Captive Cetaceans are tragically sad compared to their free ranging families in the ocean. Throughout this blog I have tried to provide links to information stated enabling you to check things out and make your own minds up. Research really is the key, don't be told what to think and say, check it out for yourself.
As many know Awesome Ocean have a well known reputation for twisting facts, calling people names and have a ridiculous obsession with PETA which they use to try to distract from actual events that have happened in Seaworld tanks.
As many know from my blog, I have added in official links into their articles and debunked their ranting over and over again. (see below and check the links to documents yourself)
There are many more articles calling people names, Ellen Ericksen, Ric O'Barry, Ken Balcomb, Naomi Rose etc, but they are so easily debunked and so full of lies and twists they didn't even deserve debunking.
The most recent victim of his twists being that of Elizabeth Batt, who has nothing to hide, provided documents which Eric said would be amended but obviously weren't, and yet he has the cheek to call her over her reporting. Anyone reading Elizabeth Batt's blog on the Marineland issue and Digital Journals backdown who incidently were the only company out of eight companies/individuals who have a SLAPP suit pending to back down to Holer, can see for themselves that once again Awesome Ocean has it wrong. In the words of Awesome Ocean when describing their article
Eric Davis 'can kiss his dreams of being a respected journalist goodbye! Because when activism mistakenly wears the robes of journalism, you can bet the truth will win in the end.'
It most certainly will and in my own words Liars Never Prosper, Eric is himself an activist in the true sense of the word for Seaworld and LIARS ALWAYS get caught as Eric Davis has below.
Yesterday 20th Jan 2015 a very truthful post was posted on Awesome Ocean's facebook page, which showed how their 'fans' are starting to feel about Eric's obsession with Peta. Luckily I took a screen shot of it.
As you can see from the screen shot, it shows exactly what everyone has been trying to tell Eric Davis, none of the people complaining at Seaworld parks mention PETA, none of them, nor the activists associate what happens at PETA with what happens and has happened in Seaworld tanks. Many activists are not PETA supporters either but I guess it is easier for Eric to use them and their polices as a distraction rather than focus on and answer to the actual matters at hand - 45 orca deaths, 3 human deaths, why despite the rising floor Tilikum still would not let Dawn go, why Seaworld blamed Dawn in court yet say they didn't, mother and offspring separation which is blatantly obvious as 4 of them live in Spain, if he addressed and answered those things and admitted the problems Seaworld created all by themselves, then he might be taken seriously, but that would mean having to do some proper research on official documents other than lying or distraction with PETA. Even his own fans are now speaking out.
During a twitter conversation yesterday between Eric and myself he proved just how easily those lies fall out of his mouth. Luckily I took screen shots of those too to provide as evidence.
LIE 1 Erics first response to this post was it was a fake facebook account and a fake comment.
On being challenged about that and shown that is WAS actually Awesome Ocean's facebook account, he then moved onto LIE 2
Stating then that the person is infact fake. Fake or not the fact is that the post WAS made on Awesome Ocean's facebook page my someone called Kevin Smith, his facebook account link was confirmed.
This thread of tweets shows how when Eric is confronted with facts he tries to twist away from them, moving from the FACT that the post was made onto the person who made it. Typical Awesome Ocean behaviour which is why their posts are so easily debunked.
Shocking that his first defence is to lie, doesn't leave much credibility does it?
He chose to ignore the reply to his last comment but again, here was my reply.
Whether this is an actual Seaworld manager really is irrelevant ,you can test the link above, it is an actual facebook profile and THAT person wrote the original comment on Awesome Oceans facebook page.
I then proceeded to message the owner of that account, emailed Seaworld, wrote on Seaworld San Diego and Seaworld Orlando's facebook pages and as yet have had no response from any. I am not however holding my breath as Seaworld religiously ignore posts and questions that do not earn them money.
After posting this to Eric as I have nothing what so ever to hide, he then moved on to LIE 3
Other activists on my team??? Once again Eric misses the point that whoever Kevin Smith is, he wrote on Awesome Ocean's page telling them exactly what everyone thinks, note on the original it had also been liked by 6 other people. The same has also been said on the Stand with Seaworld facebook page. (see below) Yet Eric, Erin and Mike think they know best which leaves them wide open to be debunked and called out for lying over and over again.
Lie 3 how can it be a fake account when that person wrote the comment on THEIR facebook page. Doesn't matter what the person is called the FACT is they wrote it.
Finally even though Eric thinks he has nothing to hide he deletes the comment. The comments above and below can still be seen there now.
Why would it be deleted? His explanation leads to
LIE 4
As per their guidelines? What these guidelines? -
The guidelines say nothing about spam and as yet Eric doesn't know for sure that the account is fake as once again the FACTS elude him. Whoever wrote that post, wrote it from that account, the account is still there, the post was there so how is that spam?
The about page on Awesome Oceans facebook page also leads to
Lie 5
As many can see this was not created by people passionate about the ocean, it was created by Eric Davis, passionate about Seaworld, passionate about PETA and passionate about trying to lead others astray with unproven things said over and over again.
Finally whilst waiting for confirmation responses from Seaworld and the Kevin Smith account holder, a lovely Seaworld fan who just wants to find the truth from both sides, adds her input to the tweets
She then also provides a link to where she found that park going friend.
After asking the question the reply came straight back as you can see below.
This Seaworld fan echo's what most of them are about she 'calls them as she sees them.'
