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K: The "Other" Theory

Why..

Why do people still pick SeaWorld? Why do people still stand by this horrible money making attraction? I was given 8 reasons. One starts out by saying how "you can get close with the animals", for interactions are done at some sites with touching or feeding the marine life. Another reason was "there's a new water park", which is every child's dream almost. "Wave pools, lagoons full of fish, and 36 water slides, there will be something for everyone".

The third reason given was "it's educational", for teaching is done about the wild life that may or may not be true. For it is known that SeaWorld park workers lie about the lifespan of the Orcas and how the dorsal fin flop is supposedly normal (that is false, in the wild under 1% of whales have a flopped dorsal fin). "There are rides too" which is the fourth reason given. "Offers a true theme-park experience, thanks to fun rides like the thrilling Kraken roller coaster and the popular Journey to Atlantis. You'll find a boatload of great shows as well, where the leaping whales and flipping dolphins will wow your kids". The portraying of the killer whale shows are slid in there, not drawing too much attention to itself. The site also throws in Discovery Cove as a reason which is a neighboring park to SeaWorld.

The next three reasons all have to do with money and benefits. "You can get VIP access, you'll dine in style and the deals are great". Yet really this whole attraction site has to do with money, that is why the founders built it. They did it to bring in huge amounts of money for themselves, with no shame in what they were going to do behind the scenes. (Source)

What my whole blog has been doing is explaining my belief and my theory on stopping SeaWorld. I hope the viewers can see between the two, how one is good while the other is evil.

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L: Wyland

"Renowned marine life artist Wyland changed the way people think about our environment when he started painting life-size whales on the sides of buildings in the 1980s. Wyland always thought big. And he never stopped. Today, the Wyland name has become synonymous with the new generation of awareness about environmental conservation. Through his unique marine life paintings, sculptures, and photography, Wyland has inspired a generation about the importance of marine life conservation". (Source)

In this particular Research post one was to find a famous literary or artistic work done by an artist. Yet what I found was bigger than that. It was a whole line of work done by one man (100 walls done in 18 different countries). Wyalnd is out there to draw attention to the importance of preservation for marine life and he does this by creating massive murals on skyscrapers, aquariums, office buildings and even sports arenas. Yet the topic he mostly picks to show the word, is whales. That is how this artist and his work correlates with my topic and research question.

I believe this one man is creating a difference, when people see these paintings they will not want to look away. They are attention grabbers, completely astounding in every aspect. To see the beauty of the sea and the creatures within it, transform something that wasn't.

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C: Blackfish

This documentary was released July 19th, 2013 and was a complete game changer. It revolved around the Orcas at SeaWorld, primarily a whale named Tilikum and their lives in captivity. Blackfish targeted SeaWorld in the film and exploited their lies to the public. The park lost revenue because of this, for it showed people the deaths that were covered up and the lies told in court.

Samantha Berg, John Jett and Jeffrey Venture were all interviewed for the movie and they were all former SeaWorld trainers. They all had their own stories but their point in the film was all the same, and that was to show the horrors of SeaWorld. They described how they had always noticed how these "accidents" between trainers and the whales were always hush-hush and never totally explained to anyone. But Jeffrey Venture had a real life encounter for himself. It was an attempted attack, he was hosting a show and an Orca jumped onto the ledge that he was on an almost knocked him into the water. Previous attacks like that would be usually be successful, and end up either fatally or brutally injuring a trainer.

Should SeaWorld (places like it) not be in business anymore? This whole documentary explains why. Behind the deaths, killings and the lies. The film shows a segment interviewing an old whale hunter. He vividly talks about how they would separate the baby Orcas away from their families with fishing nets. The families wouldn't leave their baby's and they would cry out for them, hoping they would come back. He adds in the words "you understand then what your doing, ya know". - "That's like kidnapping a little kid away from its mother. Everybody's watching what can you do? That's the worst thing I can think of, ya know. I cant think of anything worse than that".

I've seen this film a few years back, and before I watched it I never gave this topic much thought. I believed Aquariums were interesting but they were not my favorite place to visit, something was always a little off. But as I previously explained, I had never given it much thought as I should have. So yes, this documentary changed my way of thinking but I feel very strongly about it. I want to stop the harm that is being done. I hope others feel the same.

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Worth 1,000 Words

If this picture does not make your draw drop, I don't know what will. This image explains the horrors of SeaWorld in just one frame. The top of the photo reads "A wild animal is not a circus freak! STOP THE SHOW"! The words should be enough to understand the concept of the picture, yet it leads into a more dreadful portrayal.

