Kamogawa to AI orcas with Seaworld's help and sperm

 Kamogawa Seaworld has released a statement saying that their orcas are to be AI'd with Seaworld USA help and sperm.

Their own genepool has long ran out as they are all pure Icelandic orcas which stem from Stella and Bingo. Bingo died in August of 2014 leaving them with
Port of Nagoya
Bingo (m) - Icelandic DECEASED AUG 2014
Ran 2 (f) - Icelandic - mother Stella, father Bingo
Rin (f) - Icelandic - mother Stella, father Bingo
Stella (f) - Icelandic
Kamogawa
 Lara (f)- Icelandic - mother Stella father Bingo
Lovey (f) - Icelandic - mother Stella (Icelandic) father Bingo (Icelandic)
Luna  (f)- Icelandic - mother Lovey, father Oscar (Icelandic)
Earth (m) - Icelandic - mother Lovey, father Oscar

Kamogawa is right on the ocean and a sanctuary could be set up for them or as they are all pure Icelandic they could be rehabilitated back to their home waters as although Bingo and Oscar are deceased, Stella who was wild caught and mother and grandmother to the pod is not.

As you can see from the link here  many of Seaworld's orcas are hybrid with no conservation value what so ever, they should never have been allowed in a reputable breeding programme as they can never go back to the open ocean. This cannot be allowed for Kamogawa orcas who could be at the forefront of rehabilitation for these creatures without much disruption to their park.

The report reads

''Imported from growing animal welfare conscious animals of becomes difficult, and in various parts of the zoo is worry about the breeding and population maintenance, Kamogawa Sea World (Kamogawa, Chiba Prefecture) artificial insemination of a killer whale is still no example to other than the United States to, for the first time I work in Japan. All the killer whale seven  in breeding in the country located in the blood relationship, it is because you can no longer natural breeding. In cooperation with the United States of aquarium where there is a track record, with the aim of success. (Yuzuki Mari)

Sea World in preparation for the artificial insemination, has been such as training to examine the estrus were collected urine a killer whale lies on the stage. In artificial insemination to take the method of injecting the female that was a lie frozen sperm. Frozen sperm to be used, but are likely to be those of the US Sea World, which is also the sister aquarium Orca.

Kamogawa Sea World at the same time in 1970 of opening and, first to start a killer whale breeding in the country. Breeding was also successful, twenty one on one year beginning triceps the "Bingo" of the male, to the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium (Nagoya Minato-ku). Bingo died in August this year, domestic orca was just a child or grandchild of bingo.

Killer whales that have been bred in the world is about fifty head. Is captured and importers became difficult due to the influence of such as the United States of marine mammal protection laws.

Thirty years or more veterinarians Katsumata Etsuko of Sea World that we have seen the killer whale is stressed that "To promote the breeding without moving the killer whale of fifty head of the world, artificial insemination is essential". Nichito (knit) Hiroshi director of the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium has said, "How do we hold the pedigree in the whole world, a big challenge".

◆ rare animals advance lending and borrowing

Many, such as headaches Zoo to issue or decline of inbreeding reproductive capacity due to aging, in an effort to maintain the number of individuals it by lending the animal at home and abroad.

The number of breeding individuals of Japanese Zoo is the around 1,980 to 90 years was the highest. Attract highly effective animal not let go of the facility side, cooperation between the facility was not thriving. Currently, according to the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums, animals that zoos and aquariums high scarcity is working on breeding lent aggressively about hundred and fifty species. Giraffe and Asian elephant, familiar animals often as chimpanzees.

Is one of them koala three decades has begun breeding in Japan. Aging population, the number of breeding is to peak the ninety-six animals of '97, was reduced to forty-three animals last year. Koala wild in habitat of Australia is reduced, some states that you specify in endangered species.

Although imports was difficult, the country this year, to commemorate the visit to Japan three decades, Saitama Prefecture children Animals Nature Park (Higashimatsuyama) and each three little in Kagoshima City Hirakawa Zoological Park, One Animal Higashiyama Zoo (Nagoya) it was decided to donate.

Ueno Zoo (Taito-ku, Tokyo) is promoting a plan to lend still a female Shoebill there is no breeding example in Japan, the US Florida in Tampa, Lowry Park Zoo is breeding research advance. Worldwide success also two cases only without, and hopes to help the results to breeding in Japan.''

The question was raised on AskSeaworld they replied confirming they are involved in AI in Japan!

 

 Seaworld has in their tanks - 
 Adan - still young - 3rd generation INBRED HYBRID C - mother Kohana (Icelandic C) Father Keto, Hybrid C

Ikaika
Is Icelandic C - mother Katina (Icelandic W) Father Tilikum (Icelandic W) but has an attack history. 
  Young male Ikaika has a history of aggression, often of a sexual nature, which began with an attempt to breed a young calf at SeaWorld shortly before his transfer to Canada. SeaWorld’s veterinarians then sedated Ikaika twice daily with Valium to “try to mellow him out.” “We’ve already seen some of the precursors (of a human attack) up there, meaning he’s grabbed boots, he’s grabbed targets, he’s grabbed an arm before,” Chuck Tompkins, a senior executive at SeaWorld and head animal trainer, said in an affidavit. Those are signs Ikaika is testing his environment and seeing what he can do, Tompkins told the court. “And if you’re not aware of all the little things that killer whales do, you can get somebody really, really hurt,” Tompkins said in his affidavit. “I’ve got grave concerns on the safety of the staff and inevitably the safety of the animal because of the lack of change.”
Please sign the petition, lets tell Kamogawa what we think to this, it cannot be allowed and Seaworld want to be getting the orcas out of their own tanks before messing around with someone elses.

