They want to drive SW out of business

[BrianV]

Yeah because the animals in captivity are far more important than the animals that are driven to or nearly to extinction in the open ocean

Your point?

In the case of animals in captivity at SW they help the species as a whole through research and education. They live is far smaller habitats than they would in the wild in exchange. All in all a good deal for.the species as a whole. And not a terrible deal for those in captivity.

Compare that to a chicken. Their presence in captivity does nothing to help the species as a whole and they live in horrible conditions up until they die.

So while we complain about the killer Whales at SW, we happily go eat a chicken, cow.Or pig. I'm not a vegetarian but somewhere along the way I guess we decided cute animals were more deserving of life and liberty than ugly ones.

 

[21stamps]

Baby Steps Luna, Baby Steps. I agree about Dolphins, but my big beef was the breeding program. And they addressed it. Also what separates Sea World from most other aquariums is the fact that they have killer whales. Once we get into Dolphins now your talking about a lot more organizations involved. My hope is that other aquariums will see what Sea World is doing and change their attitude about having Dolphin programs. That will take time. Since blackfish many people's perception of animals in captivity has changed, and that's a good thing. But this problem is a long term problem, in the short term the current whales are making the sacrifice for the whales of the future. Truthfully whales, dolphins, and manatees should never be in captivity unless they are injured. And certainly never bred.

https://www.dolphins.org/why_its_important

I absolutely love this organization and was a contributor for many years. Captivity is not always bad. A zoo, sea world, aquarium, dolphin research center etc all provide so much good work, and research. What they also do? Make people want to be involved after visiting. Maybe inspire a young person to want to be a marine biologist when they "grow up", maybe inspire someone to take up diving, maybe inspire someone to volunteer, or donate money, or just simply have a better appreciation for the animal and marine life that we share this planet with.

I don't know why it became so trendy to be against these types of places. I guess it's easier to type on social media and attach a bunch of hashtags- proving that you care, that you're making a difference by being a keyboard warrior. It's sad.
The people involved with these organizations are the ones making a far greater "difference" in the world.

 

[Daveeeeed]

I've known Joel Manby for just under a year now, and he really is a great guy. His leadership for SeaWorld has been so great. I'm glad public opinion is favoring SeaWorld more and more. They really have done so much good for the animals.

 

[fosse76]

https://www.dolphins.org/why_its_important

I absolutely love this organization and was a contributor for many years. Captivity is not always bad. A zoo, sea world, aquarium, dolphin research center etc all provide so much good work, and research. What they also do? Make people want to be involved after visiting. Maybe inspire a young person to want to be a marine biologist when they "grow up", maybe inspire someone to take up diving, maybe inspire someone to volunteer, or donate money, or just simply have a better appreciation for the animal and marine life that we share this planet with.

I don't know why it became so trendy to be against these types of places. I guess it's easier to type on social media and attach a bunch of hashtags- proving that you care, that you're making a difference by being a keyboard warrior. It's sad.
The people involved with these organizations are the ones making a far greater "difference" in the world.

I myself am not opposed to zoos or aquariums, but those are first and foremost institutions of learning. Seaworld is a for-profit corporation whose sole focus is to provide entertainment using animals in order to make money, so that needs to be factored into any discussion. And point of fact, many so-called activists don't like zoos or aquariums either.

I don't think it's "trendy" for people to go against SeaWorld or other similar places. I think people are simply becoming more aware of what captivity can do to certain animal species and are disagreeing with SeaWorld's philosophy. After I saw Blackfish, I did some minor research on the "charges" against SeaWorld. While I couldn't attest to the accuracy of some of the claims (i.e., policies of separating whale families or treatment of care, etc.), there did appear to be some misleading information coming from SeaWorld as it related to the natural health and behavior of Killer Whales in captivity versus the wild. Longevity, in my research was mixed. Male whales didn't seem to be too affected by captivity versus the wild, though female whales appear to live longer in the wild than in captivity. SeaWorld was slightly misleading in this claim, using the data of official research out of context and ignoring outliers (natural conditions changed for a period of time during the research period, resulting in an anomaly of lower lifespans in whales for a short period). The most egregious claim was the collapsed dorsal fin, which rarely occurs in the wild and to which SeaWorld still claims is entirely natural.