An arm covered by a business suit makes an appearance, this symbolizes the money hungry business men behind the operation of SeaWorld. Next an arm dandles a puppeteer string that attaches to a dying/dead Orca. Notice how the strings are attached to the creature by nails that are rammed into the body. This poor whale is dripping blood from the abuse it has to withstand. The puppeteer aspect symbolizes how these monstrous people control these animals for power, and how easily it is to do. All it takes is someone with no soul and an idea.

This Orca represents one of many, it's brothers and sisters who are tortured for life. There is no positive way to explain this image. Pathos appears for a creature that is known for being innocent, is being harmed. These whales are being abused and murdered in captivity and it needs to come to an end. Like the picture reads "STOP THE SHOW". (Source) B

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I: The Description

Captivity

In my own words and at first thought, the words safe and comfortable come to mind. I always would hear the word captivity paired with calm and happy words. As if the animals that were put into "captivity" were safe for all time, sheltered from the horrors they could endure if they were out in the real world.

But now that I think of it, captivity as awfully close to the word captive. If one would look up the words captive online, the first thing that would pop up is the definition. The words and sentences that come up are prisoner, convict, abductee and a person who has been taken prisoner or an animal that has been confined. (Source) If someone was to look up the word captivity, they would find the same answers. That definition is the condition of being imprisoned or confined. (Source)

I never thought much into that word, it was something I never second guessed. I would always hear the words when the zoo was mentioned or aquariums. But the words above do not match the ones I was told. Captivity was supposed to be a good sheltered place for animals in need. Yet we never hear that word used with dogs and cats in our homes, we hear sentences such as "these animals are in my/our care". But it all makes sense now, for those words actual definitions mean horrible things. In the whole picture of it, captivity is truly awful. These creatures are being imprisoned and abducted from their homes. The definition is right, and the world should not let it slide.

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F: The Laws That Do Not Help

"There are currently no laws prohibiting the housing of orca whales in captivity; rather laws that specifically allow for the capture of wild orcas for purposes of entertainment and scientific research. While the United States has not been issued a permit for the taking of a wild orca since 1989, other nations perform hunts in order to capture orcas for display. The United States relies instead on maintaining its captive whale population through breeding programs of whales already living in captivity. While there is no law prohibiting the display of orcas, there are laws that govern those facilities that house them. The primary laws governing the facilities housing orca whales are the Animal Welfare Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Animal Welfare Act establishes standards and specifications that the facility must follow and adhere to in order to house an orca whale in captivity. It establishes the standard of care required when handling, housing, or transporting orca whales and other marine mammals. The Marine Mammal Protection Act is aimed at protecting the whales from being unlawfully captured from the wild by prohibiting the taking of marine mammals without specific authorization. The MMPA requires a permit for the taking of a marine mammal, like an orca, from the wild. Permits may be issued for reasons such as for scientific research, public display, or for enhancing the survival or recovery of specific stocks".  Source

These acts have only recently gotten stricter, for they have been around for years. The reason behind these acts tightening their grip, is from all the light that has been shown on these whales and how these acts weren't being taken seriously. The orcas have seen horrible conditions for years now and people are finally noticing, hopefully these acts give the sick and weak marine life the care that they need. But I do not agree that people can get permits to take marine mammals from the wild and use them for public display. If they are healthy, leave them alone and leave them in the wild where they belong. Along with the reason for scientific research, I am sure by now that we can study marine life without taking them out of their homes. Take the ones who have perished and study them, but do not harm the living ones. SeaWorld uses these laws to weasel there way into owning these whales and creatures for their own. They should be removed of their permits and strategy's to obtain the marine life that they want.

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D: The Lies they Tell

-"Some say free the whales. For them nothing else is expectable. But nothing could be worse for the whales. Most of the orcas at SeaWorld were born here. Sending them into the wild wouldn't be noble. It could be fatal. When they freed Keiko, the killer whale of movie fame. The effort was a failure and he perished. But we also understand the times have changed. Today people are concerned about the worlds largest animals like never before. So we too must change. That's why the orcas in our care will be the last generation at SeaWorld. There will be no more breeding. Were also phasing out orca theatrical shows by 2019. They will continue to receive the highest standard of care available anywhere. And guests can come to see them, simply being their majestic selves. Inspiring the next generation of people to love them as you do".

