| THIS IS A READ-ONLY ARCHIVE FROM THE SORABJI.COM MESSAGE BOARDS (1995-2016). |
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Sunday, we went to Sea World. I visited the same park when I was around my eldest's age. This is not the Sea World I remember. They have installed A wave pool,Roller Coasters,and Water Rides. And since Anhieser Busch has aquired Sea World, the measly price of $37.99 each person plus tax includes 2 complimenteray alcohlic beverages, to anyone with an ID that proves they are at least 21 years of age... Yes, Yes, Shamustill resides here, along with her husband and baby. the dolphins and white whales put a lump in my throat, however.... Maybe I am getting wussier as I get older, I dunno, but I have to admit the Animal Shows really made me sad. Beautiful creatures, obviouisly more intellegent then most humans, kept in captivity and forced to do little more then circus acts..... I found myself wondering, do these creatures ever get a break? do they do the same show, 5 times a day, 7 days a week? For once, I am really on the side of the animal rights activits and hope that there is at least one ASCPCA/PETA rep who lives here and watches the treatment these creatures get on a daily basis.... They seemed to trust thier handlers, and looked very healthy. I imagine they are in far less danger here then in the wild. But, surely they miss the open sea, and the beauty that only the ocean can provide.... |
San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California; Orlando, Florida This summer’s blockbuster movie should be Free Shamu. At Sea World, orcas perform tricks for food and swim endless circles in small, barren concrete tanks. In the wild, these whales live in tight family units with bonds that may last a lifetime. No captive orca whale has lived past age 35—far shorter than the 60-year lifespan orcas enjoy in the wild. In their ocean homes, dolphins may swim up to 100 miles a day, in “pods” of three to 100 individuals—or tribes of hundreds. In captivity, they are confined to a virtual bathtub, forever separated from their families. Tanks are cleaned with powerful chemicals that have unknown side effects. Former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry, who trained dolphins for the television show Flipper, believes that excessive chlorine, used extensively in the past, has caused some dolphins to go blind. Dolphins navigate by bouncing sonar waves off of other objects to determine shape, density, distance, and location. In tanks, the reverberations bounce off the walls and drive some dolphins insane. Sea World, which owns most of the captive orcas and dolphins in the United States, has one of the worst histories of animal care. Thirty-nine orcas and 54 dolphins have died at U.S. Sea World facilities. The aquarium industry worldwide has claimed the lives of at least 150 orcas and 963 dolphins. And until it was exposed to the public, Sea World routinely shot hybrid ducks who flew in and joined Sea World's resident bird population. After Sea World purchased and closed Marineland in California, it shipped the Marineland animals to various Sea World facilities. Within a year, 12 of them—five dolphins, five sea lions, and two seals—were dead. (Courtesy of PETA |