Should EPCOT's dolphins be released?

[GoofyRacer11]

Ok, so forgetting about the dolphins who have been in captivity so long they've forgotten how to feed themselves...

Should places like Sea World be allowed to take in more dolphins and whales that haven't yet forgotten how to feed themselves and teach those animals to be dependent on their keepers too?

Also, not sure how much I buy the "we're doing valuable research" argument. For one, it contradicts the argument that the dolphins are already too acclimated to captivity to be release. If you've already completely altered the animal's pattern of behavior, what good is research going to do besides tell you about how captive, trained animals behave? For another, I'd be be interested to see if Disney can point me to a peer-reviewed journal where there's published research that cites the Living Seas animals.

Personally though, I think we should continue to keep animals like this in zoos and tanks because they're fun to look at. As long as they're not mistreated, animals don't have the same right to freedom humans do. I just take issue with some of the bogus arguments defenders of captive cetaceans use to justify their livelihood. Sea World keeps dolphins and killer whales not to save them, not to make scientific discoveries, but because people will pay good money to see them. It creates jobs and makes kids smile. I'm OK with that. You should be too.

Why don't they? Who are we to say whether or not they have that right?

 

[brkgnews]

Grilled and served with a crisp salad would be better

Kyle: "Dude, dolphins are intelligent and friendly animals."
Cartman: "Intelligent and friendly on rye bread with some mayonaise."

Having said that :lookaroun, you can't comprehend the grace or beauty of a creature completely without seeing it in the flesh. I've seen pictures of whale sharks before. But until I stood in the Georgia Aquarium tunnel and watched one soar overhead and blockout the sun from the skylight above, I didn't completely appreciate the awe of these animals. Same goes for every other critter or creature I've seen. And yes, that even goes down to the smallest ones. Think how many kids stop and stare, spellbound, at MK when the see a "real live" rabbit or duck for what may well be the first time in their lives.

The fact is this was a tragic incident where there's no one thing to blame. And we, as rational beings, feel SOMETHING has to be at fault, and it can't be the animal (cute critter), it can't be the trainer (after all, she was doing her job [which she loved] and paid with her life), so we do the fashionable thing and blame "the system."

 

[GenerationX]

Wait, are you saying the dolphins at the Living Seas are NOT animatronic?

 

[Bairstow]

Why don't they? Who are we to say whether or not they have that right?

We're the ones that walked on the moon.

 

[Susan Savia]

I can somehow understand keeping the manatees and dolphins, but why Killer Whales? Kinda like an elephant in a circus. Let 'em go.

 

[redfive13]

Grilled and served with a crisp salad would be better

+1

Pumbas is always the voice of reason! We can always count on you for something witty...

 

[Figment1986]

Should places like Sea World be allowed to take in more dolphins and whales that haven't yet forgotten how to feed themselves and teach those animals to be dependent on their keepers too?

In the case of getting injured animals, SeaWorld has facilities to treat them for release into the wild... they do this constantly at Orlando and Sandiego, (I dont know how close texas is to the gulf)

Now if the marine life brought for treatment cannot be released in prime condition then they will make a decision on keeping it at the parks or giving it to another marine group like an aquarium.

SeaWorld does not go out and capture wild marine life for the sake of being used for breeding or shows, they have their own different generations they can use for breeding and they can learn almost as much from born in captivity as they could from captured in wild... and those gaps can be filled in elsewhere from studying afar or tracking rescued marine life that has since been returned to the ocean.

 

[Phonedave]

It's a KILLER whale. It wasn't named that just because...

No, it was named that because some people cannot translate languages and realize that it is not always adjective -> noun. Sometimes it's the other way around

from

http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2006/Orcas-on-the-Edge.aspx

(Emphasis mine)

Killer: It's a Name, Not an Accusation
In recent years, the killer whale has been more commonly called "orca" to avoid the negative connotations of "killer" and perhaps to avoid calling this dolphin species a whale. Nevertheless, most biologists still treat "killer whale" as the accepted common name. It is derived from the name Basque whalers gave the species: ballena asesina--"whale killer"--an appropriate moniker for a predator that hunts and eats whales. The scientific name is Orcinus orca, derived from the Latin word for "vat," apparently a reference to the animal's barrel-shaped body.


-dave

 

[ClemsonTigger]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/article6973994.ece

I don't believe animals belong in cages...

and teaching them to use keyboards is for their benefit?

I can somehow understand keeping the manatees and dolphins, but why Killer Whales? Kinda like an elephant in a circus. Let 'em go.

They should be left in the wild where they can be properly hunted and slaughtered for sport or body parts. Why prolong the inevitiabilty of extinction? :brick: :zipit:

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

They shouldnt be so tasty, I blame Darwin.

 

[devoy1701]

bless this lovely conversation.

I think all of our dogs and cats should be released too. Most of you have seen Life After Humans and know that it wont be long before their survival instincts resurface and they forget their domestication...

I would miss the dolphins too much...so they should stay.

 

[Figment632]

Monsters and now poor Shamu is being sent to Guantanamo Bay!

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

That's a little much, don't you think?

 

[ClemsonTigger]

So long....and thanks for the fish!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojydNb3Lrrs

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

:sohappy::sohappy:

Love Hitchikers.

 

[hrcollectibles]

What do y'all think? After the unfortunate incident at Sea World people are giving more thought to the question of how ethical it is to keep cetaceans in captivity. After all, dolphins and whales are highly social creatures adapted to life in the open sea. Keeping them in a tank, even a fairly largish one like the one in the Seas, has been compared to trapping a human in a phone booth.

I'm sure that the fish in the tank don't even realize they're not in the ocean. Fish are pretty stupid, after all. But dolphins are one of those creatures that seems to have more intelligence than it needs to simply survive. Assuming EPCOT's dolphins have the skills necessary to survive in the wild, is keeping them in captivity to amuse tourists really justifiable?

I'm sorry sir, I was just going to say, that it's not a fish, it's a mammal... The ones at the Living Seas are not trained (I don't think) I think they are nursed to health.. Perhaps they are planning a take over like in the one Simpsons Episode.. And he Mammal responsible for the Incident at Sea World was KILLER Whale...Not a dolphin

Grilled and served with a crisp salad would be better

I don't give a good flip about that fish. Fillet it and fast food it if ya want to. All I give a darn about's, winning the Super Bowl. My athletes have got to have their heads in the right place. Roger, you been in this business a long time. You know how superstitious these guys are.

 

[joel_maxwell]

Monsters and now poor Shamu is being sent to Guantanamo Bay!

I am not a fan of over PC in this world... but this lacks a bit of couth.

 

[Bairstow]

As long as they don't get rid of the mamotees, I'll be okay.

Because if they released the manatees, who is going to write Family Guy?

I don't give a good flip about that fish. Fillet it and fast food it if ya want to. All I give a darn about's, winning the Super Bowl. My athletes have got to have their heads in the right place. Roger, you been in this business a long time. You know how superstitious these guys are.

I got a linebacker hasn't washed his jockey strap in three years- thinks flies is lucky!

 

[glee]

As much as i think it is cruel they should not be released as they probebly woudnt survive now.

Its cruel but at the same time im slightly selfish and think that they should still be were they are. As long as they are treated right and there is plenty of room for them i have no problem with it but at the same time i feel bad for them!! Its so hard!!!

Think about it though. If it wasnt for zoos or aquariums then we woudnt see some of the amazing creatures we have done so today.:veryconfu:veryconfu:veryconfu

 

[glee]

Monsters and now poor Shamu is being sent to Guantanamo Bay!

Is that real???