Keet -  2nd Ge HYBRID - mother Kalina C (Hybrid KatinaW/WinstonW) Father Kotar (Icelandic) no attack history but is a hybrid 

Keto - who has already killed his trainer and is also
2nd generation HYBRID C - mother Kalina C(Katina I /Winston SR) father Kotar (Icelandic W)


Kyuquot -  Icelandic
He used to perform waterworks, though after several incidents, he was not allowed to anymore. He is the largest orca at San Antonio, weighing over 8,000 pounds.
Incidents
During a portion of the show, 16-year-old male Kyuquot refused to let a trainer exit the pool. He did not become aggressive, but refused callback tones and slaps, and would not allow the trainer to leave the pool. The trainer was able to get close enough to the glass to pull himself out very quickly, and Kyuquot then proceeded to fast swim around the pool, followed by sliding out at stage.
12-year-old male Kyuquot repeatedly slammed trainer Steve Aibel underwater during a show. Aibel, who was uninjured, had trained Kyuquot for 10 years. Kyuquot refused a rocket hop during a show, then repeated it well. However, Kyuquot then refused to allow the trainer to exit the pool. He then proceeded to swim over the trainer, blocking any exit from the pool for two to three minutes. He refused several callback attempts, including tones, hand slaps, and attempts at control by trainers in various positions around the pool. Once the trainer was close to the middle of the pool, Kyuquot then calmed down, finally drifting close to the stage, where the trainer was able to quickly exit. 

Makaio - who is still only a youngster himself

Makani - still a baby and
HYBRID - mother Kasatka (Icelandic W) Father Kshamenk (Unknown pod W)

Tekoa - 
Keto and Tekoa attacked and nearly drowned one of the Loro Parque trainers, Claudia Volhardt. He is also 2nd generation HYBRID C - mother Taima C(mother Gudrun Icelandic, father Kanduke Transient) Father Tilikum

Tilikum - everyone knows Tilly's history

Trua -  has an attack history
While a trainer was retrieving an article from the back of the mouth, young male Tuar clamped down on the trainer's arm and held tight for several moments.
Young male Tuar was involved in one swim over a surfaced trainer during waterwork with another young male, Tekoa. He did respond to a recall after two attempts.
Since his move to Texas in April 2004, young male Tuar has opened his mouth towards trainers on a few occasions while in the water with him. This behaviour seems to present itself when sequences are predictable, and has been during solo waterwork only.
7-year-old male Tuar opened and closed his mouth around a trainer's leg after a dive in prior to the ballet sequence of the show.

Tuar - who is already showing dominant tendancies and is
2nd generation HYBRID C - mother Kalina C(Hybrid Katina/Winston father Tilikum W

Ulises -  has an attack history
1997/10/03 Sea World California, USA Ulises
20-year-old male Ulises came out at a trainer.
2002 Sea World California, USA Ulises
25-year-old male Ulises was doing a waterwork session in “A” pool. His trainer was on his back and wanted him to move closer to the acrylic by giving him the cue to “steer” him in a directional way. Ulises did not know this behaviour. Instead, he took this as a finger roll, the trainer fell off and Ulises began to go on a descent. He ignored the trainer on the porch trying to receive him and turned around to go back towards his trainer in the water. He turned ventral and scooped her up, and then started to become erect. She was able to get off at the porch and reinforce him. He was calm.
2004/08/22 Sea World California, USA Ulises
27-year-old male Ulises was doing a Scuba session with his trainer in “A” pool (a spotter Scuba diver was also at the bottom), when he looped around, became erect, and then swam on top of his trainer. He ignored a hand slap and tone before responding to a second tone.
He became a father in 2011, when his son Moana was born through artificial insemination to Wikie at Marineland Antibes, France. He has never naturally conceived a calf of his own nor made any of the American whales pregnant.

To allow one park to corrupt the gene pool of another with aggressive orca genes and/or hybrid genes should not be allowed to happen. I will update when I find the solution to stop it.

Please sign the petition asking Kamogawa NOT to AI their orcas and put their trainers at risk of harm.

PETITION

 

Orca Unna gives birth to dead baby during show.

Whilst looking for a Bridgette Pirtle interview for another article,  I came across this one, which paints a horrible picture of the way Unna was treated at Seaworld. Even though she had miscarried on the slide out, the trainers had seen it, yet the show continued, with the trainers having to dive in after the show to pick up the pieces of calf fetus!! There is no excuse for treating an orca like that.

Unna was one of the orcas who was taken from her mother Katina.  Although Seaworld deny separating any of them, the evidence is there as both are still alive in different tanks.

Unna was born on December 27, 1996 at SeaWorld Orlando. Her parents are Katina (mother) and Tilikum. She is Katina's fourth calf and also Tilikum's, and was the second calf to be born to the pair. Unna lived with her mother, father, siblings, and other whales at her birthplace in Orlando for the first six years of her life. 
In August 2002, Katina gave birth to her fifth calf, a male named Ikaika. Unna was there to assist her mother during the labor.

 In December 2002, Unna was transferred to SeaWorld San Antonio because the park only had three whales at the time: two males who were fighting over one female. Kayla, Keto and Kyuquot. She was half sister to Kyuquot and Aunt to Keto.

 In late April 2006, Unna gave birth to a stillborn calf, unless she was Ai'd that would have been another inbred calf.  Her animal profile states  Her health was compromised after this event and she has been on medication since.