As you can see from the Stand with Seaworld comments below, Eric knows his, Erin McKinney's and Mike Madsen's obsession with PETA is too much, and the new writer Danielle Cookish seems pretty much the same, you can see her drivel here
Eric Davis and Awesome Ocean can not be taken seriously in any shape or form, even their own fans are starting to see them for exactly what they are and to lie and try to twist out of a situation over such a length of time, when the bottom line is, the post WAS written on the Awesome Ocean page, no matter who wrote it, just shows where their mind set actually is, response needed -- lie.
As you can see from the about section of Awesome Ocean all the sites we know of that spout the same rubbish about PETA, Blackfish and spread rubbish waiting to be debunked with facts, all come from the same source Eric Davis, the very person who just had lie after lie fall out of his mouth, trying to avoid the FACTs yet again.
All the articles I have already debunked from Awesome Ocean just by adding the facts.
It seems Danielle Cookish, the new Awesome Ocean writer is either totally unaware of what she is getting in to or just as bad as the original writers. Judging from this article debunked below it seems she is just as bad as their original writers are at trying to manipulate a situation to fit the Seaworld Agenda. What a shame.
Visual effects and gripping music are
the tools of the trade when you have an opinion to share, but do not
want it met with skepticism. Hooking an already empathetic audience from
the beginning by jarring them emotionally is one of the many steps on
the pyramid of persuasion.
Please watch the following:
We’re all familiar with the film The Notebook (New Line,
2004) a highly emotional, epic love story that follows the lives of two
characters and their experiences, all culminating into a tragic twist in
plot.
What you’ve just watched is the original theatrical trailer for the
film, which does well to describe the storyline, the characters, and
what you can expect from it.
Now, we’ll watch the trailer again. This time, it has been cut,
re-scored, and manipulated to make the romance film appear to be a
psychological thriller. You will notice a striking similarity to the
theatrical effects that make up Blackfish.
Lastly, let’s watch the trailer for Blackfish.
Did you notice anything interesting?
The manipulated version of The Notebook and the Blackfish
trailers are identical, presenting only different content. They are
constructed with identical rapid cut-away techniques, ominous music, and
flashes of what is supposed to be absorbed as credible text. Except the things said in the Blackfish trailer are true. The recording was the actual recording and most importantly as you can see from the court documents Seaworld DID blame Dawn for her own death, however much they deny it, court transcripts don't lie.
Thousands of people have been psychologically and emotionally manipulated and it happened so fast, they didn’t even notice. Wrong, it didn't happen fast at all for the past 50 years people have watched orcas die in those tanks, dolphins die, belugas die, that is documented fact and all down to Seaworld.
Despite the fact that for the last five decades, SeaWorld has been a
beacon of education, family entertainment, and marine animal research,
they have recently been awash in public backlash because of the
manipulative tricks of the activist film. Wrong again people protest Seaworld because of what Seaworld have done, Blackfish just highlighted it. You seem to forget that Blackfish was made AFTER Tilikum killed Dawn, Keto killed Alexis, Tilikum killed Daniel and long after the death of Keltie Byrne. It was made after Kasatka tried to drown Ken Peters, It was made long after Kandu V and Keanu dragged Johnathan to the bottom of the tank, leaving him cut all around his torso, with a ruptured kidney and a six-inch
laceration of his liver, yet luckily he managed to escape and get out of the
pool. It was long after Orky 2 permanently disabled John Silick and 13 years after Chuck Tompkins gave this statement in court 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."
Blackfish isn't to blame for all these things Seaworld are!
Taking a closer look at the psychology behind the creation of Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Blackfish (Magnolia, 2013) we see how easily we can be manipulated.
Cowperthwaite admitted to having no prior education or training in
the field of marine mammal care before creating the film. Her
interest began after learning of the 2010 incident where senior trainer
Dawn Brancheau was killed by Tilikum, a 12,000 pound bull orca at
SeaWorld Orlando. Wow you are actually right AFTER Dawn was killed!
Cowperthwaite’s use of archival footage, lack of original material,
and non-credible witnesses earned her a snub from the Academy during the
86th Academy Awards announcement of nominees for Best Documentary Feature. Blackfish has won many awards and how was it snubbed lol
Blackfish was developed on the foundation of sensationalism.
A 90-minute spectacle of anthropomorphism and audio/video manipulation,
all set to dimmed filters and a suspenseful, dark musical score. The recording of the medical technician was an actual recording and all the proof of what was in Blackfish is here, Go check it out as unlike Awesome Ocean stuff I provide the evidence and links to PROVE it.
Cowperthwaite implemented persuasive, emotionally driven film
techniques, assuming that would be enough to argue with fifty years of
scientific study and research. Have you actually read the research if not go and look again here
After speaking out about the injustice
and manipulative nature of the film, it is reported that Cowperthwaite
phoned former trainer Bridgette Pirtle and requested, “Please wait until
after award season to criticize Blackfish.” Bridgette Pirtle has had plenty to say about Seaworld herself quote ''they (the orcas) are proudly introduced as ambassadors but they are simply work horses for a profit driven industry' She has plenty of other things to say too seehere
Due to the manipulative effects used in the film, it's no surprise
that audiences, especially children and teens, have lashed out at
SeaWorld. An endless parade of hashtags, outrageous demands, bullying of
others, the spewing of profanity, and slander dominate the landscape.
