Empty the Tanks

Saturday was such a wonderful experience! We joined with hundreds of thousands around the world for the "Empty the Tanks" protest. At Sea World San Diego we were part of over 800 others standing up for animal rights (the largest protest at Sea World SD ever). I am a strong believer in being a voice for the voiceless and that's what we were. Keeping Orcas in captivity is not about rescue or education - - it's about $$$! I've shared before that I used to be a huge supporter of Sea World and their rescue work, but the good cannot outweigh the bad. Until all cetaceans are released I urge everyone to boycott Sea World and any aquarium that keeps whales/dolphins/porpoises in captivity. They deserve to be free...and at the VERY LEAST the breeding needs to STOP!! I've heard it said that I'm just jumping on the "Blackfish" bandwagon, but I did not support Sea World's captivity of cetaceans even before I saw that film. However, it forced me to examine my beliefs in a way I hadn't. I am proud of myself for being out there and I hope that when Carter is my age he'll have a hard time even comprehending a world that once imprisoned such intelligent, majestic creatures.

Don't Buy A Ticket to Sea World

I'm the type of person who feels a strong call to fight for those who can't fight for themselves. That is what called me to adopt our fur baby, Noel (Rosie was a rescue found loose in the street) and stand firmly in the belief, "Adopt! Don't shop!" The issue that currently tugs on my heartstrings and sense of what is right is stopping the captivity of cetaceans (dolphins, whales, porpoises). There has been a lot of buzz around this issue since the release of, "The Cove," and more recently, "Blackfish."

I've written about this topic on my old blog, but I wanted to touch on it again because it has affected me so much. I recently read an interview of "Blackfish" director, Gabriela Cowperthwaite in which she said, "I'd always thought if I had to be an animal in captivity, I'd probably choose to be a Shamu, getting hugs and fish. I was really ignorant about that world." I feel the same way. I've been a Sea World pass holder more than once before and thought that Sea World was doing amazing things. In fact, even now I believe that Sea World has done good things in regards to animal rescue, however; the good does not erase the bad.

I took these photos during a show in 2006 (when I was very naive to the truth of the situation):

At the time I thought, "How cool for that girl!" Now I look at the picture and think #1 how sad and #2 how easy it would have been for her to slip and either fall in or get pulled in. 

And please don't try to force "it's educational" down my throat. Being ridden is not educational.

Jumping, flipping and doing "tricks" for food is not educational.

Throwing a man into the air is not educational. And NONE of it is natural behavior for an orca.

Sea World has released a number of newspaper ads and has a "Truth About Blackfish" page and an open letter regarding Orcas on their website. Honestly, they both make me feel even more disdain for Sea World because it's a continuation of the lies. They twist the truth to turn things in their favor, but I can easily see right through that, as can many other people around the world that will no longer support any park that keeps cetaceans. 

A diagram that shows all of the inbreeding that has taken place...that's why Sea World hasn't had to steal any from the wild (or they purchase them from another park)

There is an open letter back to Sea World on The Orca Project's site and it says exactly what I think. I could write my own thoughts, but Amy Costanzo has already done a great job. Please, please take the time to read that letter here.

I can't force anyone to stop attending "abusement parks" as they are often referred to, but I still stand by the decision to never step foot in one myself. As I hear about share holders selling and stocks dropping, I take heart in the fact that others feel the same way and are refusing to buy tickets. It isn't entertainment and it isn't education. It's just plain sad and very, very wrong.

"No aquarium, no tank in a marine land, however spacious it may be, can begin to duplicate the conditions of the sea. And no dolphin who inhabits one of those aquariums or one of those marine lands can be considered normal." ~Jacques Cousteau