Were there 2 other pregnancies as Pirtle says or was the one that came out during the show the pregnancy referred to?

 She is only allowed to work with the most experienced trainers after showing discrimination between trainers and aggression towards other whales especially to the older males in the group. Separation can be a challenge for Unna, especially after the med pool for injections, endoscope etc. She needs to be reinforced effectively to gain her trust.

John Hargrove also witnessed some frightful behaviour with Unna. Unna used to destroy her face picking at the paint in the show pool. The trainers lobbied Seaworld for years to have the floor repainted but it never was. It made the shows difficult for them and it obviously wasn't good for Unna, but again Seaworld did nothing!!

The stereotypical behaviour was not just limited to Unna.  Hargrove in particular remembers Sakari, a young calf at SeaWorld Texas. “She would go down and hit her head on the bottom of the pool, over and over to the point where her jaw would be bloody and bruised,” Hargrove says. Once, according to Hargrove, the damage was so bad that Sakari stopped eating for a few days because it was painful for her to open her jaw. “Once they got to the point where the jaw was bloody and badly bruised you would think they would stop,” Hargrove notes. “But they wouldn’t stop.”

We all know the outcome of Keto's behaviour when he was moved on to Loro Parque.

As for Kyuquot he expressed his frustration in the only way he could.

Will Seaworld answer to this? - Probably not

Should Seaworld answer to this? - they definately should as these were Seaworld staff describing incidents whilst they worked at Seaworld.

Claims like these cannot go without some explaination as to why the trainers were ignored when reporting the pool bottom.  Why the other 2 pregnancies are not recorded anywhere at all yet Bridgette Pirtle said they did happen? Lastly why would a show continue when an orca has just miscarried a calf??

Shame on you Seaworld.

Bridgette Pirtle Q and A's with Awesome Ocean

When you spoke to CNN and told them they needed an experienced trainer, what was John Hargrove, you worked with him a lot?  He was in fact more experienced than you were!

 

When you did you Micechat interview with Eric Davis you said

Why did you not say that here??

When you say you didn't want to be a part of the activist propaganda, you did many interviews of your own in which you had a lot to say about Seaworld yourself. They all have nothing to do with Blackfish and all to do with the reasons YOU gave for leaving Seaworld, yet in the Qand A's you said it was because of family, so which was it and if it was because of family are all these interviews lies as you repeat the same things over and over.

In this interview in 2013 you said
 

 

In this one with Nat Geo published in Jan 2014 you still said

Then there is this interview with John Hargroves where you talk about how badly Unna was treated, having a fetus drop from her in a show and continuing the show!

This one given to Yahoo News you say conditions at San Antonio were atrocious and John Jetts account of Orlando was SPOT ON 

 The reason I picked these 4 interviews was because the comments you made had nothing what so ever to do with Blackfish. You gave those statements as your reasons for leaving Seaworld. 

Whether you had issues with Blackfish is irrelevant to any of the above interviews, so why did you say the things you did about Seaworld themselves and the way they treat those orcas?? 

 I have asked you many many times and each time you decline to answer, if you are speaking the truth now as you say on the Q and A's then which part is truth and which is lies. 

Are the reasons you give in the interviews above true? 

Did Unna lose 3 calves not one like Seaworld said? 

Are those orcas workhorses for a profit hungry industry?

Do you think the breeding programme should be stopped?

Do you think they should stop being used for entertainment? 

None of those things were covered in your Q and A's and lets face it who really expected them to be?

Tumblr had this to say about you and I think it pretty much sums up what has been going on, one minute pro cap, one minute anti cap. 

Bridgette Pirtle. ''What an interesting roller coaster she has been on the passed year. First, anti captivity, bragging about Blackfish and her claim to fame along with it. Now, pro captivity asking for her job back at SeaWorld claiming Blackfish is propaganda.
What I find most interesting is she had seen Blackfish at the premiere, way before any of us saw it. Way before it was made famous. She knew what was in it, she knew the message it sent and she knew what information it gave off. After the public outcry against SeaWorld and the trainers in the movie became a little famous and she did not, she became a little crazed.
She needed a way to get her name in the spotlight again. She chose to be one of the first trainers to go against Blackfish that snowballed into other trainers doing the same.(and sounding absolutely ridiculous, I might add)
What is her stance on captivity? She believes that her relationship with the orcas is most important piece to this pro-anti captivity puzzle. Yes the trainers and orcas have a supposed intense relationship. Whether this is true or not, what importance does it serve? It doesn’t, she just needed something to get her back into the spotlight.
It’s obvious everything she says is biased and set to her agenda. She is pro captivity when it suits her and anti captivity with it suits her. That is why nothing she says can be trusted or taken seriously.''

As for your comments on Keiko, this has already been questioned and there are numerous other people who were involved in the project with Mark who say differently to him,  and even the likes of Robin Friday said it was a success. See for yourself here .

Your reasons for leaving Seaworld and the reasons for not getting along with Blackfish are two entirely different things, and if as you seem to be now,  you are a big Seaworld fan and advocate, then either that is a lie or the statements you made about the things that happened there are lies, so which ones are they Bridgette?
10 years is quite an achievement, but people think of you as flip flopping because at the moment that is what you are doing. I was hoping for the truth but once again didn't get it as those reasons for leaving were not even addressed, how very disappointing.

Seaworld Helping to Train Narnia and Nord the Russian Orcas

Narnia and her companion Nord.

After initially denying the 2 orcas were at the facility, it was revealed here that they were and the conditions they were being kept in was revealed. 

Now things are finally starting to come into the open izvestia.ru/news has recently reported on the Russian orcas being held in Moscow.