This type of reaction to a shock-value film is not new, but it has
set a new precedent. It seems a tide has turned where it is now socially
acceptable to believe what’s seen in a film or on television and ask no
further questions. You are completely missing the fact that all the incidents and deaths that have occured at Seaworld which people have protested since day one happened BEFORE Blackfish was made, they are even documented in Seaworld's own animal profiles - again take a look for yourself here
There are then all these cetacean deaths to account for - should animals who have restaurant quality fish, top vet care, dental care, regular health check as Seaworld profess they do have died in these numbers in their small 50 years?
A similar effect was achieved in 2004 when director Morgan Spurlock released Supersize Me (Hart Sharp Video, 2004), a film which follows Spurlock on a 30-day journey where he consumes only food from McDonald’s.
His weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, and other vitals were
monitored by a medical doctor during the process and the results were
not shocking. Spurlock’s central thesis was eating McDonald’s three
times a day for 30 days will have negative effects on your health. No
kidding.
Interestingly, viewers of the film grabbed their torches and
pitchforks and began harassing, protesting, and boycotting McDonald’s as
if they had been duped into believing McDonald’s served healthful food
with no health consequences during excessive daily intake.
Comedian Jim Gaffigan touched on the topic during his Mr. Universe
special, where he said, “I just love the societal outrage at
McDonald’s. There is no nutritional value, there are no vitamins.
McDonald’s is like, excuse me, we sell burgers and fries. We never said
we are a farmer’s market.”
While we work tirelessly to present sourced facts and data that
completely debunks the pre-determined opinion selected for you by
Cowperthwaite, many people continue to fiercely defend the film as their
reason for outrage.
When factual evidence that goes against the Blackfish agenda
is presented, those who support the information put forth in the film
become agitated, petty, hostile, and even violent. Why?
Sourced facts and data - really????
I think you need to look at these as Awesome Ocean has been debunked many many times with factual links from court reports, necropsy reports, NOAA, official documents and records that cannot be disputed by either side. Take a look at them all Awesome Ocean blown out of the water AGAIN!
You most certainly have this as facts are facts which ever side you stand on, and yet you still dispute them
Sometimes it can be difficult to differentiate fact from fiction
because the art of manipulation is a psychological science. Finding the
truth often requires vast amounts of research into both sides of an
argument.
This is true it does require research but not the sort you give to people which has been proven to be manipulated, selectively put forward or in some cases are downright lies, as this piece is too hence it getting debunked yet again.
Blackfish has a transparent agenda shown in its parochial manipulation techniques. Finding truth through science is black and white.
It most definitely is Blackfish looked at incidents that had already happened at Seaworld. Gabriella Cowperthwaite didn't do any of them, PETA didn't do any of them, Seaworld are responsible for all of them and the quicker you look at the official paperwork and see the light the better it will be all round as at the moment you make the educational programme Seaworld say they have in place look seriously questionable.
I have responded to this article, but just incase this comment doesn't pass the moderation process, here it is.
There is a lot of scientific and factual evidence out there, here are some of them for you too
Blackfish replies to Seaworld's interpretation of Blackfish and the links proving what is true and where Seaworld lied are all in here
1. swimming 100 miles per day - Ken Balcomb has studied the SR's for 37 years and documented them swimming 75 miles per day average. HERE I think the point that is trying to be made is whether the orcas across the globe are hunting, playing or just socializing, they are constantly in motion even when sleeping. As you can see from video evidence, Seaworld orcas are not. Using the West Nile Virus which has killed Seaworld orcas, no recorded cases in the wild as it is carried by mosquito, had they not been logging at the surface, they wouldn't have been bitten. Seaworld often say they are sleeping but as you should know cetacean brains are designed so they can shut off half at a time to constantly be in motion even when sleeping.
Video evidence of Seaworld orcas inactivity
2. Dorsal fin collapse is easily explained by both Naomi Rose and Todd Robeck Seaworld vet in the recent debate. Do take note though that Todd Robeck admits that the Seaworld website is misleading by using just the data from Dr Ingrid Visser and both agree that dorsal fin collapse in the wild is only 1%. His is however incorrect that the dorsal fin is made of cartilage it is actually made of collagen. This seems to be the best source for the information as it does show both scientific and Seaworld's opinion in this matter.
In response to this statement ''so SeaWorld has been called out for misrepresenting that figure. The point is that collapsed dorsal fins do occur in the wild ''.
The point actually is that Seaworld deliberately manipulated the information and has misled people with it, hence the protest from Dr Visser and their own vet admitted that.
3. Longevity -
Firstly was there a need for the scientist turned activist comment. Naomi Rose still received her phD in the social dynamics of killer whales.
She oversees HSI campaigns to protect wild and captive marine mammals and 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.
So whether you think she is an activist or not is irrelevant to your 'unbiased' blog. You say you too have a PhD so does that become non existent because you write a pro cap blog?
As for the longevity claims there are actually research papers out there proving that captive orcas DO NOT live as long as their wild counterparts.
SeaWorld's explanation of longevity comparisons between wild and captive populations states: "The issue of killer whale lifespan is one that is often misconstrued and overly simplified. The simple truth is that no one knows." But then they go on to say that they do know: "The data we do have show that killer whales at SeaWorld are living as long as their counterparts in the wild. "
But how long do they live in natural habitats?
