To think that Disney/Seaworld should close now

[MillyMollyMoo]

We went a few years ago to see Shamu and it was a great show, but I left feeling a bit low, bad taste in my mouth, an animal that size in a tiny tiny enclosure relative to their size.
Now there's been another incident maybe these creatures can never been trained and should they be anyway.
I know they are a huge money spinner but enough already.

seeing animals in cages and tanks is not like seeing wild animals in any way. They are usually bored or depressed. Seeing good wildlife documentaries is a much better way of seeing animals. That said a good zoo that can preserve certain species and allow animals as much of their natural lives as possible can be a positive and educational thing. Training orcas for amusement does not fit into that category.

I went to Sea World in San Diego all the time as a child, and remember the seals most of all. I don't if it's cruel to keep them in captivity or not?

Maybe something like the The Aquarium in Long Beach that is a dedicated sanctuary? The sea lions in Monterey don't seem to move much so perhaps they could re locate

ikwym I see them in the wild too.
There aren't many zoos I like either. I really don't like London zoo.
I just wonder sometimes if people would care so much about the dolphins in the wild (like re the tuna fishing) if they hadn't grown up seeing them in captivity, being all intelligent and playful.
It's not something I feel dead right about - I'm just wondering.

I thought seaworld a bit distasteful when we visited tbh the whole shamu show and the rousing veteran love at the end . It's got to be cruel keeping dolphins and killer whales in such small quarters, well a lot of animals tbh. Those used to ranging across wide expanses especially, I have never liked zoo's since I visited Flamingo Land as a child and viewed the poor polar bear pacing up and down in it's tiny and barren enclosure . I'm not generally soppy over animals and I know zoo's now do what they can to stimulate the animals, but it's still more than a bit wrong.

I've been to seaworld and I think the saddest sight there was the polar bear. I've never seen an animal look so sad and broken. I would never go back.

I went there a few years ago (work thing) and the most upsetting thing of all was the polar bear :-( in a tiny tiny pool doing an incredibly repetitive circuit of the pool over and over again. I still think about it sometimes
grim place.

snap connor.
god wasn't it horrible?
I was so sorry I went

that sounds so awful.

Exactly pofaced, if a zoo is taking endangered animals and breeding them, whilst maintaining a simulated natural environment, I have no argument. For non endangered or even nearly extinct animals whose natural behaviours cannot be accommodated, then people should be happy to see them on tv etc. Species die out all the time, tis the order of things (excluding those wiped out by man), for those zoo's will not solve the original reasons which caused them to be scarse.

Re polar bears - the Edinburgh Zoo bear (Mercedes) has been moved to the Highland Wildlife Park now. She's got much more space and of course it's further north and therefore even more akin to her natural climate. Mercedes is only in a zoo because she got a bit too keen on people's rubbish bins in her native land - in those circumstances I think keeping her in captivity was a good alternative to shooting her.

Blimey I don't remember the polar bear at seaworld, but I would have though standards had been raised since the eighties, apparently not!

I think bears in general do not fair well in captivity. I've seen some fairly sorry looking ones in barcelona zoo too.

Singforjoy - Idon't think you could raise the standard to make these poor creatures happy when you natural habitat is hundreds of miles of freedom and the ocean as your playground

Harpsichord - it's been 10 years since I went and I've never forgotten the look in that bears eyes

I haven't seen any polar bears at Seaworld SD. Penguins, dolphins and orcas mainly.

The US is odd where animals are concerned. Though you get small pockets of PETA/vegan/animal rights stuff going on, animals get a fairly rough deal on the whole. In some states, you see old fashioned pet shops with puppies in the window and vegetarianism is unheard of. I went to a rodeo in CA which is pretty liberal and it was INSANE. They leap off bucking horses onto young bulls and rope them, and do this horrific lassoing thing where they lasso a charging young bull who then snaps back on the rope.

I felt a bit ill from the whole thing and left early.

But it's more cultural here. A history of cowboys, hunting, fishing etc.

