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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

For still being cross at DP regarding sickening video? (graphic detail)

103 replies

UpInSmoke · 30/08/2011 15:21

Last night DP said to me he had a video online he wanted me to see. I asked what it was and he said to just watch it. So I started watching it and it appeared to be a large ocean type animal thrashing around in water. I asked again what it was and he said to keep watching. The video zoomed out and I realised there was a lot of screaming going on in the background and what appeared to be a person in the water with the animal. I said "what on earth is this?" and he said "just a few more seconds". It then descended into a horrifying video of what looked like a whale repeatedly attacking the person in the water as people watched in horror screaming and running around frantically trying to get the person out. On more than one occasion this giant whale threw itself onto the person, dragged the person around by the arm and swam into the person violently. When it cut out I was really cross at DP and asked again what the hell the video was supposed to be showing and he said it was a video of a whale trainer being killed at seaworld.
I felt physically sick after realising the person had died seconds later, went to bed thinking about it and it's still on my mind this morning.

We're supposed to be visiting Seaworld in May. DP said I needed to see "the truth" about these places (he has always been against us going to the park) but I feel he could have made his point better than this. AIBU? I can't get it out of my head

OP posts:

Ephiny · 30/08/2011 16:08

There are some places you can go on boat trips (e.g. off the coast of Wales) and see dolphins etc. These are much better, as long as they're done sensitively and aren't too intrusive.

No of course it's not the same, as you don't get the same close-up view, but you do get to see them in their natural environment, doing what they're supposed to do.

ThisIsANickname · 30/08/2011 16:12

@HellonHeels, stupid question: you don't have a pet, do you?

ImeldaM · 30/08/2011 16:15

SouthernFriedTofu from what I've read about 'The Cove' I didn't think it was related to 'sea-world' type parks, more about the uncovering of mass slaughter of dolphins? I haven't seen it so might be wrong.

OP, think was pretty nasty of your DP, perhaps he could have told you about it rather than 'making' you watch it.

& I also wouldn't go to any of these type of parks.

MrsDBouquetVAMOSRAFA · 30/08/2011 16:16

I don't think you should be going to Seaworld.

The Killer Whales should not be kept in captivity full stop.

We as humans should be happy just to view them from their natural habitat.

I am not sure whether the video you were shown was genuine, there are lots of supposed 'real' attacks available online.

The general consensus of why the whales behave the way you see in 'attacking trainers' if you do a little bit of research is that due to the conditions they are kept in, and the things that they are 'conditioned'/'made' (call it what you will) to do, repeatedly, is that they are effectively insane.

What they are made to do, and the small pens/pools whatever they are kept in, are so far moved from what should be their reality, that they are slowly going mad.

This is a bit 'weird' for me, as only the other night I was looking up to see what had happened to Tilikum who was the male whale involved in the most recent 'attack'.

Did you know that in the year since the attack, he has been kept alone, and without virtually any contact between him and other whales or the trainers ?

He has started 'performing' in shows again, but gets no praise or 'reward' from trainers for that, only massages with huge jet hoses, when he previously had regular one-to-one contact.

SeaWorld deny this, but previous and current members of staff appear to clarify the lack of contact.

This site makes for upsetting reading : www.orcahome.de

Click on 'orcas in captivity', scroll down and then click on 'violent incidents between humans and orcas'. There is a very good article if you then scroll down to No. 55 and click on the 'Outside Magazine' link.

I would like to see a ban on Killer Whales being kept in captitvity.

MrsDBouquetVAMOSRAFA · 30/08/2011 16:17

Sorry, forgot to convert link.

www.orcahome.de

SouthernFriedTofu · 30/08/2011 16:18

i hope you aren't implying feeding a domesticated animal in your home is the same as as the mass slaughter that takes part in the capture of a wild animal like a dolphin and the subsequent imprisonment of it for your amusement.

I have 2 cats, they were recues. They are also pain in the arses and give me little joy other than knowing they won't starve on the streets. They do love Dh to bits though

MillyR · 30/08/2011 16:20

Can I ask, although it is a complete derailment, how people feel about gorillas in zoos in the UK?

DD has been asking some difficult questions about this recently.

porcamiseria · 30/08/2011 16:20

sorry this made me chuckle a bit, quite a hard core way to get his point across!!!!!!!! dont go to sea world eh

MumblingRagDoll · 30/08/2011 16:20

Marking place.

SouthernFriedTofu · 30/08/2011 16:21

ImeldaM Its about both and really worth seeing. The way the the dolphins are captured is horrible :(

MumblingRagDoll · 30/08/2011 16:21

Out of interest ...where's the OP gone?

MrsDBouquetVAMOSRAFA · 30/08/2011 16:24

Same as the whales, Milly.

IMO shouldn't be there.

It's hard, if they were born in captivity it is all they have ever known, but they are still a wild animal. Lots of the older animals/whales were taken from the wild, how do we know how much they remember ?

And who are we to decide we know 'best' for them in a whale park or zoo, that is so far removed from what would be their reality ?

