Blackfish - tonight BBC4 9pm

[HesterShaw]

It anyone's not seen this documentary, it's well worth a watch. It was very well received at the Sundance film festival and has got Seaworld on the run, which was the intention :).

It will make you think very hard about marine mammals in captivity, as well as it being very entertaining.

[HowlingTrap]

I think I'm gonna rewatch the The Cove I seem to have forgotten bits, I saw it when it came out when I was 19.

Also,...I think its easier to mentally dismiss the Cove more as we are aware already that eastern countries have poor animal welfare records, so some people will be like ...."Is this news?" cynical face.

[HesterShaw]

Yes but remember that the people changing Japanese attitudes are Japanese.

[GlitterStag]

I'm going to watch the 'Lolita, Slave to Entertainment' on Youtube.

It isn't just the Orcas at Seaworld, either. The Pilot Whales, Belugas, Dolphins, Polar Bears, all have hopelessly cramped pools / enclosures.

[HowlingTrap]

I was reading about Marineland , Canada last night just horrific.

[HesterShaw]

Canada's record on animal welfare and tge environment completely sucks, despite their wild and green reputation.

[HowlingTrap]

Yeah apparently the laws are much more lax compared to America.

[juneau]

Watched this last night - it's heartbreaking. The bits where they were hunting the whales and when they took the babies away were awful

That so many former SeaWorld trainers were prepared to go on record and say what they did speaks volumes about this corporate, money-making machine. I will never take my kids there. If they want to visit killer whales I'll take them to see them in the wild.

[HowlingTrap]

I'm ashamed to admit I've gotten a bit obsessed after seeing that.

been reading a lot about it, I've asked my DH for the book, re-watched the cove.
Reading about places like Miami Seaquarium and Marineland deplorable conditions, a newspaper did an investigation recently.

I think it would interesting if BBC 4 did a season on this topic.

[WowOoo]

I finally watched this. It was brilliantly and I think quite fairly done.
I agree Juneau - I thought there were so many ex-employees willing to talk. It does say a lot about the organisation.

I've also done some internet searching. I'm interested in why the majority of captive orcas have a floppy dorsal fin. Very few in the wild do.

Made me glad I refused to go to SeaWorld all those years ago.
Lots more to watch and to read. Thanks!

[Thurlow]

I'm just watching it now when I should be working

Those trainers - I feel sorry for them, it seems that SeaWorld & co did a job on them, hiring these young trainers, feeding them a line about the whales, not telling them the truth. It comes across that those trainers were genuinely trying to look after the whales and believed in a connection that wasn't there.

The clip of that trainer being repeated pulled underneath That poor man, that was just horrible watch (though it's important these things are shown). And the idea that SeaWorld tried to say afterwards that it showed how well trained their staff were!!!

I swam with dolphins about 10 years ago now. I wish I hadn't. I'll never go back to a park like that again. We don't have animals in circuses on land anymore, why does anyone think it is different for whales and sea lions?

[HowlingTrap]

Read about Marineland to see how Seals/Sealions faire in captivity :(

Interestingly in a John Hargrove/Gabriela Cowperthwaite Interview on Youtube , John revealed the seals/lions at their parks suffer similar fates and says the conditions are 'deplorable' apparently the trainers too old to work with whales are put there.

[PolkadotsAndMoonbeams]

I agree Thurlow, the trainers really do care about them. I've been googling too and found a few videos of the whales there and the trainers talking about spending time with them etc.

Obviously they're all very spun to the park's viewpoint, but for example in one you can see just how many staff have come in specially for her giving birth and how excited they are.

[HowlingTrap]

Barenaked ladies have cancelled their gig at SW haven't they? I almost feel bad for them, everything is snowballing quite fast.