Have always avoided zoos and circuses but I figured that Seaworld have a lot of animal psychologists on staff so they must keep the orcas fairly well stimulated but perhaps that was a bit naive. Must say, I do find something a bit uncomfortable about the Shamu show, spectacular though it is.

YANBU. I don't know what the answer is if they can't be released, I do know that it is bloody cruel.
I really don't like zoos, the saddest sight I've ever seen was a polar bear in a zoo in Thailand. His repeptitive actions were heart breaking and no attempt had been made to replicate anything about where he came from The temperature in his exhibit was around 40 degrees.

we went to busch gardens in the states and was really upset watching a really old oranutang...again, just going through the motions to get his treats...he looked so very sad.

there was a big alligator (or croc...never can remember which is which! )that was in a glass tank...this reptile guy was HUGE and the tip of his tail touched one end of the tank, and the tip of his nose was about 6 inches from the other end. the tank was empty apart from that. it upset me a lot, and i felt guilty for contributing to it....

i'm really not an animal lover at all, but it was plain to see the boredom in these poor creatures eyes.

You can think that all you like but while they are making money (and my goodness do they make money) it isn't going to happen.

I too prefer to see them in the wild and left the Shamu thing feeling uneasy, but it isn't going to change because a few soft touches want it to, not when the vast majority either love it or don't give a damn either way.

Seaworld is owned by Anheuser Busch and is a totally separate company from Disney.

I personally do not think the orca whales at SeaWorld should be replaced once they die. However, many people do not have the opportunity to see these in the wild and we in the UK have the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol to thank for all the David Attenborough and other wildlife programmes which are world class. The US does not even come close in terms of tv programmes for natural history so how else would Americans (to name but just one nationality) learn about wildife?.

Another poster wrote, "if a zoo is taking endangered animals and breeding them, whilst maintaining a simulated natural environment, I have no argument". I would agree with this.

SeaWorld also have a leafy sea dragon on exhibit, infact they have two (its a rare type of seahorse). These rare animals if left in the wild could become extinct; also such creature draw in visitors because they are attractive to look at.

I feel that the keepers underestimated the power of orcas to their cost. Very sad that a trainer has lost her life, but apparently he dragged her in from kneedeep water by her ponytail.
These animals hunt mammals in the wild and when hunting have been seen to pull seals into the sea in shallow water. So this is natural behaviour for them.
All very sad. There is probably no way the animal can be released into the wild.
Dolphins are known to be aggressive too in the wild - they have grabbed divers by the leg and dragged them down to the depths and then release them at the 11th hour in an apparent show to teach them who's boss. I wouldn't want to go swimming with them.
But like other posters have said, perhaps america are a bit behind the times and still see these animals as 'cute' rather than respecting their awesome power and their real needs as intelligent, social, predatory animals.

I just always find it really sad that a company can parade such a powerful awesome animal as nothing more than a cabaret act to entertain people under the guise of "well, some of the money we make goes towards conservation"
Also did you know that orca whales are one of the very few animals whose lifespan is SHORTER in captivity than it is in the wild.

my dd went to seaworld florida whith her dad a few years ago and said she felt so sorry for them being in the small pools ,dont think it should shut tho just seems like its a terrible accident but maybe review the way the train them etc !!

I can't bear those places and whilst i would be tempted to go along and see those beautiful animals, i just would be so sad to think they are being kept out of their natural environment and how they must feel. I don't like to see a fecking budgie in a cage tbh.

I guess they do research but how can they research into natural orca behaviour under such unnatural circumstances - it makes me so very sad that humans are so arrogant that they view every other species as a source of food or entertainment.

Our sense of entitlement when it comes to the natural world is rather primitive. People won't stop going to Seaworld as it is fascinating to see a large 'wild' animal acting in a human fashion at another human's will. It is akin to watching a dancing bear. We encroach upon wild animals' habitats more and more and force them into our own civilizations - then when they kill cattle or humans we shoot them. Animal rights are seen as a bit soft when there are so many terrible human tragedies, but really our perception of the natural world is inextricably linked with our survival. It is depressing.