My response is: A response to Sea World’s article on answering critics. By Marianne Kambouridis, founder of Humans against Dolphin Captivity and Slaughter. Sea World Gold Coast has no connection with the US, this is true. The only connection they share is that they each hold marine mammals captive for the amusement of the paying public. Sea World do rescue marine life and have the expertise to rehabilitate and release these animals and for this, we are greatly appreciative of their dedication. The reference to spending millions on rescues might be questionable and further information would be required for the public to accept this. Sea World boast that 76% of dolphins are bred on site while 24% are wild caught. The article goes on to say, “…most of the dolphins at Sea World do not perform in shows.” Two issues here for me. Issue one; training marine mammals to ‘perform’ and issue two; what happens to the non-performers? Performers; these mammals are exposed to operant conditioning with food used as positive reinforcement to perform tricks to appease the paying public-tricks that are not natural behaviours as Sea World would have us believe. Having trainers standing on the backs of dolphins is hardly a natural behaviour. Seals wearing Santa hats is another unnatural behaviour. Yes, they are able to swim and jump however, in their own environment, they swim for hundreds of kms each day and dive down to hundreds of metres-clearly a behaviour that cannot be expressed in captivity. As for comparing dolphins to a dog who wants to please its owner, well, no one can own a dolphin, these creatures belong to nature. The comparison of domesticated dogs to wild marine mammals is a farce. One has been bred to serve humans while the other has been captured from the wild often with disastrous outcomes. Research according to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS 2006) states, “…certain individuals play a crucial role in holding dolphin communities together. If these individuals are removed, the dolphin group might lose cohesion and disperse, this could have serious survival implications for the remaining animals, as having a well-organized group is crucial when dolphins forage for food or have to defend themselves against competitors and predators.” (The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity p. 7) Sea World admit …”there are points of time when the animals are not in the best state of mind, but trainers are so intuitive that they care able to find ways to understand and provide help.” One would argue that these points of time are frequent and common given that these sentient beings yearn to satisfy their highly evolved instincts to be wild and free. Only to be petted by ‘intuitive’ trainers who are, in the eyes of Sea World, able to understand! When discussing stress of dolphins, the HSUS (2006) state, “ even in the largest facilities, a captive dolphin’s room to move is decreased enormously, allowing the animal access to less that on ten-thousandth of one percent of its normal habitat size!” (p.23) Sea World say they have the biggest sandy-bottom dolphin lagoons; clearly no amount of corporate money cannot replicate the oceans. Stress plays a huge role in the welfare of these cetaceans. “This stress can manifest in many ways, including weight loss, lack of appetite, antisocial behaviour, reduced calving success, hardening of the arteries, stomach ulcers, changes in blood cell counts, increased susceptibility to diseases and even death.” (Philadelphia: Saunders, W.B. 1978, p. 33-34) Sea World continue with “……we do not have a problem with captivity because we see the carnage and brutality wild marine life face at the hands of humans.” This is hypocrisy of the highest order. Yes, humans do inflict horrific injuries to some of our marine wildlife and Sea World come to their rescue, however, true empathy and awareness for all animals requires one to feel what the animals feel. Which is NOT what the dolphins feel when swimming in the same lagoon, day after day for years. The dolphins really DO HAVE A PROBLEM with captivity! Next Sea World will be telling us that they enhance the lives of marine mammals in captivity by protecting them from the rigors of the natural environment. The Humane Society believe that, “Marine mammals have evolved physically and behaviourally to survive the rigors of their natural habitat.” (HSUS 2006). CAN ANIMALS BE RETURNED TO THE WILD? Yes they can. The following site is by the original trainer of Flipper who has over 40 years experience working with dolphins. Ric O’Barry has documented evidence of many releases back into the wild. He provides educational tours and provides true conservation in keeping these mammals in the wild for all to see. dolphinproject.net/ To quote one case in particular; two male bottlenose dolphins were held captive for two years then released in 1990. They remained together for the first month, then began interacting more with other dolphins. One of these had been sighted in 1993 and the other in 1996. Observations of these two have shown them to be fully integrated into the local dolphin societies. Their body condition was quoted as being ‘excellent’ at each observation. So I say to Sea World on the Gold Coast, if you really do want to provide education and help with conservation of these marine mammals then you will open your mind to the rehabilitation and release your dolphins. This will take time and will provide your paying guests with an education on preserving a species to continue living in the wild, as they should with their own social groups, foraging, mating ,swimming for hundreds of kms and ultimately living as nature intended. All your trainers would be employed through this rehabilitation and you can introduce ocean tours where guests can observe the dolphins in the wild doing their own ‘tricks’ when it pleases them rather than on demand. Your guests will still visit your facility and new guests would come. Guests who otherwise would not come due to the inherent cruelty that captivity entails. Your dolphins would be free to come and go as they please. The HSUS and WSPA conclude that, “….the entire captive experience for marine mammals is so sterile and contrary to even the most basic element of compassion and humaneness that it should be rejected outright. It is unacceptable for marine mammals to be held in captivity for the purpose of public display.” (2006 p, 47) So to quote you Sea World; “It was vital the captive animals were used to spread the conservation message because at the moment, people abuse the environment.” Captive animals are NOT required for conservation, this is a contradiction in itself. Conservation requires you to preserve, guard and protect so how about showing your corporate integrity and educating your dolphins to be free? I challenge you Sea World Gold Coast to embark on a new adventure where your trainers will be very sort after by other public display venues when they too will succumb to public pressure and re-educate their captives to live free. You could pave the way for a ‘new’ and ethical tourist attraction. References: HSUS and WSPA 2006 (The Case against Marine Mammals in Captivity) NOAA Fisheries. 2002. The Scientific Research Program under the International Dolphin Conservation Program Act. Report of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center to Congress. Small, R.J. and D.P. DeMaster. 1995a. Survival of five species of captive marine mammals. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 11:209-226. Small. R.J. and D.P. DeMaster. 1995b. Acclimation to captivity: A quantitative estimate based on survival of bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions. Mar. Mamm. Sci. 11:510-519. Saunders, W.B. 1978 ( Stress in Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine)
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 02:00:28 +0000
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