FL - Dawn Brancheau, Female Trainer Killed at Shamu Stadium

[Kimberlyd125]

Other then the great Willie, I've never heard of these "bands"? I think the "bands" are pretty uninformed in this matter. I love Willie, but he supports lots of causes. I find Sea World a terrific place. When there is a water animal hurt or sick, Sea World helps them.
I found Blackfish very deceptive having read lots of reports about the company and the odd accident. I don't care what some disgruntled minimum wage ex-employee has to say. Do some band doesn't want to got to Sea World, well then don't. They will find lots of others to play.
Sea World is not going to mistreat it's star multi million dollar animals. The whales are a huge investment on their part. I am sorry about the trainer. From the videos I have seen, I think her swinging long braid caused the accident. Does Sea World have a policy about hair? Even I know that whales are wild animals not humans. There are 44 whales in captivity. I wish they were all in a closed ocean space for life. Should we be lobbying to stop this practice? Maybe, but a band cancelling isn't changing that.

Just so you know, I felt exactly the same way you do. My posts in this thread will show that.

I didn't change my views on Seaworld because of Blackfish. Blackfish made me wonder. So I did EXTENSIVE research. Not from ex employees, from whale experts. People who have spent their lives, education, and their money studying whales for decades.

Seaworld is full of smoke and mirrors. And like many, they had me fooled for years.

I'm not saying they do nothing worthwhile. I still believe they work wonders for manatees.
But when it comes to the BUSINESS (because it is a business) they exploit orcas for the big money.

To each their own. After reading for months and finding out the truth about the lives of captive orcas and dolphins, I could never support the captors.

JMO

ETA: He didn't grab her hair. He grabbed her arm. It's been proven.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/morning_call/2013/12/seaworld-goes-to-groupon-to-promote.html

SeaWorld goes to Groupon to promote tickets

One offer launched Wednesday allows Groupon users to buy as many as 10 tickets to SeaWorld Orlando — SeaWorld Entertainment’s biggest and best-known theme park — for $59. That’s about 40 percent below the basic gate price, the Orlando Sentinel reports.


Desperation??? :waiting:

 

[Kimberlyd125]

Sherps post above got me thinking about something else. In that post, the trainers are referred to as minimum wage employees. Also in that post is mention of the risk because Orcas are wild animals.

Wouldn't you think a huge (very wealthy) company could pay these trainers more than their minimal salaries considering the risks they take while working with Orcas? And the fact the trainers care for the needs of Seaworld's "cash cows".

Seaworld is raking in big bucks at the risk of these humans and at the expense of the whales' freedom.

JMO

 

[redheadedgal]

Wouldn't you think a huge (very wealthy) company could pay these trainers more than their minimal salaries considering the risks they take while working with Orcas? And the fact the trainers care for the needs of Seaworld's "cash cows".

Seaworld is raking in big bucks at the risk of these humans and at the expense of the whales' freedom.

JMO

iirc, in the book death at seaworld, it was theorized that the (unsaid) reason wages aren't higher is that that would mean that SW was admitting there is danger in the job. and of course they will never admit this, as evidenced by their fight to continue "water work".

 

[Softail]

SeaWorld launches 'Blackfish' counterattack in ads

After months of dismissing "Blackfish" as activist propaganda, SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. today is launching a more aggressive counterattack on the critical documentary.

The Orlando-based theme-park company has placed full-page ads in eight of the country's largest newspapers, making a passionate case for the importance of displaying killer whales in captivity.

The "Open Letter from SeaWorld's Animal Advocates" — which appears in today's Orlando Sentinel, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today, among other papers — defends the way SeaWorld cares for the 29 whales in its corporate collection. Although it never identifies "Blackfish" by name, the ad is the first step in a campaign to rebut criticisms raised by the film and the animal-rights activists promoting it.

SeaWorld President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Atchison said in an interview Thursday that the company decided to respond after several well-known performers backed out of concerts that had been scheduled for early next year at SeaWorld Orlando, most of them citing the "Blackfish" controversy.

Eight of the 10 acts SeaWorld had been counting on to headline its annual "Bands, Brew & BBQ" concert series — including Barenaked Ladies, Willie Nelson and Trisha Yearwood — have canceled, an episode that has drawn international attention.



http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...eaworld-blackfish-ads-20131219,0,418540.story

 

[Softail]

Link to the Ad:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-pdf-seaworld-ad-20131220,0,4756636.acrobat

 

[jon_burrows]

Other then the great Willie, I've never heard of these "bands"? I think the "bands" are pretty uninformed in this matter. I love Willie, but he supports lots of causes. I find Sea World a terrific place. When there is a water animal hurt or sick, Sea World helps them.
I found Blackfish very deceptive having read lots of reports about the company and the odd accident. I don't care what some disgruntled minimum wage ex-employee has to say. Do some band doesn't want to got to Sea World, well then don't. They will find lots of others to play.
Sea World is not going to mistreat it's star multi million dollar animals. The whales are a huge investment on their part. I am sorry about the trainer. From the videos I have seen, I think her swinging long braid caused the accident. Does Sea World have a policy about hair? Even I know that whales are wild animals not humans. There are 44 whales in captivity. I wish they were all in a closed ocean space for life. Should we be lobbying to stop this practice? Maybe, but a band cancelling isn't changing that.

The bands don't want to be associated with animal cruelty. Once they were educated about the lives of abusement park animals they wanted no part of it.

I'm not sure where you're getting your info, can you provide links?