Within six months before to orcas at ENEA will let visitors behind them will be to monitor the Internet. As told "Izvestia" deputy general director of LLC "Sochi dolphinarium" Yulia Frolova, the company plans to install cameras in the aquarium which will be broadcast around the clock in the video network.

Now orcas Nord and Narnia are in established on the territory of ENEA hangar in two temporary pools interconnected. The animals will be transferred to the under construction now oceanarium in December 2014. But visitors to them will start in the summer of 2015, when the Oceanarium is finally ready. Once the animals will move indoors cameras will be installed, and the video from them is supposed to be supplied to the site of "Sochi dolphinarium."

- I think that will be broadcast around the clock, if the problems with the Internet would not - said Yulia Frolova.

At the same time on the tour until the summer of 2015 to let the visitors, according to her, it is impossible.

- Killer whales have become accustomed to people who work with them - she said. - But if you go down a stranger, he may, for example, to make a gesture that the animals do not like and which they perceive as a threat. They are predators, and they will defend themselves - can bite, scare, kick tail on the water.

It is planned that during the performances visitors will not be located in close proximity to animals.

 According to Yulia Frolova, orcas have already started learning the tricks of eight under the guidance of coaches.

- The program is currently being developed, - she said. - Will jumping, cascades, perhaps using some props. With animals have Russian coaches, and they are consulted in the American company SeaWorld, which has in this matter considerable experience.

Orcas were brought from the Far East in December of 2013. But the fact that they are in Moscow, the media learned only recently from zoozaschitnikov who complained to the police about poor maintenance of the animals. ENEA Administration denied the charges, saying that the orcas are in perfect conditions under the supervision of veterinarians. It was reported that it was impossible to bring orcas later to the discovery of the oceanarium, as further transport orcas possible only while they are young. Now their sizes - 4.5 and 5.5 m.

Once again Seaworld the fabulous conservationists have not advised these people that it is wrong to capture whales from the wild, especially since they so often say they haven't captured one themselves for a long time. Seaworld haven't advised them that science has moved on and they are under considerable pressure themselves as people are now aware of their family structures and their need to be with their mothers especially as their pod would be easy to locate as their capture point is known and the Russian wild orca specialist are aware of all the advancements. 

Seaworld instead have chosen to offer their advice into how to make these captives perform tricks for an audience, the very thing that is damaging their own business.

Seaworld have the perfect opportunity to stop the captures as they know full well that once one dolphinarium opens with captive orcas, they will spread across the country as they did in their own part of the world when they first opened. But once again Seaworld has chosen to not be on the right side of history and is helping this Russian company instead.

Maybe this is why -

SeaWorld’s plans to expand internationally, with new parks in India, Russia, and the Middle East. The company has signed a letter of agreement with Village Roadshow (VRL:AU), an Australian film studio and theme park operator, to expand its brand outside the U.S.

India has banned the keeping of captive cetaceans, the Middle East have always been Taiji buyers so there would be no problem there and now they are helping wild caught Russian orcas to learn tricks for an audience and spend the rest of their lives in a pool.

The presentation by Village Roadshow has a number of flaws however, the first being this -

The second being this, India has stopped cetacean shows.

and lastly they have only issues a letter of intent to Seaworld US. 
A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, and sometimes capitalized as Letter of Intent in legal writing, but only when referring to a specific document under discussion) is a document outlining an agreement between two or more parties before the agreement is finalized. So nothing is finalized as yet.
Seaworld's performance is not as stated in the presentation and their persistence to not acknowledge the advancement in science and stick to their old business model could well be their downfall here too. Especially now they have said nothing about the capture of wild Russian orcas, knowing full well what damage they did in taking the young of this highly family orientated beings when they first started out.

Awesome Ocean - 3 Things You’re Not Supposed to Know About SeaWorld

There are many areas of marine mammal facilities that are grossly misunderstood by radical activists but one of the subjects most often botched by these keyboard warriors is that of rescue, rehabilitation and release.
There are also many misunderstood by people who are NOT radical activists, try reading some of the posts on your Stand with Seaworld page to see that. 

Too often, social media announcements of such acts are met with outrageously misguided accusations suggesting that “rescues aren’t conservation,” that this is simply a ploy on SeaWorld’s part for better press coverage, or that even more ludicrously, SeaWorld is “imprisoning” wild animals under the “guise” of rescue and rehabilitation.
Do Seaworld give lessons on how to twist up information to try to cause confusion, as you must be top of that class!!  The posts I see state that rescues have nothing to do with those captives and that is because they don't!! 
Let’s set the record straight and head back to Rescue and Rehabilitation 101.
Yes lets
1. SeaWorld is under no financial or legal obligation to rescue/rehabilitate animals. They aren’t bound by law, they aren’t paid to do it, there are no "Powers That Be" ordering the company to funnel resources into costly, complicated and dangerous animal rescues. The cost of a turtle rescue alone, ONE SINGULAR TURTLE, can be thousands of dollars. Despite this, SeaWorld is the largest system of animal rescue and release in the country and they VOLUNTEER to do it.
That’s right, SeaWorld’s rescue and rehabilitation program is actually the world’s fanciest animal volunteer program, staffed partially by animal care employees and partially by rescue volunteers. The cost of the rescue comes out of the company’s pocket. They volunteer for their placement on the NOAA fisheries stranding and rescue list.
So do many other rescue organisations who also VOLUNTEER, and the majority of those are NON PROFIT too. What seems to be a presumption yet again is that people like me don't look anywhere else for information. Unlike yourselves who rely on Seaworld for your information or just miss bits out entirely, people like myself spend a lot of time on NOAA, because unlike yourself people like me don't see Seaworld, who lets be real have a business to protect as being all knowing and unbiased in their reporting of things. Rather than believe everything we are told we go to source to check it out for ourselves. You as in your last article obviously do not and mislead many others too, which is unfair to them, to Seaworld and to the likes of us.
And since we mentioned NOAA let’s clear some things up there too.
Oh yes lets as NOAA is a great resource