This paper isn't as old as the one you claimed to find, this is 2005 and reveals
46 years for Northern Resident females from 1973 to 1996 and 30 years from 1996 to 2004;
50 years for Southern and Northern Resident combined females from 1973 to 1987;
39 years for Southern Alaska Resident females from 1984 to 2001;
31 years for Northern Resident males from 1973 to 1996 and 19 years from 1996 to 2004;
29 years for Southern and Northern Resident combined males from 1973 to 1987; and 31 years for Southern Alaska Resident males from 1984 to 2001. (The complete breakdown is in Table 14 on page 55.)
The 2005 Olesiuk et al paper is the best summary of orca lifespans to date with hard data. One important caveat however, is that those data are from a population that was quite likely significantly culled by random shootings prior to the start of the field studies. The estimates in Olesiuk et al are based on observations beginning in 1973, and mortalities from shootings may have been high for decades prior to that date, which could have significantly biased the lifespan estimates downward, because the killed animals would have added to the ranks of older age classes during the study if they had not been killed.
This 2012 paper describes something briefly discussed in the 2005 paper: female reproductive senescense, or menopause. A striking similarity between humans and orcas comes clear in the female post-reproductive lifespans.
Orcas and humans (and pilot whales) are the only mammals known to science (so far) to exhibit menopause. For both humans and orcas, females are reproductive for about 25 years until around 40 years of age, but often live 3 or 4 decades after their last offspring is born. In natural orca communities where mating is governed by cultural traditions (along with diet, language, etc.), the first calf is born when the mother is about 14-15 years old. Most human females are capable of having their first baby at about that age. At SeaWorld, females are often bred much earlier, at 6 or 7 years old, indicating either artificial inducement by hormonal supplements, or the absence of cultural restraints, or both.
We don't have definite birth years for the older orca females, but several have been post-reproductive since the photo-ID studies began in 1973, and are still alive, indicating they are at least around 75 now, and some are older. That is roughly equivalent to human life spans.
Male maturation rates are also very similar for humans and orcas, beginning in early to mid-teens with full maturity in late teens. This indicates that full male lifespans in undisturbed populations may also be similar. Olesiuk, et al., p. 33:
So those studied in 2012 are known to be at least 75 years old. Oh, but hey, at least no one is anthropomorphizing here, there is no need to compare them to human baseball players as the scientific evidence speaks for itself.
When Seaworld have 75 year old orcas in their tanks then they can claim they live as long as their wild counterparts.
4. Attacks and deaths = there are 4 deaths by captive orcas not 3 - Keltie Byrne, Daniel Dukes, Alex Martinez and Dawn Brancheau, many near death and many many incidents. If you think that is a good rate over 50 years, then compare that to the wild population where there have been 5 incidents and no deaths, 2 involving orcas tipping an iceflow no contact with humans made, 1 where they sank a boat tipping 6 people into the water, no human contact made, 1 where a boy swimming with seals was bumped on the shoulder as if the attack had been aborted and 1 where an orca did grab a leg but immediately let go.
As for your video Mel taught his pod how to catch sealion pups without risking death from permanent beaching, only 7 orcas in the world have been recorded as able to do this. Transient orcas ''playing'' with their food is something predators do, cats play with their prey too.
In comparison of the 5 incidents the wild orcas realised it was a mistake and let go, even they guy who needed over 100 stitches said the orca could have killed him outright which it indeed could, the captive orcas on the other hand did not stop, these people were not merely drowned their autopsy reports prove that, they were well and truly attacked.
I note you have no links to their autopsy reports if you want them just let me know.
It isn't just death at Seaworld that shows these attacks, they are also logged on Seaworld's own animal profiles. In order to prove that captivity is the issue causing aggression you only need to look at those profiles.
For example
Kasatka Seaworld log 12 incidents against her -
Her profile states Kasatkas minor aggressive bouts are seen more often when social problems occur with other whales.
Emits aggressive behaviour quick head movements, jaw popping, snapping of jaws ans sliding out of the water to challenge strangers
Her aggressive incidents with trainers seem to occur after trainer switches with minimal or no reinforcement or WHEN SHE WAS SEPARATED FROM HER CALF AND THE CALF WAS IN DISTRESS. Since Takara's birth her aggression towards trainers increased and her waterwork relationships are very much dependent on the whereabouts of Takara.
There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Ken Peters was lucky to escape the tank with his life, it would have killed the majority of us.
You would think the solution would be to stop separating her from her calf wouldn't you? Doesn't this prove the aggression is caused by Seaworld? Separating her from her calves knowing that it causes aggression seems pretty irresponsible wouldn't you say?
As for the incident with Tilikum you are right something did piss him off. Tilikums animal profile states
During times of frustration due to social stress in the environment Tilikum has exhibited aggressive behaviour by mouthing the stage, vocalizations, deep fast swim, tightening body posture, and sometimes lunging towards the control trainer.
This was the show minutes before the attack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7kwT0_rH5k
As you can see, deep fast swim, definite social stress to the point one of the orcas at 0:56 is knocked out of the water by the other. You can also see the trainers have left the stage as they have lost control and the deep fast swims continued into the back pool.
In light of the fact they Seaworld already knew that Tilikum lunged at control trainers during periods of social stress, do you think it was a good idea for them to allow Dawn to continue the show and to lay down with him after they had just witnessed the incident minutes before?