SouthernFriedTofu · 30/08/2011 16:25

milly I don't agree with the keeping of wild animals at all. Curious George winds me right up!

ImeldaM · 30/08/2011 16:27

Ok, didn't realise. I definitely could not handle watching that. I can imagine it would be very traumatic viewing, and don't need any persuasion to be against 'sea world' type theme parks.

MrsDBouquetVAMOSRAFA · 30/08/2011 16:27

It's spooked me this thread.

I was seriously considering starting a thread re : AIBU to think killer whales should NOT be kept in captivity ?

Seeing how big they are, and glorious in the sea, where they should be, and then seeing how they are kept and reading a bit of how they are treated in places like SeaWorld, is heartbreaking.

I am in no way at all an expert, just an interest I have !

SouthernFriedTofu · 30/08/2011 16:29

I don't have a problem with genuine conservation sites I have to say. Where animals such as lions tigers go when a person who has kept them as a pet decides actually this is a bad idea. And if the public want to walk along the side of the fencing to have a glimpse fair enough, and if the tiger can be arsed to show himself also fair enough. BUt they shoudl have as many miles of land as possible and it should be about their needs not the needs of visitors. I hate it when they are in small encosures so that people can always see them. I hate zoos. Miserable places.

SouthernFriedTofu · 30/08/2011 16:31

ImeldaM no, I am the same about some things, I used to force myself to watch really harsh videos when I was an activist as I felt it made me better able to debate about that sort of thing and be taken seriously. But now I feel like I am not going to go to a seapark, I am not going to sit around eating dolphin why should I do it to myself and leave it to those who need to see these things.

MrsDBouquetVAMOSRAFA · 30/08/2011 16:35

See, the problem is though, Southern is that the 'many miles of land' cannot be realistically achieved, can it ?

How many miles ? How much water ? How big a 'pool' ? How deep ?

In the wild they roam as far and wide as they like.

I wouldn't like to be restricted to certain places.

Imagine from an Orcas point of view.

First few years of life, with the pod, and with as much ocean/sea as they like.

Captured, and placed into a 'pool' that is so high, so wide and so deep. How does anyone determine how much space they need ?

Never mind having been ripped from the security of the family, into a complete unknown world.

I think it's quite indicative when you see the age wild Orcas reach, compared to those in captivity. Never mind the problems they have, nutrition wise, condition wise, and their 'mental health'.

SouthernFriedTofu · 30/08/2011 16:53

No not in England they cant and while I would prefer they all be left in the wild in the first place the animals who have been living with people or in cages for years can not be released in to the wild- they wouldn't survive and thats where conservation parks are a necessary evil. I am talking more about land animals btw I am not sure what the best soloution is for whales who need thousands of miles to roam would be. Certainly to never be captured in the first place would be ideal or to be released with monitoring

SouthernFriedTofu · 30/08/2011 16:55

A previous poster had asked about gorrilas which is why I started talking about conservation parks- (for land animals not for sea animals)

MillyR · 30/08/2011 17:00

Yes, it was me asking about the gorillas. I think some of the same issues might arise with whales though; where they have been returned to the wild it has not gone well. The whale from Free Willy was released, but kept seeking out human company and died about 18 months after release. I wouldn't want to see whales in captivity and certainly not performing tricks, but I do think there has to be some halfway stage for those that have been kept in captivity and cannot be released successfully.

TeamDamon · 30/08/2011 17:01

I have seen the gorillas at London Zoo and their expressions made me feel so sad. They seem so intelligent and so dignified compared to many of the people looking at them

MillyR · 30/08/2011 17:05

I was thinking about the ones at Chessington, where there have been problems with the facilities they are kept in. It seemed to have dragged on for years and years, and I don't know if they have put them in better facilities yet. They are quite a big group of gorillas.

I would quite like to go to Chessington (not to see gorillas) but fear that DD (10) may have some kind of melt down if she finds out there are captive gorillas there.

diddl · 30/08/2011 17:06

I think that what he did was awful tbh.

I don´t get why you want to go again-I would have thought once was enough-but I would have thought he could just have said he didn´t agree with these places & never again.

MrsDBouquetVAMOSRAFA · 30/08/2011 17:08

I don't think you could release captured/captive animals/whales whatever back into the wild.

They do not have or have lost, the ability to be wild. So it would be incredibly unfair.

More on whales, they have very specific pods, or families, so it's not just a case of releasing them back. They would not necessarily be accepted by another pod, and would be unable to survive alone, and I would imagine it would be the same for land animals too.

I think that there should be no more animals/whales caught to be kept in captivity.

But. What do we do about breed conservation ? Should we just say that if an animal is dying out that we let it die out rather than have them in captivity for conservation and for breeding ?

Some of the animals that we are losing seem too special to lose, but if it is the way nature intended, should we be letting sleeping animals lie, for want of a better phrase ? Species die out for various reasons.

I really have no idea what the answers are. Makes a good thinking/talking point though.

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