ShelfLife
02-25-2010, 01:50 PM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/25/killer-whale-tilikum-drowned-trainer-hair
I love Orcas, but goddamnit, those things are not meant to be in contact with humans.
Some have argued the whale should be put down. "Tilikum is a casualty of captivity; it has destroyed his mind and turned him demented," said Russ Rector, a former dolphin trainer in Fort Lauderdale who now runs the Dolphin Freedom Foundation. "If he was a horse, dog, bear, cat or elephant he would already have been put down after the first kill, and this is his third."
Another quote.
Naomi Rose, the marine mammal scientist with the Humane Society of the US, has studied Tilikum's behaviour and said putting him down was not the solution.
"It's not his fault what happened, just as it wasn't Dawn Brancheau's. The fault lies with using these wild animals as entertainment — this was an accident waiting to happen."
Fucking right it was an "accident" waiting for happen - orcas have killed numerous trainers before this, either through not realising their own strength, or deliberated (if not premeditated) acts of aggression.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orca_attacks_on_humans
Orca's are intensely smart - each pod has it's own dialect with they teach their children, they will develop hunting techniques unique to each situation, and they generally live in large families. Not to mention they have violent forms of entertainment (they will toss live young sealions around like tennis balls, for hours and hours, without even eating it). Such animals aren't meant to be in tanks with one or two others.
If you're still not convinced, there's the matter of collapsed dorsal fins.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj210/ThePeeves/800px-Orca_collapsed_dorsal_fin.jpg?t=1267134939
(this is the individual in question in the article above)
Just as stress causes them to lash out at their trainers and tank-mates, dorsal fin collapse is seen in 60-90% of captive males. Their dorsal fins literally collapse.
So why are they still refusing to let him go or put him down? Seaworld Orlando obviously doesn't care about it's animals or it's trainers if they are still forcing these things to live in captivity. I hope the animal breaks from his tank and leaps onto the audience. THEN we'll see if the park is still intent on keeping him.
I love Orcas, but goddamnit, those things are not meant to be in contact with humans.
Some have argued the whale should be put down. "Tilikum is a casualty of captivity; it has destroyed his mind and turned him demented," said Russ Rector, a former dolphin trainer in Fort Lauderdale who now runs the Dolphin Freedom Foundation. "If he was a horse, dog, bear, cat or elephant he would already have been put down after the first kill, and this is his third."
Another quote.
Naomi Rose, the marine mammal scientist with the Humane Society of the US, has studied Tilikum's behaviour and said putting him down was not the solution.
"It's not his fault what happened, just as it wasn't Dawn Brancheau's. The fault lies with using these wild animals as entertainment — this was an accident waiting to happen."
Fucking right it was an "accident" waiting for happen - orcas have killed numerous trainers before this, either through not realising their own strength, or deliberated (if not premeditated) acts of aggression.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orca_attacks_on_humans
Orca's are intensely smart - each pod has it's own dialect with they teach their children, they will develop hunting techniques unique to each situation, and they generally live in large families. Not to mention they have violent forms of entertainment (they will toss live young sealions around like tennis balls, for hours and hours, without even eating it). Such animals aren't meant to be in tanks with one or two others.
If you're still not convinced, there's the matter of collapsed dorsal fins.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj210/ThePeeves/800px-Orca_collapsed_dorsal_fin.jpg?t=1267134939
(this is the individual in question in the article above)
Just as stress causes them to lash out at their trainers and tank-mates, dorsal fin collapse is seen in 60-90% of captive males. Their dorsal fins literally collapse.
So why are they still refusing to let him go or put him down? Seaworld Orlando obviously doesn't care about it's animals or it's trainers if they are still forcing these things to live in captivity. I hope the animal breaks from his tank and leaps onto the audience. THEN we'll see if the park is still intent on keeping him.