There are also many incidents including the deaths here which also provide you with the links to their profiles and the autopsy results. Daniel Dukes is particularly interesting seeing as Seaworld stated he was found on Tilikum's back and died of hypothermia when the truth is the medical examiners report shows many pre death injuries including his scrotum being completely avulsed, and post death injuries showing Tilikum continued to ''play'' with him. This is not the story Seaworld gave is it? other incidents
5. You start off saying that separation is indisputable and you are correct Seaworld HAVE played on the word calf. Just as I would say about my daughter - my baby, when she was a baby, I still call her my baby even though she is 18.
To compare them with social dogs again is wrong. Dogs and cats even in the wild leave their mothers to form their own family and territory, in the case of lions the males are actively chased out of the pride. Even humans rarely live their whole lives with their mothers, they eventually leave home and start families of their own.
Orcas are however different in that respect. They stay in matraline pods their whole life, so when people pull Blackfish down emphasizing the fact that Takara was 12 when she was taken and she was taken with her calf Kohana. They fail to say that both of those were part of Kasatkas matraline, had they been wild, Takara would have started her own family BUT she would have stayed in Kasatka's matraline group with her brothers, sisters and their calves too.
When Seaworld released this video
saying 'why would we do that' Well why would they do that??? What they failed to do was finish the story. Kohana was taken with Takara that is true, but she was then taken to Spain separated from her mother and is still there to this day. Takara was moved again leaving Trua behind too. These orcas are alive and physical proof that They Do Do THAT!
When Seaworld released this video to try to convince people that they did indeed recognize the importance of social bonds, they couldn't have picked a worst orca as an example of that. Katina with 2 of her calves.
Katina, who is a wild caught orca, had Kalina first,
Kalina was taken to do a tour of the Seaworld parks and not returned until she was 9 years old. Whilst away she had a calf of her own at the extremely young age of 7, 18 months gestation so she was 5 and a half years old and Seaworld allowed her to become pregnant. When Keet was 18 months old his mum was moved again as she was pregnant again.
SEAWORLD SAID KEET BECAME DEPRESSED after her move but he was cared for by Haida 2 and made friends with Kyuquot and Katerina, despite that at aged 5 he was moved to away from them too.
She then had Keto - SEAWORLD SAID HE WAS MOVED OUT OF ORLANDO TO CORRECT HIS BAD HABITS he was 3. He stayed at San Diego for 9 months, then was moved to Ohio and then to San Antonio. He finally formed a bond with Kayla even fighting with Ky over her and was then reunited with his brother and they too became really close. Despite the bonds he made as he would have naturally been at his mothers side all his life, he was then sent to Loro Parque never seeing any of them again. People wonder then why he killed poor Alix Martinez, Seaworld knew he was messed up as they tried to correct his bad habits, who gave him those bad habits? Even though they knew about Keto they still let the trainers in Loro Parque swim with them, being supervised by Brian Rokeach didn't stop the death.
Then there is Skyla how old was she when Seaworld took her from her mother? 2, what was the reason for that??
When Kalina died from septicemia, she had none of her calves with her, why was that as Seaworld state they don't separate them??? Those 4 orca would have stayed in Katina's matriline after Kalinas death, so thats one calf.
Katerina - Katina's second calf was taken aged 2, and sent to San Antonio, she died there aged 10. Why did they take her from Katina as Seaworld's lovely videos say they respect the mother and calf bond, and the simpering mother of 4 says 'we wouldn't do that' but they would and have.
Taku was so messed up he mated with his own mother, producing Nalani a full inbred who can go nowhere as she will never be part of the breeding programme, if she ever is there certainly would be uproar as no respectable institution would breed an animal knowing they were full inbred. He died at San Antonio of pneumonia aged 14.
Unna - where is Unna and how old was she when she was moved?? She has been on birth control since miscarrying her first calf. Why isn't she still with Katina??
Ikaika was only 4 when he was traded for 4 Belugas and sent to Marineland. After winning the court battle he was brought back to Seaworld, so why wasn't he brought back to the same tank as his mother as he would have been with her for life in the wild??
Nalani - beautiful Nalani can't go anywhere as she can never be used for the breeding programme due to being the result of mother and son mating.
7 calves later she had Makaio, who is still with her. She should have all her calves with her and as 3 of them have died from septicemia, pneumonia and infection which then raises the question of how have these orca got those infections as Seaworld says their tanks are free from bacteria, infection and pathogens. Look through the causes of death for the other orca too, this is obviously NOT the case.
To produce a video saying Seaworld are aware of the mother and calf bonds makes the situation so much worse, as ignorance could have been an excuse, now there is no excuse for separating these orca.
The orcas in the video are her youngest calf and inbred Nalani.
6. Firstly the reports aren't from 20 years ago. Lets take a look. If we pick a none Blackfish trainers as we all know their views and why they want the captivity to end, and go for say Bridgette Pirtle who you will be aware is now saying she supports Seaworld. Ignoring what she had to say about Blackfish and looking at why she said she left Seaworld seems to be the right way to answer this one.
In this interview she says ''I spent too many years watching decisions made to spend money on show elements, playgrounds or barbeque restaurants. Now is the time to let actions speak louder then words. Give the animals the best. Update facilities that haven’t seen any expansion since the 80s. Ultimately, the same concerns voiced as a result of Dawn’s accident had been voiced after incidents in the past. Lessons not learned and continually disregarded. Many of those taking care of the animals are fighting for less responsibility to be placed upon their ever-drooping dorsal fins. Show schedules, public interactions, and dining obligations create a strain on animals already in a highly stressed environment. They are proudly introduced as “ambassadors” but they are simply work horses for a profit hungry industry desperate to remain relevant in a society that has already begun to recognize we have moved past such a trite necessity. Until parks like SeaWorld exhale their dying breathe, tighter regulations and stronger accountability for adhering to such guidelines is a given.''
