Monday, April 14, 2014
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Danika Gallup- Junior at Saint Michael's College- Reaction to "Blackfish"
Danika Gallup- Junior at Saint Michael's College- Reaction to "Blackfish"
How do you think CNN's "Blackfish" has influenced the public opinion of SeaWorld?
I think it caused a knee-jerk reaction to SeaWorld. Everyone who's seen or heard of "Blackfish" is very against them, but I'm not sure how lasting this change will be.
SeaWorld recently filed an appeal against the new ruling that trainers must be behind a barrier while interacting with the orcas- how do you feel about this law and what do you think the chances of SeaWorld winning the appeal are?
I think it's a fan-freaking-tastic idea, I don't see any reason whatsoever for trainers to be doing flips off whales, it's just pure fireworks and showing off for the sake of showing off. There's no educational value coming from it, and it can result in really bad things, like death. I don't think their appeal will be successful.
What social effects can you imagine the public experiencing if animal captivity ceased to exist? In your opinion, would this be a negative or positive change and why?
With our educational tools today, from a social aspect, I
don't think it would be a problem if animal captivity ceased to exist because
you can get information other ways. After "Blackfish", I
realized captivity for the sake of captivity is disgusting, and I'd never
thought about it that way. I think the captivity for injured or for
rehabilitating animals isn't bad, but it should be in a setting like
Yellowstone, where the public can see them as they exist naturally.
Interview with Cathy Williamson, Captivity Program Manager of WDC
1. How do you think CNN's "Blackfish" has influenced the public opinion of SeaWorld?
It has brought to the attention of millions of people the fact that a household name such as SeaWorld may have significant problems with one of the things it is renowned for doing - display of orcas for public entertainment
2. Do you think "Blackfish"'s portrayal of SeaWorld was accurate? Why or why not?
Yes. It talked about a lot of things groups like WDC have been trying to raise awareness of for many years and it's based on trainer testimony and footage of events
3. SeaWorld recently filed an appeal against the new ruling that trainers must be behind a barrier while interacting with the orcas- how do you feel about this law and what do you think the chances of SeaWorld winning the appeal are?
We support what OSHA is trying to do - address safety concerns for trainers interacting with captive orcas. It's difficult to say whether SeaWorld will win its appeal or not. OSHA has a very good case.
4. In what physical and/or psychological ways are orcas affected by captivity?
Orcas fare particularly poorly in captivity. Captive orcas suffer much lower survival rates than their wild counterparts, with an annual mortality rate which is more than two and half times higher in captivity than in the wild. Furthermore, captive orca survivorship has actually grown worse in the last decade, in spite of any improvements that might have been made in terms of husbandry and veterinary care. Even captive-born orcas have only reached a maximum age of 25 years. In the wild, male orcas live to an average of 30 years (maximum 50-60 years) and females, 46 years (maximum 80-90 years). At least forty-four orcas have died at SeaWorld parks, including four within four months in 2010.
The most common causes of death among orcas in captivity are pneumonia, septicemia and other types of infection. Information is now coming to light about how these lethal infections may be a result of poor dental health caused by gnawing on concrete walls or steel gates due to aggression towards other animals or boredom. These kinds of problem are not seen in wild orcas, nor is another cause of death of some captive orcas which is now being revealed - mosquito borne viruses from mosquito bites suffered as the captive orcas "log" at the pool surface.
Orcas cause physical harm to one another and to their trainers, they live shorter lives than their wild counterparts and they are subject to mental and physical illness and disease not seen in the wild.
5. What social effects can you imagine the public experiencing if animal captivity ceased to exist? In your opinion, would this be a negative or positive change and why?
Zoos and aquaria are popular family activities and without them families would have to seek other forms of entertainment such as responsible wildlife viewing or artificial animal displays such as IMAX, animatronics, dry dive experiences and others. With these kind of displays educating people about whales and dolphins, for example, there may actually be more of an opportunity to educate people about wild whales and dolphins versus seeing a captive whale or dolphin who is a very poor portrayal of their counterparts in the wild. So I think this would be a positive change. And there is so much that can be done with all the fantastic footage and other technologies we have available to us, without the need for live whale and dolphin displays.
6. What are some positive steps SeaWorld could take to improve the quality of life of the captive mammals?
Commit to ending its displays of whales and dolphins and instead investing in sanctuaries that would see them retired from performance and entertainment in a more natural environment or even rehabilitated for release into the wild.
________________________________________
Cathy Williamson
Captivity programme manager
It has brought to the attention of millions of people the fact that a household name such as SeaWorld may have significant problems with one of the things it is renowned for doing - display of orcas for public entertainment
2. Do you think "Blackfish"'s portrayal of SeaWorld was accurate? Why or why not?
Yes. It talked about a lot of things groups like WDC have been trying to raise awareness of for many years and it's based on trainer testimony and footage of events
3. SeaWorld recently filed an appeal against the new ruling that trainers must be behind a barrier while interacting with the orcas- how do you feel about this law and what do you think the chances of SeaWorld winning the appeal are?
