gavin said:
dited to make Seaworld look bad" does not suddenly equal "it's ok to keep killer whales in captivity". At all.
I agree, but if your basing the conclusion to the argument that no, it is not okay to keep them in captivity, on false or misguided information, then it's a valid point worth raising.
The problem is, as Phil discussed, that we have no objective way of knowing for sure what they're thinking or feeling. We can anthropomorphism and make anecdotal claims, but that's literally it.
Like other animal rights issues, I struggle to be persuaded either way. It's like vegetarianism. There is no good counter argument for "it's immoral to kill other creatures" but for some reason that isn't enough on it's own to make me stop.
At the end of the day, I want animals in captivity for my entertainment, the same as I want them dead for my lunch.
I can only justify that with evidence as to why it's not
as bad as it may seem, not defend it completely.
The movie obviously has an agenda, and is conducted as a total hatchet job, and I do appreciate that SW has a fantastic rescue and rehabilitation program, and that the massive draw of Shamu and company is a huge part of the funding for that, but...
It's the lies that they perpetuate that are so bothersome and marine biologists that study them in the wild agree that:
Killer whales in the wild live 50-70 years, not 25-35 as SW claims.
In the wild, less than 1% have fin collapse disorder, and those are due to injury from being struck by boats and ships.
The groupings of whales at SW is completely based on managerial decisions as to which park needs what. The whales obviously aren't choosing their own pods.
Also, in the history of keeping orcas in captivity, exactly one was returned to the wild. Keiko's story after release is a sad one, but that isn't even close to a large enough sample group to say that it isn't ever possible to return these animals to the wild.
SW is a for-profit company, and they allow the bottom line to cloud the decisions that they make. Even the trainers who are mad at the way that their interviews were edited and misrepresented all agreed in post-viewing interviews that the captive breeding program should stop.
I agree with you too, but I think the whole collapsed fin thing is a non-issue and I wish Seaworld would stop skirting around it and just say "our whales have collapsed fins because they do not swim miles and miles and miles every day, BUT... but, they DO get equivalent exercise that keeps them in good health."
The collapse happens literally because the water isn't keeping it upright as they move through it at speed. It's just gravity. It's not a sign of ill health, depression or poor diet, it's a sign they don't swim straight through water for hours and hours in search of food.
And saying whales need to run swim distances to remain healthy is like saying humans need to live as our African ancestors did in order to be healthy. It's kinda true all else being equal, but a wild whale or human doesn't have access to the healthcare we do in captivity.
Captive orcas in the future will live longer healthier lives than their wild counterparts, for sure. It's a learning curve. In the same way we've extended our live spans as we've learnt how to care for ourselves.
It's just a non issue.