This interview
The breeding program should end, and animals for entertainment should end.
What are they going to do with all these whales?
That was a battle I fought in my last year at SeaWorld. It was disappointing to me to see more money spent on parts of the park that didn't benefit the animals. They'd spend millions of dollars renovating a children's play area or revamping the sound system.
But there wasn't enough pool space [in San Antonio].
When you look at the Animal Welfare Act, the parks meet it, but the act is outdated. Killer whales aren't even acknowledged as being dangerous.
In this interview
she tells the story of Unna who miscarried during a show. The show had to continue and after it was over trainers had to dive in and pick up the pieces of fetus. She went on to say she had 3 miscarriages in total. Seaworld acknowledge she had one saying her health was so compromised she has been on medication ever since.
Despite asking her to clarify this she chose not to respond. Either she is lying saying Unna had 3 miscarriages or Seaworld are lying saying she has only had one.
Even in her interview with Eric Davis of Awesome Ocean and Stand with Seaworld she said
What would Bridgette do if she was in charge of SeaWorld?
“I would end animals for entertainment purposes, and stop the breeding program''
This isn't a 20 years ago trainer is it so I guess her comments on what it is like to work for Seaworld are relevant.
Secret Agendas and Summary
Had you looked in the right places for what the agendas were you would have found that NO ONE has said they want Seaworld to close, nor have they said sump the orcas in the open ocean.
Naomi Rose put forward a win win situation to Seaworld, win for the orcas and win for Seaworld
She states
First, orcas in captivity are out of shape; they are the equivalent of couch potatoes, as the largest orca tank in the world is less than one ten-thousandth of one percent (0.0001%) the size of the smallest home range of wild orcas.
Second, they are in artificial and often incompatible social groups. This contributes to chronic stress, which can depress the immune system and leave captive orcas susceptible to infections they would normally fight off in the wild. WE CAN SEE THE PROOF OF THAT IN SEAWORLD'S OWN ANIMAL PROFILES.
Third, they often break their teeth chewing compulsively on metal gates. These broken teeth, even drilled and cleaned regularly by irrigation, are clear routes for bacteria to enter the bloodstream. These are the obvious factors; there are almost certainly others contributing to the elevated mortality seen in captivity. THIS HAS BEEN PROVEN TOO SEE THE MARINELAND V SEAWORLD COURT FILE.
These facilities can work with experts around the world to create sanctuaries where captive orcas can be rehabilitated and retired. These sanctuaries would be sea pens or netted-off bays or coves, in temperate to cold water natural habitat. They would offer the animals respite from performing and the constant exposure to a parade of strangers (an entirely unnatural situation for a species whose social groupings are based on family ties and stability -- "strangers" essentially do not exist in orca society). Incompatible animals would not be forced to cohabit the same enclosures and family groups would be preserved.
Show business trainers would no longer be necessary. Expert caretakers would continue to train retired whales for veterinary procedures, but would not get in the water and would remain at a safe distance (this is known in zoo parlance as "protected contact"). And the degree to which they interact directly with the whales would be each whale's choice.
A fundamental premise of these sanctuaries, however, is that eventually they would empty. Breeding would not be allowed and captive orcas would no longer exist within the next few decades.
YOU HAVE OBVIOUSLY READ IT JUST CHOOSING TO PICK OUT THE ONE LINE, NOT THE WHOLE THING.
PETA who Seaworld make people believe are their arch enemies also put forward a plan WHICH DOESN'T INVOLVE CLOSING DOWN SEAWORLD
You can also see here in the Q and A's from Awesome Ocean and Mark Simmons, at 33:50 even Mark Simmons said the ocean didn't kill Keiko.
There is also then this which is a whole new way to see captive animals the footage of those orcas actually being orcas catching their own fish, being pack in their matraline pods, swimming in the kelp etc could be relayed back into the park.
WHERE I STAND.
You said at the beginning of this I will share the information my personal research has uncovered, so have I.
There is no grey area here, factual evidence from official documents cannot be disputed we know that. Court transcripts cannot be made up, necropsy reports, autopsy reports etc so this are undisputed FACTUAL EVIDENCE.
What I have found when speaking to people to try to show them this evidence is
Seaworld, Stand with Seaworld, Awesome Ocean, and all the related sites run by Eric Davis, Erin McKinney and Mike block anyone showing a different opinion, so how can people make up their minds about anything if they are not being allowed to see the documentation for themselves. You said yourself you have research this for over a year, but you still missed all those important links.
When you speak to people who do support Seaworld, it starts with being accused of being a PETA supporter. I don't support PETA's kill policy anymore than they do, so once that barrier is down, it moves to Blackfish, my usual response is pretend it didn't exist then, the evidence is before Blackfish's time of 2013. They then accept the evidence, dont read it come back with some stupid thing and resort to name calling, check my twitter for proof of that. If they get a retaliation then I'm nasty lol.
On the other hand I have spoken to people who have said it won't change their mind but thank you for being so civil. I am always civil unless it comes from the other person first, even then I don't say shut up as you are more noisy than your dead mother was last night, or your dead mother can't suck properly. Is there any need for things like that?
