Captivity

Marineland’s Last Remaining Orca #OPSID

Killer whales are highly social; some pods are composed of matrilineal family groups which are the most stable of any animal species. Killer Whales are notable for these complex societies. Only elephants and higher primates, such as humans, live in comparably complex social structures. It is because of these complex social bonds and society that one should wonder why we attempt keep Killer Whales in captivity.

Captivity is about separation and exclusion. It is about the destruction of families and communities. For wild caught animals, many watch their parents and family killed in front of them at a young age so that they won’t be able to put up a fight to defend them from capture. For the animals bred in captivity at Marineland, those parents routinely watch as their offspring suffer and die in infancy.

There are no heart warming stories at Marineland, Niagara Falls, Canada. There are endless sad stories, but none may be more pressing and sad than that of Kiska. Marineland’s last remaining Orca, Kiska was wild caught from Iceland in the 1980’s. At Marineland, Kiska is the longest serving resident and she has seen dozens of Orcas come and go – and estimated 14 other Orcas die. Of those 14, 5 of them have been her own children. The oldest surviving just 6 years. (Source)

Since the removal of Ikaika back to SeaWorld she has spent her days alone. Ex-trainers have spoken publicly about their concern for her and Marineland itself have gone on public legal record establishing their concern for the health of their lone Orca held in solitary. (Source)

Kiska’s story is the story of captivity. She has survived, but at what cost? Her life has been painfully sad, she is alone and completely dependent upon humans – humans who are only interested in her as an “asset.”

There is no human need to hold other animals in captivity. There is no human need to gawk at or to turn other animals into mere commodities and spectacles. Marineland Animal Defense fights to remove Kiska and all of the other animals at Marineland and to ensure there are no more captives!

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Kiska alone in her tank.

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Cruelty of Dolphin Captivity – Sensory Deprivation

Is captivity more stressful for dolphins than other animals?

Yes, dolphins are sonic creatures—their primary sense is sound.

If you go to the zoo, take a look at the reptile exhibit and find a snake. You’ll see that the snake is given more consideration than the dolphins at Marineland. You’ll see that the snake has got tree limbs to climb on, he’s got rocks to hide from the public if he wants to, grass—there’s always something natural about the snake’s habitat.

But if you look at the habitat of a captive dolphin, you’ll notice there’s nothing there. It’s just a blank, concrete box. Is that stress? Of course it is.

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Why can’t marine parks create better environments for dolphins?

It’s really not what’s best for the dolphin; it’s about getting people to come and watch a show, and then getting another group of people to watch the same show.

The dolphins are separated from the natural rhythms of the sea: the tide, the current, the sounds of the sea, the things we take for granted. All of that is missing. That is what we call sensory deprivation. That makes it more stressful for them than other animals in captivity.

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Don’t forget that ….

Dolphin Smile

For the dolphins!

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Myths – Dolphin Captivity

Myth – Dolphins are happy in captivity.

Truth – Dolphins look as though they are smiling because that is the way their faces are shaped. Captive dolphins are constantly on display with nowhere to hide and are forced to perform shows every single day. Dolphins are denied their freedom to travel, and in many cases are taken from their families and homes in the ocean. Would you be happy if you were a captive dolphin?

Myth – Captive dolphins are safe from predators and don’t have to look for food like would in the wild.

Truth – Inmates in prison are safe from being burgled and are fed each day. But do you think they are happy? The main difference between a jail cell and a aquarium tank is that on is filled with water.

Myth – Captive dolphin display have educational value.

Truth – The only thing captivity teaches is that it is okay to imprison animals and force them to perform for our entertainment. In captivity, a dolphin’s natural behavior are repressed. In the wild dolphins do not jump through hoops or drag people through the water with their fins. Captivity presents a completely false image of everything a dolphin is!

Myth – Children establish a connection with dolphins in captivity that would otherwise be impossible to achieve.

Truth – many children care about dinosaurs yet they have never see one. Through photos, videos, stories, tours to see wild dolphins and animations, children can develop love for dolphins without their having to suffer in captivity. Do you think your child would dolphins to suffer if they knew the truth?

Myth – Rescued dolphins have a good home in captivity.