Since sea animals do not share a domestic coexistence with humans in the way dogs or cats do, and to a lesser extent horses, forcing them to perform in shows (and this goes with elephants, lions and tigers and other wild animals) is folly and abusive, no matter how well-cared for the animals are. And I think the population at large is coming to realize that more and more. Seeing an animal in a recreation of its natural habitat is more palatable than seeing it jump through hoops or balance a human on its back, which serves no educational value. I think SeaWorld was somewhat on the right track with the expansion of its whale tanks.

I did find it rather cool to see a killer whale, but SeaWorld should have evolved faster with how to display them. Now they are losing their biggest draw because they were too busy defending themselves against a documentary as opposed to finding was to establish with the public their dedication to preserving the health and well-being of these animals.

 

[21stamps]

I myself am not opposed to zoos or aquariums, but those are first and foremost institutions of learning. Seaworld is a for-profit corporation whose sole focus is to provide entertainment using animals in order to make money, so that needs to be factored into any discussion. And point of fact, many so-called activists don't like zoos or aquariums either.

I don't think it's "trendy" for people to go against SeaWorld or other similar places. I think people are simply becoming more aware of what captivity can do to certain animal species and are disagreeing with SeaWorld's philosophy. After I saw Blackfish, I did some minor research on the "charges" against SeaWorld. While I couldn't attest to the accuracy of some of the claims (i.e., policies of separating whale families or treatment of care, etc.), there did appear to be some misleading information coming from SeaWorld as it related to the natural health and behavior of Killer Whales in captivity versus the wild. Longevity, in my research was mixed. Male whales didn't seem to be too affected by captivity versus the wild, though female whales appear to live longer in the wild than in captivity. SeaWorld was slightly misleading in this claim, using the data of official research out of context and ignoring outliers (natural conditions changed for a period of time during the research period, resulting in an anomaly of lower lifespans in whales for a short period). The most egregious claim was the collapsed dorsal fin, which rarely occurs in the wild and to which SeaWorld still claims is entirely natural.

Since sea animals do not share a domestic coexistence with humans in the way dogs or cats do, and to a lesser extent horses, forcing them to perform in shows (and this goes with elephants, lions and tigers and other wild animals) is folly and abusive, no matter how well-cared for the animals are. And I think the population at large is coming to realize that more and more. Seeing an animal in a recreation of its natural habitat is more palatable than seeing it jump through hoops or balance a human on its back, which serves no educational value. I think SeaWorld was somewhat on the right track with the expansion of its whale tanks.

I did find it rather cool to see a killer whale, but SeaWorld should have evolved faster with how to display them. Now they are losing their biggest draw because they were too busy defending themselves against a documentary as opposed to finding was to establish with the public their dedication to preserving the health and well-being of these animals.

That is unfortunately a common misconception. Sea World's sole focus has never just been about entertainment. They are similar to a zoo, they provide research and studies, education, and rescue.

I wish people took the time to understand that. Instead it seems to be more popular to jump on PETA's bandwagon.

I do think there is a place and a need for animals to be in captivity. Someone can disagree with me, that's fine, but the claims that Sea World exists just for entertainment is way off base.

For me personally, Sea World was the first place that had me want to pursue scuba diving at a young age..I was enthralled by the marine life. I had to start with snorkeling, eventually got my first certification when old enough, and am now rescue certified. I have been diving all over the world now and have seen the most incredible things. I have been passing that love of marine life on to my own child, and hope he does the same. Maybe I would have gone the same course without those early Sea World visits..maybe not. All I know is my experience and the positive impact it had on my life.

 

[21stamps]

I just did a quick Google search.

SeaWorld has done over 28,000 rescues.

I don't know why people can Google so much about Blackfish, attack a company on a specific issue, but have no clue about what else they do...

Educated opinions are so much better than an opinion based on what someone else wants you to believe. This is the reason I have little respect for the hash tag internet Warriors. Most don't even know what they are talking about.

 

[FutureCEO]

I just found another picture released. Not good for SeaWorld...which honestly, management should have made the tanks bigger a while ago. But the company shouldn't be run into the ground by these 'green' companies. But the majority of the public doesn't care. The green arrow is the whale tank

 

[Crazydisneyfanluke]

I believe that is Sea World San Diego? Also, the green is not the whole tank. When there are no shows they use the front tank as well for the killer whales. Also the under water viewing and the tank right next to it. The green part is 1/4th of the actual size of tanks.

Also Click here for the tanks size.