Check out the Stand with Seaworld page, post after post about PETA fueling anger and paranoia against anyone who tries to show them the actual facts. Check Awesome Ocean, nearly all the posts are manipulating data, bullying individuals even a 10 year old girl who spoke out against Seaworld and they have people in such a frenzy that they thing everyone is the enemy. I have debunked those posts over and over as Eric and his friends obviously do have an agenda, working for a marketing company they obviously think they are doing great marketing for Seaworld when in fact they do more damage to Seaworld than the anti captivity people do. Check my blog, one article after another corrected with the right information, not manipulated facts to try to push an agenda
The whole thing is out of hand, people like me are not stupid those orcas can't go back to the open ocean for the following reasons
14 of them are hybrid including the new calf with no conservation value what so ever. The powers that be would never let them out into the wild to corrupt the wild gene pool and where would they go they have no equivalents out there?
2 are inbred they wouldn't be allowed to go either.
In any other institution they would be in a Marius situation. I am glad they are not as I don't believe Marius should have been killed but he was as he wasn't genetically right to enter the wild gene pool.
Those who need tooth flushing can never be out in the ocean as they would always need that husbandry.
Those on medication like Ike and Unna couldn't go
In light of all the above the matraline which we know are so important would have to be separated which would then make all those campaigning to get them out of the tanks as bad as Seaworld, which is why NO ONE has put that forward.
Seaworld need to be open and transparent with the people who support them. Many believe the captive orcas pay for the rescues as their ticket money funds them. That is a downright lie as Prescott fund funds the rescues as it does for all the other facilities, manatee club funds their rescues and sea turtle rescues are funded too. Take a look at page 20 on here, Seaworld had nothing to rescue with in 2001 not even a boat, yet they tell people they have been rescuing for 50 years.
Seaworld claim all the people on Blackfish are activists, they were asked their opinions as they are orca experts take a look at their credentials here
Nothing will change the fact that 45 orcas have died in those tanks that is almost 1 per year, 244 dolphins have died, 23 Belugas have died, pilot whales, false killer whales dead.
In 50 years, things may have been improving but when Seaworld and their supporters say they receive top vet care, restaurant quality fish, top dental care, when it isn't it tooth flushing for the damaged teeth and give people a false impression of what has happened in those tanks which people like me all know about, they are the cause of the friction between the 2 sides, fueled by Stand with Seaworld and the lies they tell people too.
If it doesn't change peoples minds that is fair enough, but to not even look at the evidence because they have been led to believe anti caps are some sort of monsters is wrong, the evidence is there, add in the links so it is unbiased as you say it is supposed to be and if you need more evidence just ask as I have also been studying this since the days Cuddles was in a tank in the UK.
There is always 2 side to everything these 3 videos for me sum it up visually
Corky 2
Wild orca matraline
Why do they sum it up for me? The matraline pod in the second video is Corky's mother and her family
Lastly
Tilikum 13th December 2014 after refusing to do a show
Do you think its OK that he feels like this and displays it too?
Now do you see why captivity is wrong for these creatures?
Photo Credit: Gord Kurbis/CTV News
Earlier this month we shared the tragic news about a young killer whale found stranded and dead in the Pacific Northwest. That article was debunked here as being disgraceful as it used this poor whales death to try to increase Seaworld's gates
We've been waiting for test results to determine exactly why this
killer whale died, and now that the necropsy is complete, we can assure
you the results are heartbreaking.
The necropsy report can be seen here on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada website, it doesn't say anything about starving at all. She died of infection
Here's what we know: J32, aka Rhapsody, Was Starving To Death
When biologists and scientists performed the necropsy, they
discovered that the female orca had a thin layer of blubber that was
also oil free. This means that she was experiencing a prolonged period
of malnutrition. She and her unborn calf were starving. The necropsy results say nothing about starving, the preliminary necropsy report also stated
'' With reference to the necropsy, the gross observation that J32’s blubber layer was relatively thin and dry of oil is consistent with inadequate diet for an extended period, and there was very little fecal material in the intestines. Dr. Stephen Raverty said that there was blockage of the colon, but I did not observe that evidence because the colon was taken along with the uterus, vagina, ovaries, and anus in a complete “package” for analysis in Vancouver.''
Yet again you selected the bit of the report that suited your explaination, completely missing of the part that she also had a blocked colon which would have contributed to her lack of blubber
Killer Whale Calfs Are Dying In The Wild
Adding to the tragedy of this whales untimely death is the fact that
she was pregnant. As you can see in the necropsy report the calf caused her death ''the cause of death was a result of in utero fetal loss with secondary
bacterial involvement (endometritis), and eventually maternal
septicemia; meaning the fetus caused an infection that became systemic,
and ultimately fatal to J32''
.In the past three years, the Southern Resident Killer
Whale population has not seen a killer whale calf survive. Right now,
there is a 100% mortality rate for killer whale calfs in the Pacific Northwest. 100% mortality sounds huge but there have only been 2 births since 2005, the calf who died L120,and Sooke L120 was the third calf for Surprise! (L86), but was not seen with Mom
in recent sightings by the Center for Whale Research, the organization
that maintains the annual census of the Southern Residents. Surprise’s
second calf, Sooke (L112), died in February 2012 at 3 years old, and a necropsy revealed signs of severe acoustic trauma and now J32's unborn calf.
