To be saddened people still do these things on holiday?

[lastqueenofscotland]

Had a summer of holidays pictures on social media m which had included a lot of people
Swimming with dolphins
Going to sea world in Orlando
Posing with drugged up tigers for pictures
Riding elephants in Thailand

So on and so forth. In an age where information about the poor treatment of these animals is so well known and freely available AIBU to feel a bit sad about it.
I also want to publicly call them out... but that won’t go well.

I'm not sure why people jump all over Blackfish. ALL sources of information are biased and flawed in some ways, that's not news. If you accept any source as gospel, you're being very foolish.

The main point, surely, was that keeping whales in a tiny pool is not great and I doubt anyone is going to dispute that.

@DoctorAllcome

I think you've been duped.. sorry..

Very few dolphins are rescued from the wild at all, and of those that are attempted, very few survive and of those that do, barely any are ever released. Look at what dpmmr say in their FAQ about where their dolphins come from...

"All but two of our current dolphins were born right here in the facility. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, there are certain provisions that allow wild marine mammals to be taken from the wild. These provisions require extensive permits for research, educational, and public display purposes, or even enhancing survival of a marine mammal species (NMFS). Our original group of dolphins was collected from the Sarasota Bay area in the late 1970s and early 1980s to begin a Natural Swim program at Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder. Over the years, Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder has expanded due to many successful births, and these dolphins make up our current population.

In the past, Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder housed a rescue dolphin named Castaway. She had stranded herself in Castaway Cove, off of Jensen Beach, on the east coast of Florida. Castaway was rehabilitated by the Marine Mammal Conservancy and was moved to Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder in 2007."

So the truth is, they captive breed dolphins, from a population they caught in the wild.

They have two dolphins that they have bought in from other facilities (or they would state they had rescued those).

They have rescued ONE dolphin and claim to have rehabbed her yet she remains captive there.

This is a tourist attraction masquerading as research/science/rescue, nothing more.

is shiting roses absolution?

100% OP.

@MrsBadcrumble123 how is Blackfish full of holes?

Also my post was about being up close with wild animals for entertainment. Not assistance animals

@LiveInAHidingPlace agreed!

My niece worked with rehabilitating elephants and worked with children in orphanages as a way of undertsanding and giving something back to the communities she visited. She was overwhelmed by the love and it made her trip more meaningful.
I don't approve of the other crap, cruel and unnecessary.

Sounds like your niece did the same crap that posters object to.

My niece worked with rehabilitating elephants and worked with children in orphanages as a way of undertsanding and giving something back to the communities she visited.
Quite talented to be suitably qualified and experienced in both animal care and childhood trauma to be able to give something back.

Or was her giving back tracking them with her presence by being a westerner on holiday so naturally she had innate talents in both areas?

"She was overwhelmed by the love and it made her trip more meaningful.*
So she enjoyed the love and she felt her holiday was better for it.

Apologies for the sarcasm buyit soundslike every other gap yah type or voluntourism holiday. If she's appropriately qualified and experienced in both areas to have substantial and meaningful impact on flying visits then I'll eat my hat.

My niece worked with rehabilitating elephants and worked with children in orphanages as a way of undertsanding and giving something back to the communities she visited. She was overwhelmed by the love and it made her trip more meaningful.

Yep. It was all about her. You couldn't have painted a more clear example of what we've been talking about if you tried.

Unless she's a zoologist and a child psychologist, and stayed for at least a couple of years at each place, believe me, she gave nothing back.
Please read/watch some of the links that have been posted here about the psychological trauma caused to children by voluntourism.

I agree OP.

I wouldnt do it. I wont go to london zoo for the same reasons only open zoos like woburn.
I would only swim with dolphins in the sea.
I didn't know about the elephants but did tigers wont do either of them.

@Unihorn what’s the difference between seaworld and drugged tigers? They are both extremely cruel so I would not make a distinction.

If anything, keeping a whale or a dolphin in a tiny pool of water is more cruel because they are used to covering thousands of miles and live in complex social structures. They actually have their own languages and there have been numerous documented cases of whales attacking each other in captivity because of their complicated social hierarchies.

My DS recently went to Greece with gf's family and said they intended to swim with turtles. Although I don't approve of such things, if I said anything it would be taken as criticism of her or her family so I kept shtum.

As it is, it was run by locals who are engaged with the protection of the species. The 'swimming with' element was being in the sea but you and the boat are kept at a significant distance from any turtles, so as not to bother them. Tbh it was easier to see them from the boat I'd imagine.

When another boat turned up and got within the allowed distance from the turtle, the crew on my son's boat immediately called the police and yelled at the other crew to retreat. The authorities arrived in no time and escorted the 2nd boat back to shore. Apparently there's a hefty fine and worse for anyone caught harassing the turtles.

Some of the money people pay to watch them from a distance goes towards protection of the nests, along with help from all the volunteers, both local and foreign. It provides an income for the inhabitants for keeping the wildlife safe, rather than fishing for it.

There are both good and bad examples of ways to interact with wildlife. Just as there are examples of foreign volunteers supporting and being used to manipulate the vulnerable. I think each should be judged on it's own merits.

Fuck animal tourism

@lastqueenofscotland

I too am saddened. While I don't exactly call people out individually on this type of behaviour I think all my friends on social media and in rl know exactly how I feel about such cruelty by the number of petitions I publicly support , and articles that I refer to and publicise. I'm not the only one among the people I know so hopefully the message will become more widespread. You have also brought this subject to more notice on this post and reached people who were not aware of the cruelty.

Yanbu

I've just been looking at my friends holiday photos on fb. Riding camels in Turkey and they look so forlorn ( the camels) my friend and her family all having a great time. Makes me so sad.

When we went to Orlando we gave SeaWorld a miss due to my feelings. Instead we went to St Petersburg beach where a pod of dolphins came to have a look at us in the sea. They were face to face with us and so beautiful.
I also saw seahorses there, have never seen them anywhere but in captivity
Was an amazing day.

Being help in captivity is beyond cruel. please try and help mammals/ animals , all creatures by supporting compassionate farming or peta etc . There is so much animal abuse in the world can you help?