-time-to-free-lolita-a-puget-sound-killer-whale-thats-been-trapped-in-miami-for-45-years - An in-depth history into how orca shows came out and an insight into Loitla, a female orca whale in captivity at SeaWorld Florida.
https://theorcaproject.wordpress.com/page/6/ - The Orca Project is a brilliant long standing blog that has documented the battle against SeaWorld for many years.
http://us.whales.org/blog/2014/02/can-captive-whales-or-dolphins-be-returned-to-wild - Whales and Dolphins is a website dedicated to educating people about marine animals as well as advocating for the release of orcas in captivity.
http://www.takepart.com/feature/2016/06/14/killer-whales-new-life-after-seaworld - A article written by 'Death at Seaworld' author David Kirby that is a continuation of his argument that orcas are should not and should have never been forced into captivity and new plans to release these animals to a sea pen.
http://www.thestranger.com/features/feature/2015/09/30/22939219/its-time-to-free-lolita-a-puget-sound-killer-whale-thats-been-trapped-in-miami-for-45-years - An in-depth history into how orca shows came out and an insight into Loitla, a female orca whale in captivity at SeaWorld Florida.
Keep Calm and Hear the Truth
In the aftermath of Blackfish, SeaWorld launched a campaign to discredit much of what they were accused of in the documentary. In their advertisements like the one shown here, SeaWorld used the opportunity to try and convince people that they have only ever been involved in the 'collecting' of orcas as oppose to the 'capturing' - which is the correct term for the brutality these animals experienced at being separated from their pods and taken from their natural habitat.
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| SeaWorld separates mothers and their offspring. Orca calves are taken away from their mother at as young as four years old. In the wild, an orca never leaves its mother side. The entire process is extremely distressing for both mother and calf. In the aftermath of this separation, some orcas in captivity have been recorded making vocalisations that have never been heard before in the wild. |
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| It has been proved on multiple occasions that SeaWorld has been responsible for an inadequate standard of care for orcas. One of the main causes of premature orca death in captivity is poor nutrition and bacterial infection. SeaWorld is in charge of both of these factors and therefore they are responsible for the sickness of these animals that leads to their deaths. Humans can not provide the healthy lifestyle that these orcas would experience in their natural habitat. |
Despite being an old advertisement, SeaWorld still uses human interaction with orcas as a unique selling point for their marine parks. However, this 'come talk to the animals' slogan encourages people to view orcas as an animal that humans can explicitly talk to and engage with as oppose to the reality which is that orcas are not meant for human interaction.
Keep Calm and Read 'Death at SeaWorld'
In addition to watching Blackfish, reading 'Death at SeaWorld' by David Kirkby will provide anyone that is interested with a groundbreaking insight into the darker side of SeaWorld. It has been on The New York Times best seller list and has been widely credited for its scientific expose of the cruelty orcas endure at the hands of marine parks.
'Death at SeaWorld' embarks on a journey that begins with documenting where orcas originate from in the wild to how they became global entertainers in the human world. It provides readers with an in depth analysis into how intelligent orcas are which points to one of the many reasons that they should not be used for entertainment purposes.
'Death at SeaWorld' also offers an alternative outcome for orcas in captivity. It discusses the option to humanely release orcas to sea pens where they could live out the duration of their lives in an environment that is as close to the wild as possible for these emotionally damaged animals.
'Death at SeaWorld' embarks on a journey that begins with documenting where orcas originate from in the wild to how they became global entertainers in the human world. It provides readers with an in depth analysis into how intelligent orcas are which points to one of the many reasons that they should not be used for entertainment purposes.
'Death at SeaWorld' also offers an alternative outcome for orcas in captivity. It discusses the option to humanely release orcas to sea pens where they could live out the duration of their lives in an environment that is as close to the wild as possible for these emotionally damaged animals.
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