2. The government decides who rescues, rehabilitates, holds and releases animals. Not some evil corporate executive in a darkened office. Remember many of those you call are scientists who work with NOAA so that is common knowledge Erin. There is a very clear set of legal protocol that determines what animals are suitable for release. It’s a 114 page document called the Standards of Release, available online for all to see, No link?  and it completely shatters the myth that SeaWorld can hold any animal they want after rescue.
NOAA have a Rescue Release and Rehabilitation document here as once again you provide no links to anything, is there something you don't want people to read?

 
The government controls rescues and releases because the animals that SeaWorld rescues all fall under federal jurisdiction.  All marine mammals are covered under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and some, as well as sea turtles and some birds, are covered by the Endangered Species Act. The procedure for rescuing an animal goes something like this:

1. Someone calls in a sick or injured animal to the National Marine Fisheries Service/NOAA
2. NOAA examines their volunteer network in the area, and asks a facility to assist in the rescue (facilities CANNOT intervene without government approval.)
3. After either rescuing the animal, NOAA will either request immediate relocation/release or order it sent to a particular facility
4. Once the animal has been properly rehabilitated, NOAA will inspect and determine if said animal meets the protocol for release.
5. If the animal is not suitable for release, NOAA will determine the permanent living situation for that animal

These protocols were put into effect after 1990 and they are now the letter of the law. Keeping an animal that NOAA determines releasable is against federal law, as is releasing one that is determined nonreleasable (we’re looking at you, Ric O’Barry.) Well you would, but amazing that you haven't looked at Ric O'Barry and he has been releasing animals for over 40 years and you look at him now as he spoke out against Seaworld lol.  Anyone familiar with the federal legislation can see that the rescue program is not a weak guise for animal kidnap and to suggest it is bordering on a conspiracy theory.
I think it would be only fair if you showed all the evidence you have found to back up this sentence as I haven't seen it and believe you have twisted this to suit your own ends again. Thats if you can supply it as you never seem able to correct or supply evidence to any other ''mistake'' that you have made. 

3. SeaWorld has the largest and one of the most advanced rescue programs in the United States.
And guess what? It’s all out of pocket.

SeaWorld has rescued over 24,000 animals, more than any other animal rescue organization in the United States (and about 24,000 more than PETA ever rescued). PETA have what to do with anything?  You also need to look at the figures for other agencies involved too.

Since their very first manatee rescue in 1976, SeaWorld has been on the front lines of rescue and rehabilitation, racking up mammal, bird and reptile rehab like nobody’s business.
With many other people who incidently are non profit. As you can see the Marine Mammal Center have been involved since the very beginning and still are. See their stats here . They have also incidentally produced more research documents than Seaworld and they don't have Hubbs helping out there either.

Their rescue teams are ready for the NOAA call 24/7, including weekends, holidays, (and other times when keyboard activists take a break from “helping” animals to curl up with their pumpkin spice lattes and binge-watch Mad Men.) Keyboard activists is very ironic seeing as you have this, Stand with Seaworld, Unofficial Seaworld podcast and I love Seaworld which you write the same drivel on with no links, back up or information allowing people to make up their own minds lol. 

And each one of those rescues is company funded. No catch, just conservation. Just the same as all the non profit organisations who do just as much work if not more, judging by their research documents too.
And it’s not cheap either. In fact, a rescue program of SeaWorld's caliber complete with boats, trucks, rehabilitation facilities, vets and a specialized cetacean quarantine area in Orlando and pinniped holding in San Diego can only come from a company with SeaWorld level resources. That once again is another lie, just because you are a Seaworld fan does not mean that all the other agencies disappear does it?  They’ve been able to pioneer the field of rescue, from developing pilot whale back braces to manatee baby formula to prosthetic beaks for injured birds. Their commitment to saving as many lives as possible is no joke, and it’s your ticket to the park that funds this innovation. What funds the non profits then? How can they manage to rescue, yet Seaworld needs ticket money? Pretty cool way to use your vacation funds, if you ask, you know, any sane person.

The rescue agencies involved in the pilot whale rescue here in Jan 2014 were 
 NOAA, 
Mote Marine Laboratory, 
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
 Rookery Bay Reserve,
 Marine Animal Rescue Society, 
US Fish and Wildlife Service, and 
Collier County Sheriff.
NO SEAWORLD

Another interesting article on NOAA - did you say everything is self funded from people's ticket money? You are wrong or misleading people yet again. 

NOAA awards $2.7 million to rescue stranded marine mammals and investigate health problems

 Lastly the famous JJ who Seaworld claim as their fantastic rescue. Lets have a look at their involvement in the rescue. 

This is part of the story from those who were there rescuing JJ or should I say Marina. 

''  When John and Don were on board the WHALE RESCUE TEAM’s boat it was obvious they knew Sea World did not want Marina. In fact, the idea was coldly turned down. Sea World refused to send a rescue truck or any help what so ever! I think that’s why Don looked so confused… he knew SeaWorld didn’t want the baby whale and his facility couldn’t handle it. Word from NMFS was “hands off.” Sea World never showed up at the rescue. Sea World doesn’t want to take in anything they can’t potentially keep for display and exploitation. Gray whales get too big to keep in captivity, Sea World was very aware of this. They just spent 10 million dollars on a tank for captive Orca whales, they didn’t want a stranded gray whale in it.