Killer Whale Prey Is Toxic And Disappearing
The main source of food for the Southern Resident Killer Whales is
salmon. Over the past few decades, numerous environmental issues have
depleted salmon stocks past the point of sustainability. Read the scientific paper about killer whale food stock here. This is true hence you being sent the petitions to remove the dams blocking the salmon runs, which you failed to do anything with, despite it being sent to you personally over and over again to post onto your various websites and facebook pages. Yet you chose to do nothing.
Researchers have found that the salmon that killer whales are feeding
on is toxic and contain dangerous chemicals that have turned this
entire pod of orcas into what scientists are considering the world's
"most toxic animals." Read the NOAA report here The report doesn't say salmon is toxic at all. The report in 2008 which you list states 4 main concerns 1. Reduced quantity and quality of prey (Chinook/King/Spring salmon) (dams etc) 2.
High environmental levels of persistent biochemicals, such as PCB’s and
flame retardants, that have known harmful effects on marine mammals
(eg. immune system repression and reproductive system dysfunction)( they live in the highest populated area of all killer whales.) 3. Sound and disturbance from vessel traffic and shipping.NOAA has observed the whale watching boats and it isn't those where the disturbance comes from it is things like this, the Southern residents territory is in a high shipping area.
4. Potential oil spills
If this issue isn't resolved, these whales will disappear. The only
place people will be able to see killer whales on the West Coast will be
at SeaWorld San Diego.
That again isn't true, the Northern residents are not endangered nor are the transients or other whales swimming in overlapping territory
SeaWorld Is Not The Problem With The Southern Resident Killer Whales
The graph above paints a picture of the population for the Southern Resident Killer Whales. Please click Awesone Ocean's link to read what it says about the graph
SeaWorld stopped collecting killer whales from the Southern Resident
pods in 1966; other marine parks continued to collect killer whales in
the Pacific Northwest until 1973 when the population bottomed out at 66
members. This is the biggest lie on the pageSeaworld DID NOT stop capturing the Southern Residents in 1966 at all. In 1976, Washington State sued SeaWorld for violating its permits during
the violent captures, and the court ruled in favor of outraged citizens
and Dr. Newby, who testified against the capturing of orcas in Puget
Sound. SeaWorld was included by name in the court’s decision prohibiting
orcas from being forcibly removed from their rightful ocean home.
Ralph Munro Former Secretary of State
As you can see from the video evidence, from the former Secretary of State Seaworld were still capturing in 1976. After being banned from US waters, they tried to move onto Alaskan waters and when that was stopped without taking a breath they moved on to Iceland.
Using the graph posted by Awesome Ocean, you can see the dip around the time they were capturing, and the population never recovered as they took calves who would have reached breeding age in their late teens, taking out a whole breeding population.
Over time, the Southern Residents bounced back to a peak population of 98 members in 1995. Since the peak in 1995, the population has been in decline ... and it has NOTHING to do with SeaWorld.
It has everything to do with Seaworld as you can see above. When you lie about the dates you can make it look like it has nothing to do with them, but when Courts are involved the timeline is plain to see and be researched. After examining this tragic death, the persecution of SeaWorld and
other zoological organizations by animal activists is reckless and
irresponsible. Not when the people who support you can see that this is a downright lie you are trying to tell them, to further Seaworld's agenda. It is a plain insult to those people who can see for themselves what happened at what time.
SeaWorld is the only zoological organization in the world
that has the expertise, resources and facilities to address the complex
issues facing the declining population of Southern Resident Killer Whales.
Fact: There are only around 12 female Southern Resident Killer Whales left that are capable of having calves. When the Southern Residents were surveyed in 2004 Not a single animal was encountered that was estimated to be born
between the years 1967 and 1970. 43% of reproductive females were taken from the population during
those captures, which does not include the possible calves from those
females too.
Fact: No killer whale at SeaWorld has ever died of starvation. No killer whale at Seaworld has ever died of old age either Fact: In the past 3 years, there have been no
successful killer whale births among Southern Resident Killer Whales. In
the past 4 years, SeaWorld has seen the successful births of 5 killer
whales. But none of those have any relevance as Seaworld breed hybrid orcas in their tanks with no conservation value what so ever. Fact: In 2014, SeaWorld funded a project to study and assess the Southern Resident Killer Whale population's food sources and identify potential long term solutions. It says this project is $24,964. Seaworld said they were giving $10 million to the Southern residents. What are the results of this study, is it done yet, has it started yet and where is the rest of the money Seaworld promised?
If you are an animal activist, and you truly care about the welfare
and wellbeing of animals, put down your signs, stop the angry tweets,
and join SeaWorld and other great nonprofits as they work to save this
endangered population of orcas in the Pacific Northwest.
Make a list with evidence of what exactly Seaworld has done for the Southern Residents!!
The same response applies to the last time you used a Southern Resident's death to try to manipulate people to support Seaworld. As for this last statement my personal
comment to that would be GET STUFFED. Had you not been so focused on
your own agenda, making stupid little meme's to attack PETA hoping
people wouldn't see what was going on and spent less time slating
people for doing fantastic jobs out there with the wild orcas, you would
have known already that people CAN and DO fight for the Southern
Residents whilst STILL protesting Seaworld. This once again is my own personal
opinion, but I think this is the lowest I have ever seen Awesome Ocean
stoop, to use the death of a Southern Resident to try to rally more
support for Seaworld. You really do make me sick.