SeaWorld loves to tout how they help wild animals. It's been a marketing goldmine for them. In reality, they give pennies compared to what they make (link below for a breakout of the funds). Helping some animals while abusing others is not something to be applauded.

http://cetaceaninspiration.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/seaworld-and-conservation/

BBM - Would a "terrific place" support capturing animals from the ocean today? SeaWorld does. They had an order in for part of the spoils from the capture of 18 beluga whales off the coast of Russia. A beluga whale capture is every bit as heart breaking and cruel as an orca capture. Take a look. Purchasing these animals creates a demand for even more captures.

[video=youtube;47YY6f8J__4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47YY6f8J__4[/video]

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...les-20130930_1_whales-beluga-georgia-aquarium

 

[jon_burrows]

Link to the Ad:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-pdf-seaworld-ad-20131220,0,4756636.acrobat

One response to SeaWorld's lies:

http://theorcaproject.wordpress.com/2013/12/20/open-letter-seaworld/

Also, a list of orcas separated from their mothers below. A male orca stays with his mother for life. A female stays with her mother until her first calf is born (13-15 years of age). Some females stay with their mother for life. SeaWorld breeds/inbreeds them much younger.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/68548610/Captive-Killer-Whales-Orcas-Separated-From-Their-Mothers

PETA's response (note - I'm hesitant in posting a PETA link because I have serious issues with some of their tactics but in this case I think they are right):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JeSoYQEtELY

 

[jon_burrows]

Blackfish Clip: Mother Orca Cries for Her Baby:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWFo6kf21Hw&feature=youtu.be

 

[jon_burrows]

http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/morning_call/2013/12/seaworld-goes-to-groupon-to-promote.html

SeaWorld goes to Groupon to promote tickets

One offer launched Wednesday allows Groupon users to buy as many as 10 tickets to SeaWorld Orlando — SeaWorld Entertainment’s biggest and best-known theme park — for $59. That’s about 40 percent below the basic gate price, the Orlando Sentinel reports.


Desperation??? :waiting:

-and- Blackstone subsidiaries dumped the bulk of their SeaWorld stock. I'd say desperation is a good word choice.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...e-blackfish-effect-marks-major-moral-uprising

 

[Kimberlyd125]

Cloris Leachman Joins PETA In Protest Of SeaWorld’s Rose Parade Float

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013...ta-in-protest-of-seaworlds-rose-parade-float/

Leachman, the 2009 grand marshal, wrote a letter Thursday to Tournament President R. Scott Jenkins, asking him to prevent the float from entering the annual showcase.

“I was disappointed to learn from my friends at PETA that SeaWorld will have a float this year. Perhaps the Tournament of Roses Association has not seen ‘Blackfish’?” Leachman wrote.

 

[jon_burrows]

Darren Hayes is the third artist requesting SeaWorld to stop playing his music.

“I’ve been a vocal advocate for the movie ‘Blackfish.’ Had no idea my song was used in the parks. Have written to my publisher.”

"Hayes clearly feels [video=youtu;WQnAxOQxQIU]http://youtu.be/WQnAxOQxQIU[/video] for the orcas confined at SeaWorld."

The Blackfish Effect plows on!

http://www.ecorazzi.com/2013/12/16/savage-garden-plucks-music-from-seaworld-supports-blackfish/

Clip with 'The Animal Song":

SeaWorld Orlando Shamu Shows Music Video - YouTube

 

[Kimberlyd125]

http://www.myfoxorlando.com/story/2...ople-rally-against-seaworld-for-animal-rights

Nearly 100 people protest SeaWorld over animal rights

 

[Kimberlyd125]

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/state/...-to-seaworlds-open-letter-to-animal-activists

Oceanic Preservation Society issues rebuttal to SeaWorld's open letter to animal activists

 

[Kimberlyd125]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/03/tech/web/sea-world-blackfish-poll/

Did SeaWorld stuff ballots for 'Blackfish' poll?

Snipped:

Maybe it's not surprising that in SeaWorld's hometown of Orlando, an online poll showed overwhelming support for the theme park in light of a recent documentary that has raised questions about its treatment of killer whales.

What has turned heads, though, is the fact that more than half of the votes appeared to have come from a computer, or computers, at SeaWorld itself.


:waiting: More desperation!


Also snipped:

The survey results have since swerved the other way. By midday Friday, 70% of the poll's more than 1,700 respondents had said "yes," with only 30% saying no.

 

[Kimberlyd125]

http://touch.orlandosentinel.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-78821543/

'Blackfish' earns BAFTA nomination for best documentary

 

[jon_burrows]

Another trainer speaks out exposing more SeaWorld secrets.

http://micechat.com/forums/seaworld/190281-sea-worlds-biggest-secret-revealed.html

 

[Nova]

The new READER'S DIGEST has a lengthy article on bottle-nose dolphins in theme parks such as Sea World. Although smaller, dolphins exhibit many of the same symptoms of stress as orcas, including chewing on the sides of their tanks and attacking trainers.

(BTW, according to RD, linguists theorize that orcas were originally called "whale killers" because they preyed on larger marine mammals, but the words became reversed over time.)

 

[gypsygirl]

My heart goes out to the marine animals held captive for the amusement of humans. Shame on SeaWorld. At one time, when I was naive, I loved SeaWorld and watching the "killer whales". Then I did my research. Haven't been to SW since.

 

[Tawny]

I am glad this is getting so much attention.