SeaWorld To End Orca Breeding Program (latimes.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Amusement park operator SeaWorld Entertainment announced on Thursday that it is ending its orca breeding program. The announcement comes amid growing pressure from activists who found that whales and their trainers weren't treated properly. A 2013 documentary Blackfish cited a number of violent incidents at the amusement park. In an op-ed Joel Manby, President and CEO of SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment laid bare the details on why his company is shutting down the orca breeding program. "Customers visit our marine parks, in part, to watch orcas. But a growing number of people don't think orcas belong in human care. [...] Now we need to respond to the attitudinal change that we helped to create -- which is why SeaWorld is announcing several historic changes. This year we will end all orca breeding programs -- and because SeaWorld hasn't collected an orca from the wild in almost four decades, this will be the last generation of orcas in SeaWorld's care. [...] More than 3,000 species are endangered, and hundreds are lost every year. Americans and thoughtful people everywhere need to acknowledge these fundamental problems. SeaWorld takes seriously its responsibility to preserve marine wildlife. That's why we are partnering with the Humane Society of the United States. Together, we will work against commercial whaling and seal hunts, shark finning and ocean pollution.

Comments

That's some awful stuff

[Notorious G]

Together, we will work against commercial whaling and seal hunts, shark finning and ocean pollution.

I'm no environmentalist or anything but some of that stuff is truly barbaric.

Re:That's some awful stuff

[Aighearach]

...that stuff is truly barbaric.

Absolutely. And for Orcas, this seems obvious to me. Animals generally should live longer in captivity than in the wild, because they're protected from predation, have a high quality diet, medical care, etc. Orcas in captivity are living half their wild life expectancy. That makes it obvious how disgusting it is.

If you think keeping zoo animals is good generally, even in that context the situation with orcas is barbaric.

"a growing number of people"

[Nutria]

Wikipedia has done a great job in training me to spot weasels.

"we need to respond to the attitudinal change"

IOW, you're not responding to what's right or wrong, but what some ambiguous growing number of people think you should do? This is symptomatic of the disease that has also lead to Trump's popularity in a section of the populace.

perils of being a charismatic animal

[sittingnut]

curious thing, this selective sympathy of humans for some animals, and total indifference to fate of others.

must be a wonderful feeling to protest against alleged 'improper' treatment of orcas, while munching on a battery cage eggs. or condemn japanese whaling while supporting activities that end up eliminating nasty looking insects and reptiles.

  (of course there are a small percentage of humans who prefer to be consistent on treatment of animals, on one side or other side. but being rational is perhaps not quite human, or as they say 'humane' )

Re:good deal

[MightyMartian]

That may be true. But it is very hard to see how an animal of fairly sophisticated intelligence (if not some degree of outright sentience) whose ancestors going back millions of years have lived in the open sea, constrained only by the necessities of eating and breeding, can reasonably be put into what amounts to an oversized pool and somehow lead an existent that could in any way considered to be humane.

Honestly, I have a real problem even with elephant confinement, for much the same reason. These aren't macaws or some breed of Amazonian fish. These are very large brained animals that show at least some ability at advanced cognition, memory and emotional capability. Yes, they're not humans, and they do not likely possess anywhere near the mental capabilities of humans, but there are some types of animals who demonstrate their own cognitive abilities beyond that of much of the animal kingdom, and I think keeping them in captivity, at least in the sense of the rather small space that most of them have to exist in, is just plain wrong.