Why I don't go to marine parks

[Grandpa Greenman]

Watch this video and think long and hard before you give these people your money. (You have to pause it to read the script it goes by to fast. Well for me anyway.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEI6g5AN_Bs...feature=related

[Mattshark]

Watch this video and think long and hard before you give these people your money. (You have to pause it to read the script it goes by to fast. Well for me anyway.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEI6g5AN_Bs...feature=related

Well said mate. Never liked cetacean captivity. Thankfully the last place keeping cetaceans in the UK closed in 1994 and more countries are recognising why the practice is cruel. New Zealand has just joined the captive dolphin free list banning all capture of local dolphins and import of dolphins, indirectly banning it (especially since their last captive animal died last week).

[ShaunZero]

Just goes to show how sick the human race is. How could they do crap like this and not feel at least a tiny bit bad? This is horrible and needs to be stopped. We need to take these park owners and those who knowingly put out misleading information, tie them up, and toss them into the tanks.

It'd be justified in my opinion.

And man, did that story of "Junior" touch my heart. Makes me sick.

[cluey]

Well said mate. Never liked cetacean captivity. Thankfully the last place keeping cetaceans in the UK closed in 1994 and more countries are recognising why the practice is cruel. New Zealand has just joined the captive dolphin free list banning all capture of local dolphins and import of dolphins, indirectly banning it (especially since their last captive animal died last week).

Well said... ....that's terribly sad that their last captive animal died last week...very sad indeed

[Cerbero]

yeah, you may be right but some people really take it as an educational matter, though keeping captive any kind of wild animal isnt the best idea, they should not allow things like that or at least provide more control from the authorities

[ShaunZero]

Why not have a "contained" area where viewers can sit, and allow the dolphins to come in and out on their own. I'm sure they could be trained to do it. Maybe even on command, assuming they'd stay within the general area.

[little_dreamer]

I didn't watch the video, but I am against having dolphins, killer whales, etc. in aquariums.

I especially don't like things like Discovery Cove where dolphins socialize with humans.

It's an accident and a lawsuit waiting to happen.

[Mattshark]

I didn't watch the video, but I am against having dolphins, killer whales, etc. in aquariums.

I especially don't like things like Discovery Cove where dolphins socialize with humans.

It's an accident and a lawsuit waiting to happen.

They have lots of bites and injuries (mainly young boys and pregnant women), however most people have huge misconceptions about dolphins and think they really give a crap about humans and are loving and happy animals (when in fact they are large dangerous predators that have killed people) and don't officially report bites etc because they can't believe a dolphin would do that with it being their fault.

[Mattshark]

yeah, you may be right but some people really take it as an educational matter, though keeping captive any kind of wild animal isnt the best idea, they should not allow things like that or at least provide more control from the authorities

The level of education these parks provide so poor it is not worth while and in the case of Seaworld they outright lie (despite that in US at least this is illegal).

[Still Waters]

Now this is more like it....

http://www.high-lights.co.uk/dolphins/index.html

[Cetacea]

The level of education these parks provide so poor it is not worth while and in the case of Seaworld they outright lie (despite that in US at least this is illegal).

In the words of Jacques Cousteau: There is about as much educational benefit to be gained in studying dolphins in captivity as there would be studying mankind by observing prisoners held in solitary confinement.

Or more recently from someone who wrote a book about the fascination people have with SeaWorld, Susan Davis:

I think you can get about the same level of education from a reasonably good library book aimed at a third grader at your public library, okay. I think the kinds of amount of information and the sophistication of the information maybe even is not as good as that third grade level library book.

http://www.marineconnection.org/news/gener...lineupdated.htm

Also rather worrying for an institution that claims to be all about conservation and research, from the SW training manual:

words to avoid

evolve - Because evolution is a controversial theory, use the word "adapt.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sh...world/buzz.html

And it's not only SeaWorld:

Observations of disparity between educational material related to killer whales (Orcinus orca) disseminated by the public display institutions and the scientific literature.