Truth – Dolphins found injured or stranded need medical care and rehabilitation. However, they should not afterwards be forced into a life of servitude and display; they should be released back into the wild. If this is not possible they should be sent to a sea pen where they can live out their lives in privacy and a mostly natural environment.

“Dolphin shows are nothing but a display of human dominance over animals. They are as educational about dolphins as Mickey Mouse is about mice.’ Ric O’Barry

Dolphin exploitation continues to this day because the public remains unaware of dolphin suffering. Now that you are aware, please do not fund the suffering dolphins and other small whales by purchasing a ticket to a dolphin show or swim with dolphin program.

For more information please visit Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project

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For the dolphins!

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Thought for the Day

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Two captive bottlenose dolphins in the Taiji harbour pens

Photo Credit Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians

For the Dolphins!!

 

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Thought for the Day

Ghandi quote

“I know that some members of the captivity industry have made the point that in captivity these animals are fed fish and they don’t need to deal with the stress of capturing their own prey. But in fact, being fed dead fish can be a stress. In the wild, they really enjoy the opportunity to collaborate with each other and catch prey and travel with their companions, and basically work for their prey. In captivity, all of that stimulation is taken away. There is a lot of scientific evidence that shows that dolphins and whales — both wild-born and captive-born — exhibit a lot of psychological abnormalities in captivity.” Lori Marino. Behavioral neuroscientist at Emory University

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What the Captive Marine Mammal Industry Doesn’t Want You to See!

Here are three films the captive marine mammal industry does not want you to see!

The Cove: Using state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.

A Fall From Freedom: The first comprehensive film to reveal the long and sordid history of the captive whale and dolphin entertainment business. Many of these marine parks and aquariums are directly or indirectly responsible for the death of thousands of the very animals they use for public entertainment. Premature deaths. Trainer injuries. Illegal practices. Educational misrepresentation. Government incompetence. Secret deals. These and many other issues are presented, and documented for the first time in this powerful documentary, narrated by actor Mike Farrell.

Blackfish: Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.

 

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Wild & Free vs. Captivity & Imprisonment

In the wild vs. in captivity ( information credited to – the Animal Welfare Institute http://awionline.org )

In The Wild… In Captivity…
Each day, dolphins travel up to 40 miles and orcas travel up to 100, feeding and socializing with other members of their pods. Pods can contain hundreds of individuals with complex social bonds and hierarchies. Cetaceans are housed in small concrete or glass enclosures with no chance to swim for very long or dive deep distances.

Sometimes they are housed alone without opportunities for socialization, or they are forced to be with other animals and even species with whom they would not naturally have close contact.
Dolphins are naturally energetic, playful and inquisitive. When tasked with entertaining tourists all day, with nowhere to escape, dolphins often become bored, frustrated and aggressive.
Cetaceans spend approximately 80-90% of their time under water. They have the freedom to perform natural behaviors on their own terms. Dolphins are forced to perform artificial activities such as “walking” on water, jumping through hoops, and nodding their heads on cue.
Whales and dolphins eat a variety of fish, squid and octopi species, as well as smaller mammals.

Orcas and others work in groups, utilizing complex strategies to locate their prey. Some dive thousands of feet in search of food sources.

 The animals are given a staple diet of dead fish, often as positive reinforcement during training, with no opportunities to utilize their sophisticated hunting techniques.
Cetaceans live in complex societies with their own cultures and dialects, maintaining close family ties with grandparents, aunts and uncles. Some remain in the same pods for life. Individuals are violently removed from the wild, with no hope of ever being reunited with their families. Captive animals are withheld forever from the wild gene pool.
Whales and dolphins live in a world of sound.

They rely on echolocation as their main form of communication and use sound to find mates, migrate, communicate, stay at or return to a favored feeding area, nurse, care for young, and catch and escape prey.

 Animals are forced to listen to filtration systems, pumps, music and people clapping and yelling on a regular basis.

Their concrete and/or glass enclosures also manipulate sounds, so even if two individuals are housed together, their communication is warped.
Cetaceans are surrounded by other sea life and are an integral part of the marine food web.

Whales and dolphins have evolved for millions of years in the oceans, and in most cases, they are the top predators.

