Orcas In Death Row Cells

As reported by Margaret Munro of Post Media News, in late 2009 a Canadian biologist was able to place a satellite tracking device on the dorsal fin of an Orca off the Admiralty Island in the Canadian Arctic. That autumn, the Orca was tracked as it swam from the Arctic to the Azores in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a distance of 5,400 kilometres. Similarly, Killer Whales in the Pacific have been known to swim from Alaska to California. These impressive journeys are an indication of the freedom of the seas that Orcas in the wild enjoy.

In stark contrast, the show tank in which SeaWorld Orlando makes its Orcas perform stupid animal tricks measures approximately 45 metres across. And the tanks where they keep these huge members of the dolphin family when they are not performing are less than half that size, some even smaller. SeaWorld will tell you that these tanks exceed the minimum requirement set by the USDA, which is 14.6 metres (as if that is something to be proud of). Tillikum, the adult male Orca who killed his trainer last year at SeaWorld Orlando, and who had been implicated earlier in the deaths of two other humans, is 7 metres in length: how long do you think it takes him to reach the far side of his tank? Could this be a factor in his mental torment and lethal behavior?

Ironically, it is interesting to note that the government's space requirement for captive Orcas is proportionately the same as the penal system allots to prisoners on death row. To keep these magnificent, intelligent, and sentient beings in tiny concrete prison cells constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and should be banned. Unless and until the government does something about it, you can help by boycotting SeaWorld Orlando, and all other parks like it.

A Sad Day For The Sea And The Planet

Friday, April 22nd, 2011, was a sad day for those of us who love the sea and the whales and dolphins who rule over its dominions. On that day, SeaWorld Orlando debuted their new Killer Whale show, which they have presumptuously and insensitively named 'One World.' Their spin-doctors describe it as a grand spectacular of lights, and music, and fountains...and oh yes, Killer Whales, who they call the 'ambassadors of the sea.' They go on to claim that its purpose is to excite, and educate, and inspire their guests to make a difference in the world.

Wait! What? To make a difference how? By paying huge sums of money to sit on bleachers and gawk and guffaw while intelligent and sentient beings, who God created to roam the open oceans of the world, perform stupid and demeaning tricks.

The people who own and operate SeaWorld do it because they can: they can because the government allows them to; and they can because their "guests" don't understand the difference between a Killer Whale and a trained monkey in the circus. But Killer Whales know the difference and that's what makes their imprisonment so very sad.

And while these ignorant and uncaring audiences continue to pay money to the wardens of these liquid prisons, magnificent ocean beings remain locked away in tiny concrete tanks where they lead shortened lives of mind-numbing boredom and mental anguish. For this, we are a lesser race and this is a lesser planet.

Plus que ça change...

Plus que ça change, plus que c'est la même chose - the more things change the more they stay the same.

Hi there...I'm back. It's been nearly nine months since I last posted on this blog but I have decided to start again. My love of whales and dolphins, and my anger and sadness at the way we treat them, has brought me back to speak out on their behalf.

Sadly,a quick survey of the headlines shows me that very little has changed since I left, to wit:

SeaWorld continues to deny that keeping Orcas trapped in tiny concrete tanks is cruel and unusual punishment, and the root cause of numerous attacks on trainers that have occurred there and elsewhere over the years; and now they are seeking to have a Federal judge seal forever from the public eye the testimony of experts in the investigation of the fatal attack that occurred one year ago this week in Orlando. If they are so sure of their position, what are they afraid of?

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is taking credit for the Japanese cutting short this year's whaling operations in the Southern Ocean, as perhaps they should. However, if anyone thinks that this is the end of whaling by the Japanese they are sadly mistaken. It was never about the whale meat. It is about what they see as an assault on their culture and they will be back. Count on it...

Some blue crab fisherman in Florida butchered the carcass of a Pygmy Sperm Whale that washed ashore. He said he planned to eat it. Perhaps if there is reincarnation, he will come back as a sea lion pup in South Africa's Shark Ally when the Great Whites are feeding...

An aquarium in Hong Kong plans to capture up to a dozen Beluga Whales and doom them to a life of captivity in what the CEO of the park claims is an effort to build public support for the conservation of these magnificent creatures...Wait! What? Run that by me again.You're doing this to save the Beluga...why not start by saving these twelve?

I could go on but that's enough for now. You catch my drift. Whales and dolphins keep struggling to survive in the face of human stupidity, greed, and worst of all, simple apathy. We can't do much about the first two, but along with others who care, this blog will attempt to address the latter.

See you next time....

Not the First and Not the Last

Two days have passed since the tragic death of the trainer at SeaWorld in Orlando, and park management has stated that it was an accidental drowning involving Tilikum pulling the woman’s ponytail, while eyewitness accounts seem to contradict that. Regardless, it was not the first time a captive Orca has attacked a human (as the list below shows), and sadly, it will likely not be the last.

SeaWorld, San Diego/ 1971/trainer attacked by an Orca.
Sealand of the Pacific, Victoria B.C./1991/ trainer killed by Tilikum.
SeaWorld, Orlando/1999/ homeless man found dead in Tilikum’s tank.
SeaWorld, San Diego/1999/trainer attacked by an Orca.
SeaWorld, San Diego/2006/trainer attacked by an Orca (allegedly the 2nd attack in two weeks although park denies it).
Loro Parque, Tenerife/2009/trainer killed by an Orca.
SeaWorld, Orlando/2010/trainer killed by Tilikum.

Proponents of keeping Orcas in captivity say that these attacks are isolated incidents that must be viewed in the context of the thousands of hours during which Orcas have performed over the past forty years, and the millions of people who have enjoyed these performances. What a self-serving and patently mercenary argument. 'The parks make millions, the public is entertained, and the harm to trainers is collateral damage.' As well-intended and sincere as SeaWorld's employees may be, these parks are profit centers pure and simple, and Orcas give them an unlimited license to print money, no matter what SeaWorld's articulate CEO may say.

Meanwhile, the Orcas themselves are doomed to lead shortened, mindless lives in tiny concrete pools, as their dorsal fins droop and the free spirit that was hardwired into their DNA at birth slowly flickers and dies. People, listen to me: these magnificent beings know all too well their fate, and the mental torment that it generates in all of them will continue to be vented by a few in future attacks. This is as much of a stone-cold certainty as are the profits that the parks will continue to drop to their bottom line.

I will be traveling for the next ten days and will not be able to post. But I think it’s better that I do, to allow my disgust with the spectacular cruelty that you humans are inflicting upon my kind to dissipate before we speak again.