Calls were made to the media and the story continued to grow every hour. Sea World had to cave in. I’ll put my differences aside and work with them to ensure the best chance possible for Marina or any sick or injured marine mammal.

When Seaworld did finally accept to take her, they still wouldn't have anything to do with the rescue and only agreed to take her IF the rescue team managed to get her there, a 3 and a half hour truck ride away.

The article does give thanks to the work Seaworld did after they got JJ there, but it doesn't alter the fact that she would have died if the rescue had been down to them.

You can see that full story here 

The end result is DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING AWESOME OCEAN TELLS YOU. You will never get a balanced account, you won't get an unbiased view and as you can see from all their other articles they only tell you what they and Seaworld want you to hear. If you want to be the blind led by the blinded then fine, if not look up information yourself, NOAA, NMFS, OSHA etc are all fully viewable and all searchable if you want to find the truth and they are a much more reliable source than a couple of Seaworld fans and a company trying to keep their captive cetaceans.

 
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A Dolphin Tale: Changing Minds in South East Asia

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Our oceans are in trouble and our focus here at Awesome Ocean is to bring that plight to the masses. We are also determined to showcase the people, organizations and facilities on the the front lines of ocean conservation. You didn't do that with Ric O Barry though did you who has won Environmental awards for his efforts on the front lines.
Globally our oceans are feeling the anthropogenic impact. Our growing population is putting even greater demands on our oceans - for a host of reasons.

In the western world (Europe and the Americas), major conservation projects have been moving forward. They have like Blackfish and Empty the tanks. Most of those facilities, and the public that supports them, understand the vital role they play in preserving and protecting the ocean and its inhabitants. However, it is in Asia where there is a lot of work still to do. Because of the culture and tradition of many of these people - there is still great pressure put on marine life.
But that is changing - however incrementally - and we must recognize and support that change.
One such instance is the Marine Life Park in Singapore. It is one of Singapore's newest facilities and it is striving to find a way to meaningfully help protect and conserve ocean life.

When I learned that Marine Life Park had just become the second zoological facility in Asia to become AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) accredited, I had to see and visit the facility for myself. After all, to be AZA accredited, Marine Life Park had to meet the strictest criteria. That is currently a rare feat in this part of the world.

The Marine Life Park is broken up into two sections - the S.E.A. Aquarium and Dolphin Island. The S.E.A. Aquarium, or South East Asia Aquarium, displays native fish, sharks, and rays that call South East Asia waters home. Dolphin Island is a dolphin interaction experience that displays Solomon Island dolphins that once called the waters around Singapore home. That is until habitat destruction, pollution, and development put an end to their natural environment.

That is not true and it is wrong of you to try to justify it 
This is the solomon islands drive hunt

 Twenty-four Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, captured in the waters of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, are being held at Resorts World's Marine Life Park attraction, which plans to open to the public on 30th September, offering interaction programmes. Twenty-seven dolphins were purchased by Genting between 2008 and 2009 and three have already died. Meanwhile, continued live captures of bottlenose dolphins in Solomon Islands waters have been condemned by scientific experts, CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) and the Solomon Islands government itself.

CITES, did you see that Eric Davis, even CITES raised concerns it has nothing to do with their habitat.

 

Part of Dolphin Island's over 4,000,000 gallon facility.

Of course, rather than bothering with the truth - keyboard activists and Internet bullies have attempted to turn this visit into a personal attack. As we see over and over again, it's never about education or persuasion from that side. It's about abuse and threats for anyone who does not conform to the narrative. These extremists have tried to attack me personally over this visit.
Once again you twist up a story, read above, CITES expressed concern and as you see here ACRES, Animals Concerns Research and Education Society expressed their concern again yesterday see here
As for personal attack do you mean like the time you attacked Cher, or like Ric O'Barry last week? Or is it a case of its OK for you to do it but not for anyone to give you it back?
But what's really going on here?
Rather than get into the mud where these people live, this presents a great opportunity to use the attention for the forces of good. So let's take a moment and speak the truth about this facility and why it's great that this park is making inroads in this part of the world.

A dolphin is dwarfed by the size and space of part of it's habitat

First, the main attack has come from the fact that the dolphins at this facility were collected from the Solomon Islands in 2007 - a chain of islands a few hundred miles north of Australia. So, without looking any further into the issue - the attack was launched. Of course it was looked into, people have been trying to stop it since before they set off and despite you making out it is marvellous dolphins have and still are dying there.  The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA Singapore) is now calling on the facility to release its remaining 23 wild-caught dolphins.  see here yet another has died! The fact that these dolphins were collected recently is all that matters. The fact that these dolphins were collected from a drive hunt is the issue here, there is no need for it and at one time it had been phased out all together. Whilst people keep buying they will continue until CITES really get fed up and intervene properly.
But here is, as the late Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story.
This facility purchased these dolphins from locals in the Solomon Islands who have hunted dolphins for the last few hundred years. The hunt was banned in 2003 and restarted in 2007 when Mark Simmons and Ocean Embassy sent dolphins to Dubai. Mark Simmons made the statement himself

Similar to subsistence hunting in Alaska, they eat the meat of the dolphins and use their teeth and bones for clothing and jewelry. Again, it's something these people have been doing for generations.