 Artificial captive environments are sterile and lack stimulation. The animals’ water is chemically treated with chlorine – though they still suffer from bacterial infections that can be deadly.

The highly chlorinated water can also cause irritation and even blindness.

 

  • Activities like beaching themselves in aquatic shows contrast with dolphins in the wild that  never would beach themselves. Scientists believe that this is extremely harmful because dolphins resting on their bellies over a hard surface, will eventually damage their internal organs.
  • By withholding food, some trainers coerce dolphins into repetitive and unnatural behaviours, performing ‘tricks’ for the public. Hunger forces the dolphins to ignore their most basic natural instincts. They are even trained to beach themselves, despite the danger of doing so.
  • The mortality rates and abnormal behaviours of captive dolphins prove that a lack of stimulation causes them terrible stress. Swimming listlessly in circles is just one common indictor of boredom and psychological distress.
  • Space is also an issue – pools are miserably small for large, far ranging animals that would swim up to 50 miles a day in the wild. The shallow waters expose dolphins’ delicate skin to painful sunburns.
  • Dolphins in the wild spend approximately 80% of their time deep below the surface exploring the depths of the ocean. The need for continuous movement of Wild dolphins is one of the reasons that critics of captivity are using as arguments to request the release of dolphins in captivity.
  • Many dolphins do not survive the trauma of capture. Of those that do, 53% die within three months of confinement. Captive dolphins also suffer and die from intestinal disease, stress-related illness and chlorine poisoning.
  • ‘Swim with dolphins’ programmes cannot guarantee the safety of people interacting with dolphins, even those bred in captivity. These powerful animals are often stressed from being in a confined space. Unsurprisingly, accounts of deliberate and inadvertent human injuries caused by captive dolphins include broken limbs.
  • Dolphins in captivity are not trained, they are conditioned to perform “tricks” from being starved and only fed twice daily and generally only when performing “tricks”

 

A very informative video about Dolphin & Whale captivity.

After watching this video – Take the Pledge Not to Buy a Ticket to a Dolphin Show – click here

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Help the Marineland Whistleblowers

Marineland whistleblowers need your help!

To date, 15 ex-employees have bravely spoken out about Marineland’s poor treatment of animals; and now the corporation has taken legal action against two. On Oct 17th, Christine Santos was fired after not signing a document that included a statement she’d never seen animal abuse at the park. Shortly thereafter, Marineland served a $1.25 million defamation lawsuit against the former trainer for telling the Toronto Star a killer whale was sporadically bleeding from its tail. Kiska, Marineland’s lone killer whale is now without her most trusted trainer. On Feb 13th Marineland launched a separate suit against Phil Demers citing $1.5 million in damages, with more suits expected.

If you are able to please consider making a donation by clicking here  Any and all proceeds will be provided solely for the expenses incurred in defending any whistleblowers and any unused proceeds will be dedicate tot he continued avocation for Ontario’s captive animals.

Tweet Storm for Marineland Whistleblowers March 20, 2013 – click here  for the Facebook page and more information

Spread the word: Tweet storm for #marineland #Whistleblowers on March 20 #SaveMarinelandAnimals

Support Marineland Whistleblowers by signing this petition: Save Marineland Animals

Watch this informative video – Behind the scenes at Marineland – Phil Demers former Marineland Trainer

For all the animals of Marineland!

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Thought for the Day – Captivity

Dolphin Smile

“What’s wrong with captivity?  The capture, bring them into a concrete chlorinated box, reducing them to circus clowns and then selling this as educational to the public.  And I think it’s extremely dangerous. This issue for me is not just about the dolphins. There’s about a thousand in captivity and it’s more about the millions of people who go and see the show, go and see Shamu. They’re learning, it is educational, they’re learning, however, that  it’s okay to abuse nature. That’s what they come away with that these – it only serves – the Shamu experience or the captivity experience only serves to perpetuate our insidious, utilitarian perception of nature and it’s an issue about education. To teach a child not to step on a caterpillar or a butterfly is as important to the child as it is the butterfly. And that’s what’s wrong with it.“ – Ric O’Barry

DolphinProject

Please click here for more information on Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project

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