This video advertises SeaWorld and the changes that are coming to it in the future. The Blackstone Group is doing the advertising for this video, it was published March 24th, 2016. The strategies they used other than lies and false promises was hope for the future and making people happy. They came up with an idea that would appeal to everyone, for they would still be in captivity yet they would have the care they needed. My research question is: Should SeaWorld (places like it) not be in business anymore? This video tries to convince the innocent viewer that their words are truthful, yet this video contains dozens of faults and white lies. All this video does is convince me that these parks need to be gone forever. Set the whales free. This video did not tell you that Keiko lived when he was set free, he lived 5 years in the wild and died of natural causes. They had kept him on a leash (literally they followed him with a boat and took him on walks) he was miserable. They had kept him at a cove in Iceland and after two years of that he finally escaped into the ocean where he spent the rest of his days. A free whale, yet they never told you the horrors that he had to live in before he escaped. What I learned from this is that the media/ company's/ businesses will do everything in their power to stay afloat. No matter how deep and horrible the lies, they will still do it.

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A: The Start of the Show

SeaWorld opened in 1964. At that time it was just a marine zoological park and aquarium that took place in San Diego, California. SeaWorld was once owned by Anheuser Busch InBev but was later handed over to the Blackstone Group in 2009, who came with a new name for SeaWorld and that was SeaWorld Entertainment. In my opinion, that is when things started to get deadly.

Out of the SeaWorld parks in the U.S, there are three. One in California, one in Florida and another in Texas. These parks are very family oriented and they hold animal shows, attractions, rides and entertainment for all ages. While the park does this, it also shows off its vas collection of marine life, yet the Orcas have always been the main stars of the show.

These "accidents" with the marine life (Orcas for example) and their trainers, were first recorded in the 1980's. The first death was around the year 2010, by a killer whale who went my the name of Tilikum. This was his third kill and he returned to performing in 2011. At this point, SeaWorld was only fined a small amount and after they went right back to business, as if nothing had happened.

SeaWorld has been dealing with criticism and activists since the very beginning. People who know that these creatures should not be put in tanks and forced to put on a show. They know that the conditions that these animals/marine life are put in can make them violent and unhappy. But there are also defenders of SeaWorld, the ones who argue about the research it has contributed to science and how they have rescued marine life for the past 50 years. Along with all the money they give to conservation organizations, several million dollars at that.

But despite all the scandals and lawsuits against SeaWorld, It still exists. SeaWorld still proceeds in more research and providing more funds for itself. Everyone has their own opinion on what they think should be done about these parks. But despite the little good it does, more and more creatures are being held in captivity, stuck for a lifetime in a place they shouldn't be. 

Source

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Should SeaWorld (places like it) not be in business anymore?

  In my first post I will be uncovering the hidden truths about SeaWorld that most people have no clue about. Some may believe that these mammals (orcas, dolphins, and other sea creatures) are being treated fair in their environments are given what they need. But that is not the case at all, and in my post I want to show how important it is to get this news out to the world and to stop the harming of these sea creatures who are forced to perform when they shouldn't be.

(Source) The Truth About SeaWorld: (This post will be focusing primarily on Orcas/Killer Whales) First, and foremost most orcas that are put into the SeaWorld system are captured from their home environments (they are found in every ocean of the world) and taken away from their families. These whales are extremely intelligent and social, and are known to live in family groups called pods. People go after these whales and take them from their homes and sell them for huge amounts of money. Yet they have no sympathy for these poor mammals who are not only losing their homes, but their loved ones as well. (Source)

(Source) Second, not only are these creatures being taken from their families. But sometimes they die or are killed while being taken out of their home environment. "In 1965, the first-ever orca show at SeaWorld San Diego was performed by a whale named Shamu. When Shamu was stolen from her family in the ocean, a hunter named Ted Griffin killed her mom right in front of her. Ted’s partner, Don Goldsberry, went on to hurt and kill many more orcas after Shamu’s mom."

(Source) Third, is that after being taken from their homes and put into captivity, their lives decrease astoundingly. It is known that male orcas life span is between 60 to 70 years while females are 80 to past 100. The average lifespan for orcas in captivity is 13 years. That is not only not acceptable but that is disgusting for these beautiful creatures are supposed to be living freely in the ocean instead of being cramped in a pool.

(Source) Fourth, and final reason is that these animals suffer greatly from being jammed into these pools which are way too small for them. "Whales and dolphins in their natural ocean environment often swim up to 100 miles a day, but SeaWorld forces them to live in tiny pools (that would be similar to forcing a person to live in a bathtub). Living crowded in a small tank is stressful and causes fights between orcas, since they don’t have room to swim away from each other as they would in the wild." These beautiful creatures need to be in their natural environment with their families, being able to swim freely and as far as they want daily. The world needs to see the cruelty going on and stop it once and for all. Let these angels roam free.