No its not as in the links above it was banned in 2003, restarted to stock Dubai and is in the process of being banned again see CITES, they aren't armchair activists are they so would you care to say that they are wrong?? 
 

Dolphin Tooth Head Piece Photo Credit: Otago Museum

In 2007, Marine Life Park offered the local population money to purchase some of the dolphins. Dolphins that would otherwise be slaughtered.  The local villages accepted, and because of that 20+ dolphins were saved out of the traditional 100 that are hunted. That is a lie again. Those lucky dolphins now live at the AZA accredited Marine Life Park. Nothing lucky about restarting a hunt that had been banned in 2003 is there?
As a side note, Ric O'Barry, an infamous animals activist, would also offer to pay the locals to not hunt dolphins in 2013. However, O'Barry welched on his agreement. Did you actually read your own link lol. I guess not so you would be wise to go back and read it, rather than put your own twisted spin on it.
Quote from YOUR link ''EII disputes those claims, however. EII director Lawrence Makili told Radio Australia that after $300,000 was invested in individual communities, a group in the capital seized the rest of the funds and did not distribute them.
"The renegade group grabbed funds that were supposed to go to the community and that resulted in a lot of the discord," David Phillips, who oversees international dolphin protection efforts for Earth Island, told the Guardian. "In our view there are proper charges of corruption in what has happened in the community."

Once again as you always do in your articles you pick out the bits that suit what you want to say missing out the actual facts - In reality the Fanalei chief also backs up what happened there. Why did you not research that properly before putting into print something that isn't true?

Fanalei chief Willson Filei, who had helped strike the deal with IMMP, condemned the killings. “The Honiara based committee was only formed when they learn that money was actually coming in. They refused and discourage us at the first place,” he told the local daily Solomon Star. “But when money came in they tried to push their way in. They then messed up the whole project and encourage villagers to return to hunt. I wash my hands from this recent string of slaughter.”
  Because of his actions, the locals killed almost 1,000 dolphins - the equivalent of almost 10 years of hunts. They also learned not to trust westerners and will likely resist ending this practice even more now.
Once again you print something about Ric O'Barry that isn't true, that is shameful reporting and why would that be?? 
But back to our story.

An Under Water Tunnel at the S.E.A. Aquarium

Let's be clear - no one is a fan of simply going out and collecting wild animals for public display.
However, what needs to be celebrated is that Dolphin Island at the Marine Life Park has now joined the AZA. So what, the issue is YOU put yourself forward as the shill for Seaworld. Seaworld spent quite a bit of time stating they do not support drive hunts, yet YOU seem to think that is OK. You can't be both sides of the fence!
This means that as long as they are a member of the AZA they can no longer participate in the collection of wild Marine Mammals. This is an amazing accomplishment that needs to be praised. Despite the fact that activists think you are too stupid to find the truth you didn't find the truth did you? Or maybe you did but chose not to use it, in order to mislead people yet again.- having a park in this part of the world that understands and commits to ending wild collection and abiding by the AZA regulations is a huge victory. The Filipino animal rights people, ACRES still have campaigns running and disagree with you .
It's a step forward in a part of the world where dolphins are largely not viewed the way the western world views them. But we know - angry tweets and publicity stunts get media attention - not science.
 The scientists above state differently .

The infamous "BlackFish Star" Naomi Rose, who was famously a part of the botched Keiko Release project, plenty of people see the Keiko project a different way especially as people couldn't stop doing waterworks with him and wouldn't let him be wild. See here is being hosted at the M Hotel in Singapore - not to visit Dolphin Island, but to criticize and condemn it without ever setting foot inside. She has never talked to the trainers or animal care team. She hasn't even bothered to see the animals. Why do you think that trainers are more knowledgeable that scientists and CITES? The clue is in their title - trainers - it doesn't make them animal experts or vets, or even scientists so why would she need to speak to them? 
Why? Because it is never about the science. The truth doesn't sell. Controversy sells. The animals are just bit players.  What a ridiculous thing to say, there is concern about sustainability, and 3 of them have already died, don't try to make a drama out of something that isn't one!

The dolphins at Dolphin Island spending time with their talented trainers.

At Awesome Ocean we spend a lot of time bringing out tough topics and exploring them in-depth. We don't just rely on Twitter mobs and drive-by hashtags. We hope that, like us, you take the time to find the truth because there are a lot of people out there with a vested interest in hiding it from you. You haven't though have you, on almost every article you print you either slate someone else or put in half truths, as in this one, instead of just finding bits that fitted with what you wanted to say why didn't you find all the information and then say you were wrong, because you were.
So take a hard look at the world around you - including zoological organizations and marine facilities. But don't be a lemming and rely on 140 hate-filled characters and celebrity wannabe scientists. They aren't wannabe, they are scientists you fool, for example Naomi Rose, who incidently you also like to call names, is a member of the International Whaling Commissions Scientific Committee. She has published popular and scientific articles and lectures at several universities. She participates in task forces and workshops at International, National and State Level. She received her PhD on the social dynamics of killer whales in 1992 from the University of California in Santa Cruz. As for the others you call on Blackfish see here.If a facility like Marine Life Park can get a foothold in this part of the world and promote the standards and regulations of organizations like the AZA - then we should support that.
It's the only way we can change the minds of people who have long viewed marine animals in a very different light than the rest of us. As I said earlier ACRES who live and work in the Philippines disagree with you and believe they should be rehabilitated back in Solomon Islands waters as do many who unlike yourself do not agree that these creatures should be in captivity.

