SeaWorld's Response to "The Cove"

[dpuck1998]

I feel like I have beat this to death, my I am with Frank on most of his comments and Randy. There is a lot of good that goes on, telling people not to interact with animals, have them perform or keep them as "pets" is never going to happen. If you disagree with the way they are treated or the entire idea of having animals perform, then SeaWorld isn't the place for you to visit. I respect that and 100 percent agree with your decision. I take issue when others tell me I shouldn't visit because of their opinions.

Again, I want to thank everyone for how well this conversation has gone and how everyone has been able to keep on topic without becoming emotional. Intelligent and open debate is a great thing.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I have said this before and it's never been more true...

I am a fence sitter on this particular issue. I can see both sides of the argument and could argue for either side.

That being said...I think we are missing a much larger picture.

It seems to me that the animals in zoos and marine parks are faring much better than animals in the wild.

We humans are destroying their natural habitat at an alarming rate and I dont see much outrage at the devastation.

The couple of dozen dolphins in the SeaWorld parks across the US are going to have a much easier time of it than the multitudes that live in the Gulf.

As many have said....there is always another side to any story. SeaWorld is putting their sunny spin on the story. The producers of The Cove are putting their grim spin on the story. We have to assume that the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

I also think that the idea of seeing animals in their natural habitat is a noble idea, but seeing narwhals, polar bears, penguins, sharks etc is difficult and dangerous at best.

We've come a long way in the way animals are kept and tended to in zoos and marine parks. We used to shoot them, stuff them, hang them on walls and call them trophies, but we still have a long way to go.

And finally...I was one of those kids that learned a great deal at SeaWorld. I adopted a manatee and donated money regularly. Visiting SeaWorld made me want to know more.

I think the idea that SeaWorld is "only" a theme park is missing the good work that the accomplish. Living in FL, it's quite common to hear on the news that SeaWorld is rushing to a remote spot to rescue a wounded animal. After taking the backstage tour at SW, you can see the medical facilities used to help sick and injured sea life.

As I said at the beginning of this...I'm a fence sitter on this issue. I think it was Chad that said that there are many shades of grey.

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

I join you on that fence Kevin, and I was trying to show both sides of the story in my article.

I see a lot of good in places like SeaWorld. However, I'm not sure how I feel about the "silly" shows such as the sea lion and seal shows. But then those shows get people into the parks to teach them about the bigger picture.

For the most part I don't agree with the extremist view of animal rights groups like PETA and even the Humane Society. However, the general idea of protecting animals and preventing animal cruelty I agree with.

For me, this is not an easy, one-size-fits-all, answer.

I have to agree with Don, and think the debate is good. I also think it's good that we as a society have an obligation that if we are going to have places like SeaWorld we need to ensure they are doing good work. That's what I think the Congressional Hearing was all about.

 

[lugnut33]

However, the oil spill was a man made accident. (Debate the avoiding of safety regulations by BP, or the potential carelessness of safety procedures, if you'd like. Bottom line - they didn't want this to happen.) The dolphin hunts in Japan are no accident, nor is the intense attempt to cover it up by the fisherman and local government.

The oil spill is an ecological disaster of epic proportions. That doesn't mean those that purposely cause smaller scale atrocities against nature should get a pass.

I probably didn't explaine myself well enough, I wasn't saying the dolphin hunts are OK. Just that a dolphin here or there doing some tricks in Sea World doesn't really garner my attention when there are bigger fish to fry (pardon the pun).

And oh, you are more than welcome to boycott Sea World... and BP for that matter.

 

[challer]

And oh, you are more than welcome to boycott Sea World... and BP for that matter.

I'm already on it.

I'm bike commuting to and from work. The only fuel I'm using is my garlic bagel with cream cheese for breakfast!

 

[challer]

For those that think you may never see aquatic wildlife firsthand outside of a theme park, you never know...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j70ggBE1b_CpRhvbQIuIFeDAXROg

Scientists stunned as grey whale sighted off Israel
By Hazel Ward (AFP) – 10 hours ago

JERUSALEM — The appearance of a grey whale off the coast of Israel has stunned scientists, in what was thought to be the first time the giant mammal has been seen outside the Pacific in several hundred years.

The whale, which was first sighted off Herzliya in central Israel on Saturday, is believed to have travelled thousands of miles from the north Pacific after losing its way in search of food.

"It's an unbelievable event which has been described as one of the most important whale sightings ever," said Dr Aviad Scheinin, chairman of the Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center which identified the creature.
A population of grey whales once inhabited the north Atlantic but became extinct in the 17th or 18th centuries and has not been seen there since.
The remaining colonies live in the western and eastern sectors of the north Pacific.

"What has amazed the entire marine mammal research community is there haven't been any grey whales in the Atlantic since the 18th century," he said. Scheinin said the creature, a mature whale measuring some 12 metres (39 feet) and weighing around 20 tonnes, probably reached the Atlantic through the Northwest Passage, an Arctic sea route that connects the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and is normally covered with ice.

"Here you have an animal that is supposed to live in the Pacific and because the ice in the Arctic is melting, it managed to get through this corridor near the Bering Strait," Scheinin told AFP.

The population which lives in the northeastern Pacific normally migrates southwards in around October, heading for warmer waters around the Gulf of California in a huge round trip of at least 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometres).
So when autumn came, this particular grey whale began travelling south, keeping the land mass on the left and heading for the Californian Gulf with the aim of "turning left" into the bay.

But instead, it reached Gibraltar and turned left into the Mediterranean and ended up off the shores of Israel, Scheinin said.

"The question now is: are we going to see the re-colonisation of the Atlantic?" he said. "This is very important ecologically because of the change of habitat. It emphasises the climate change that we are going through."

So far, the whale seems to be happy enough in the waters off the shores of Israel, he said.

"It is pretty thin, which indicates the trip was quite harsh, but we think it can survive here," he said. "Grey whales are very generalist in what they feed on."

Now experts are mulling the possibility of tracking the whale by satellite -- a costly operation that would need outside funding and expertise, Scheinin said.

"It's quite a big operation to do this. If it stays around here for the next month, it's worth having someone come in and do this professionally," he said.
"It will be interesting to see where it goes and to follow it."

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.