We support what OSHA is trying to do - address safety concerns for trainers interacting with captive orcas. It's difficult to say whether SeaWorld will win its appeal or not. OSHA has a very good case.
4. In what physical and/or psychological ways are orcas affected by captivity?
Orcas fare particularly poorly in captivity. Captive orcas suffer much lower survival rates than their wild counterparts, with an annual mortality rate which is more than two and half times higher in captivity than in the wild. Furthermore, captive orca survivorship has actually grown worse in the last decade, in spite of any improvements that might have been made in terms of husbandry and veterinary care. Even captive-born orcas have only reached a maximum age of 25 years. In the wild, male orcas live to an average of 30 years (maximum 50-60 years) and females, 46 years (maximum 80-90 years). At least forty-four orcas have died at SeaWorld parks, including four within four months in 2010.
The most common causes of death among orcas in captivity are pneumonia, septicemia and other types of infection. Information is now coming to light about how these lethal infections may be a result of poor dental health caused by gnawing on concrete walls or steel gates due to aggression towards other animals or boredom. These kinds of problem are not seen in wild orcas, nor is another cause of death of some captive orcas which is now being revealed - mosquito borne viruses from mosquito bites suffered as the captive orcas "log" at the pool surface.
Orcas cause physical harm to one another and to their trainers, they live shorter lives than their wild counterparts and they are subject to mental and physical illness and disease not seen in the wild.
5. What social effects can you imagine the public experiencing if animal captivity ceased to exist? In your opinion, would this be a negative or positive change and why?
Zoos and aquaria are popular family activities and without them families would have to seek other forms of entertainment such as responsible wildlife viewing or artificial animal displays such as IMAX, animatronics, dry dive experiences and others. With these kind of displays educating people about whales and dolphins, for example, there may actually be more of an opportunity to educate people about wild whales and dolphins versus seeing a captive whale or dolphin who is a very poor portrayal of their counterparts in the wild. So I think this would be a positive change. And there is so much that can be done with all the fantastic footage and other technologies we have available to us, without the need for live whale and dolphin displays.
6. What are some positive steps SeaWorld could take to improve the quality of life of the captive mammals?
Commit to ending its displays of whales and dolphins and instead investing in sanctuaries that would see them retired from performance and entertainment in a more natural environment or even rehabilitated for release into the wild.
________________________________________
Cathy Williamson
Captivity programme manager
Interview with Howard of The Orca Network
1.
How do you think CNN's "Blackfish" has influenced the public opinion
of SeaWorld?
The entire past years exponential increases in
viewers of Blackfish, from January 2013 when it was given ecstatic reviews
starting with Sundance, to the theatrical runs starting in July, to the airing
on CNN in the fall and again in January, and the streaming on Netflix that
showed to another 20 million viewers, and now to be shown across western and
eastern Europe, Asia and Africa, this film is shifting public perception of the
business of holding orcas for display in a circus. SeaWorld is the big leader
in that business, and their credibility and authority are rapidly eroding.
2. Do you think "Blackfish"'s portrayal of SeaWorld was accurate? Why
or why not?
It did accurately show the sides of the business very few people were aware of, and it amply gave the industry’s self-image as well, although without the self-serving but irrelevant rationalizations.
3. SeaWorld recently filed an appeal against the new ruling that trainers must
be behind a barrier while interacting with the orcas- how do you feel about
this law and what do you think the chances of SeaWorld winning the appeal are?
For the safety of the trainers it’s a good regulation, but the whales would be better off if trainers could go in the water with them. I don’t think SeaWorld will win the appeal.
4. In what physical and/or psychological ways are orcas affected by captivity?
Orcas are highly evolved to travel great distances every day. Their immune systems, cardiovascular and metabolic systems need that constant exertion to function properly. Their brains are also evolved for membership in large extended families as extensions of themselves. Captivity deprives them of those essential elements, leading to chronic stresses that appear as immunodeficiency, ulcers and hostility.
5. What social effects can you imagine the public experiencing if animal
captivity ceased to exist? In your opinion, would this be a negative or
positive change and why?
It would be a great enhancement to our social identity to remove this ongoing travesty from our economy. We will soon look back on captive orca and dolphin displays as much like slavery or the Roman Circus.
6. What are some positive steps SeaWorld could take to improve the quality of life of the captive mammals?
Relocate them to natural sea pens to be cared
for indefinitely. Thanks. Howard
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Monday, February 10, 2014
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