As for the whole point of this article, you got caught supporting a place which buys drive hunt dolphins, and again you missed vital information like the drive hunt being banned in 2003, CITES involvement, the Chief speaking out in Solomon Island news to make it fit into your own view and that is not a good way to put over a story is it??

Meeting a dolphin underwater in part of the 4,000,000 gallon habitat

As I stated at the beginning of this article, zoological facilities in Asia need to be praised when they help elevate the standard of animal care in this part of the world.
That is exactly what the Marine Life Park in Singapore is doing, and why it deserves our praise.

Why to NOT Swim with Dolphins

Although a dolphin in the wild would seldom approach a human being, hundreds of them are forced to swim with tens of thousands people every year. Dolphinaria can even open 7 days a week and perform 4 shows a day ranging from 20 minutes to one hour without holidays or breaks for the animals.
Programmes allowing people to swim with dolphins increase their feeling of stress already experienced by living in captivity. Young females are normally used in these programmes since their behaviour is easier to manipulate. On the contrary, males are more prone to aggressiveness and sexual behaviour under certain circumstances depending on the time of the year.

 
Safety
Dolphins are more aggressive and dangerous than one could imagine. They are strong and temperamental animals (big in size and weight, a dolphin strength is up to 7 times higher than a human athlete’s). It would be naive to believe them harmless towards humans especially when the interactions are forced onto them. After all, they are wild animals and as such, as much as they are trained, they are unpredictable.

A dolphin in the wild would never attack a human being. Those few cases recorded have only occurred when dolphins have been subject to stressful situations, harassed or disturbed. However, the stress caused by the unnatural conditions of captivity together with the forced interactions with human beings can result on frustration leading to aggressiveness towards people and other dolphins. Dolphins are wild sea mammals with their own patterns of behaviour and social conduct. They play and mate in a different way to human beings and in many occasions, these activities, which are normal for them, can be potentially dangerous for human beings.

Information and public safety

Most participants are not informed of the possible hazards of swimming with dolphins. Dolphins are extremely agile animals, so accurate in their perceptions and exact and synchronised in their movements under water that they would be able to evade the movements of people. Therefore, any bump or scratch to swimmers would be intended, not accidental, even in the smallest and most crowded spaces.
This behaviour can result on severe physical damage to swimmers and could lead to hospitalisation: muscles torn, damaged organs, internal wounds, open wounds, broken bones and shocks. It has been the case that a dolphin fell on top of a person damaging her neck and causing deafness as a result.
Dolphins tend to be more submissive towards adult men, but children and women are the most threatened by their behaviour. Young women are in higher risk of suffering aggressive sexual behaviour.
Dolphins can sense the nerviosism in swimmers, react to them with aggressiveness and injuring them as a result.
Dolphins seem to have the ability of telling the difference and treat more carefully handicapped people. However, the actions and reactions of handiccaped children are unpredictable. If an animal is harmed intentionally or not, their immediate response will be another aggression or a rough and dangerous escape.
Likewise, there exists the risk of zoonotic agents´ transmission between humans and dolphins. It is believed that respiratory infections can transmitted from men to dolphins and vice verse. A large number of bacteriological diseases can penetrate through cuts, rashes, and especially bites. The participants are not informed of the possible infections and the centres do not inform about the accidents that occur during interactions. In fact, participants must often sign a document exempting the centre and administrations of any responsibility from any report of accident that may happen during the encounter.

Safety of dolphins

Through these behaviours, dolphins are trying to communicate their stress and fear. However, human beings do not realise of that stress, fear and frustration displayed by animals during the programmes. Apart from endangering people, the safety and well-being of dolphins are also affected in the swimming-with-dolphins programmes in different ways:

• They suffer from stress, which can relate to negative physiologic disorders in the long run (stomach inflammation, ulcer, etc).
• They may suffer from an unusual exposure to human bacteriological or viral infections.
• They may swallow objects that have fallen into the swimming pool (keys, swimming caps, etc).
• They may suffer from other stressing environmental agents like noise, deprivation of rest, inability to withdraw from human contact. 
• The participants may intentionally or unintentionally disturb the animals by pulling their fins, chasing them, touching their eyes or blowholes, etc.
• Some studies show that the level of whistles made by dolphins increase before and during the swimming-with-dolphins sessions as an indication of stress in anticipation to the sessions and during the course of these.
• Sometimes, mediocre swimmers are allowed to participate. In these cases, the dolphins can be beaten by the arms, hands, flippers, etc. of the swimmers.

Conclusions

In their search for their personal satisfaction, people are oblivious to the damage they may inflict on other species.
The issue of captivity raises a debate between the rights and justification of humans to use wild animals for our entertainment or therapy purposes (of which effectivity nothing has been proved so far).
To conclude, these programmes can be ethically unacceptable for the following reasons:

• They only exist as a means of commercial exploitation of wild animals
• They impact negatively in the wild populations of these animals
• They represent a severe risk for the health and safety or human beings and dolphins
• They do not offer a real programme of education or preservation.
• These programmes do not increase people’s awareness and education on wild animals, their lives and threats in nature, but they induce people to think that animals can snatched from their environment for our entertainment.

What can you do?

•  Do not attend shows performed with animals.
• Inform any person you know of the suffering that these animals endure.
• Join any organisation that works towards the end of these practices.
• Join my facebook page for updates and information here

Lastly check through this list as many of the dolphins have come from Taiji

Whilst you support these programmes you also support this and the two are entwined as demand for dolphins increases across the globe. Dolphins are wild ocean predators and should be treated as such, they are not toys for our entertainment.
                               
                                           What happens in Taiji?  find out here

script courtesy of faada