If you have seen Blackfish.....

[connie1042]

It was hard to watch at times. Our family loved SeaWorld. They liked it better than Disney when they were little. What SW did was wrong, and they should change their ways. Some of the things that surprised me was the trainers lack of knowledge. I was one of those people that thought you had to have a degree in marine biology, just not anyone that thought it would be fun. The trainers were trained, but only on how to make the whales perform. They really knew nothing about whales. I guess the question now is, what to do. They can not just let these animals loose. I believe SW takes good care of the animals. Today, I got a open letter from SW in my mail box. Really no mention of the whales, just all the good they do for their animals. If I choose not to return to SW, it would be on the grounds of what they did to their employees, especially Dawn. To blame these trainers, and not acknowledge the fact that it was the whale that caused her death, really puts a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[Vidia2]

After seeing both "The Cove" and "Blackfish" I'd prefer to not return to SeaWorld properties. As it is, my son asks to go occasionally. As long as we are able to distract him with other options we will. We don't want him to feel guilty over something he isn't able to understand.

Edited to be nicer but it is very upsetting.

 

[HollyL]

You need to read the response from Sea World before jumping on the anti-Sea World bandwagon: http://www.wdwinfo.com/news/seaworl...disney-updates+(Disney+Updates+-+wdwinfo.com)

I am sure that SeaWorld pays their PR people A LOT of money to spin things to make them look good. Just sayin.

 

[HollyL]

Relatively little about Sea World's animals is indeed about entertainment. Although, in recent years Sea World does seem to focus less on education than it once did.

But Sea World has made a great response to Blackfish, which is on wdwinfo at: http://www.wdwinfo.com/news/seaworld/SeaWorld_offers_response_to_Blackfish_film.htm

In addition to what Sea World's response states, what the film fails to mention is that most of the animals at Sea World were injured or stranded and are not able to be rehabilitated to the point that they would survive in the wild. Most of the animals that are able to be rehabilitated are returned to the wild.

NONE of the orcas (which the film is about) are rescues. Sure, many were born there (by ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION), but the original orcas (most of which died way before they should have) were all stolen from their families.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Something to keep in mind is without Zoos and Aquariums there would be a lot more animals that would have gone the way of The Dodo, as in compltly extinced. Some good examples of Animals saved from extinction by Zoos are the American Bald Eagle, the california Condor, buffalo and many others.

 

[CarouselOfProgress4]

Lets not kid ourselves guys. SeaWorld is a for profit organization. Their main goal is to maximize profits end of story. SeaWorld does not care about the lives of animals or the conservation of species and if they do it is only because it affects public relations and their image. If their main goal was wildlife conservation then they would be a non-profit org that relied on donations and grants.

On the other hand, the trainers and employees I'm sure truly love these animals.

 

[lexandme]

Something to keep in mind is without Zoos and Aquariums there would be a lot more animals that would have gone the way of The Dodo, as in compltly extinced. Some good examples of Animals saved from extinction by Zoos are the American Bald Eagle, the california Condor, buffalo and many others.

Orcas, belugas and bottle nose dolphins are not on the endangered list. There is no need to keep them in captivity. Sea World's breeding program is not in place to breed and release back into the ocean to preserve any cetacean. They breed to replace stock for their parks so they can continue to make a huge profit.

 

[HollyL]

Something to keep in mind is without Zoos and Aquariums there would be a lot more animals that would have gone the way of The Dodo, as in compltly extinced. Some good examples of Animals saved from extinction by Zoos are the American Bald Eagle, the california Condor, buffalo and many others.

Yes, you are correct on this. There are some decent zoos and aquariums out there, and CERTAIN animals have done well in captivity, and because they are endangered, it may have saved them, but there are certain animals, such as ORCAS, that are not suitable for captivity due to their size, intelligence, and social structure. They do not belong in tanks, and it's a shame that they are forced to do silly tricks.

 

[HollyL]

Also, and I am not directing this to anyone in particular, I don't understand how people can go out and call this film a totally one sided propaganda film when they haven't even seen it!

I honestly think a lot of people refuse to see it because they enjoy going to SeaWorld, and are afraid of seeing something that may change their minds. Many people think SW is a wonderful place, and are misinformed with all the "good things" that SW reportedly does. Sure, they do some rescue work, but in the grand scheme of things, about one cent for every hundred dollars earned by the corporation actually goes into their rescue/conservation efforts. They probably spend more money on advertising, and in a way, these "conservation" efforts are a form of advertising because they create somewhat of a false image that SW wants people to believe.

It's hard to learn the truth about something you love, because once you know, there is no going back.

I used to like SW too, when I was younger, but once I was aware of what was really going on, I could no longer support it, and I cannot ethically raise my kids to think this is okay either.

 

[CarouselOfProgress4]

Holly, that's one of the most important points regarding this issue. Orcas do not belong in captivity for the reasons you stated. They are too big, intelligent, and dangerous and also have complex social behavior. Who are we as humans to believe we have the right to enslave these animals.

One of the most emotional parts of the film was when the baby orca was taken from its mother to a new facility and the mother was giving long distance calls trying to locate the calf.