Blackfish

[Luddly Neddite]

John Hargrove was on Bill Maher talking about his new documentary concerning the mistreatment and abuse of Orcas by Sea World. He didn't say when or where the film would be shown in the US but here's the website -

Blackfish Official Film Site

A mesmerizing psychological thriller with a killer whale at its centre, Blackfish is the first film since Grizzly Man to show how nature can get revenge on man when pushed to its limits.

There's also a link to Sea Wrold's reaction.

 

[TheOldSchool]

This is on Netflix now. Just finished watching it. It's unbelievable. I can never go to Sea World again or support what happens to these animals. It's a really captivating documentary and I recommend it highly.

 

[Yurt]

watched it last night. great film. i've always hated sea world for their capture of these great creatures.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

When younger and still going to zoos and oceanriums I recall a conversation with a dolphin trainer at a Sea World. She said something to the effect that the international community of trainers was very close-knit and, "you would always have a couch to crash on travelling at other trainer's homes." So I think the trainers are good-intentioned, but the fact remains holding sentient animals in captivity as orcas are (for being able to recognize their own reflections among other things,) is immoral. And because it's all about making money, even if some science is being done that doesn't justify the base immorality of imprisoning animals like an orca that in the wild travels continuously.

An experiment on Mythbusters involving goldfish to see if their memory really is just minutes long, thus keeping them in tiny aquariums wasn't cruel, disproved the myth as they remembered mazes past 24 hours.

An orca's memory and mind is equal to our own. So you have to ask if your entire world was just the big tank at Sea World, how long before you went nuts and starting killing your captors?

 

[Shrimpbox]

Well guys as one who has spent 40 years on the water this is a subject I can comment on with authority. First let me say that the romantic notion that porpoises and whales are just humans in water is overblown. Are they smarter than the average bear and social beings, yes, absolutely. Do they have certain abilities that are way beyond human capabilities? Yes. Are they magnificent animals that should be held in awe? Yes. But is a porpoise routinely smart enough not to run into a spinning propeller and certain death when chasing a flying fish? Unfortunately no. And does the pod of porpoises cease and desist their activities when one of their own is mortally wounded? No.
Now I have been to a sea world water park and I have been saddened to see these creatures confined, not mal treated but confined, because I have seen a school of porpoises half a mile off racing to get to my boat and feast on by catch or watch them frolick at the bow of the boat for miles while we were traveling, but where I come down on this is tha we are only talking about a very few critters and if it wasn't for sea world or whatever millions of people would not get to experience these animals and appreciate the beauty of nature. Probably a whole lot of kids have been inspired to go into marine biology. Nothing is or will ever be perfect in this world but in this case the good far outweighs the bad.

 

[jwoodie]

Stop projecting your own psychoses onto the whales. They are not humans.