When one works with large wild animals this is bound to happen. Killer Whales are large
intelligent creastures who hunt in packs. The Animal Rights Commies predictably used this to push their agenda.
Personally, I would rather see Commies replace rodeo animals. However, commies are quite weak and a matador doing a bull style fight with a commie would be a bore. I could see the commie crying socialized medicine after being branded.
The animal rights crew is really a colossal bore. The critique is largely aimed at ending all zoos and circuses. If the critique were merely about better conditions than this would be another story. The old exhibits were rather sterile. The newer one are much better although sometimes you do not see the animals.
Animal trainers know the risks of their craft. They know the animals are dangerous and danger happens when they let their guard down. The last thing most of these types would ever want is to see their animals euthanized. The famous case of Kieko had the Killer whale retired to a cove and living with human aid for the remainder of his life.
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23 comments:
Beak said,
"The animal rights crew is really a colossal bore. The critique is largely aimed at ending all zoos and circuses."
It actually goes much deeper than that. They ultimately want to end ALL use of animals by humans - medical research, hunting, fishing, pet ownership, leather and food production. They even advocate humane traps for vermin and relocating them when they are caught. What the world needs now is rats, more rats.
What gets put out in the lamestream media about PETA and their knockoffs is not the full story. You have to go visit their websites, read their literature and attend their meetings to pick up on the long range goals. I will say this about these folks though, they are consistent in what they believe and don't try to hide when you do talk to them about their goals. The more strident members sincerely believe that all animals should have the same rights and liberties as human beings. An impossible equation, which ultimately demeans human beings.
"Animal trainers know the risks of their craft. They know the animals are dangerous and danger happens when they let their guard down."
Very true. And sometimes you don't even have to have your guard down. Most animals can turn and lunge at lightening speed. Most folks I know who handled reptiles and other wild animals regularly, inevitably end up getting bit or severely scratched. Most of the time it is not severe but depending on the critter involved, it can be. Being on your guard only REDUCES those risks. Being off guard is a hospital stay or the morgue. Judging from the reports it seems this whale may have been "playing" with the trainer when it took her. But something the size of a bus with 3 inch teeth can't be too gentle. Two other have died in connection with particular whale in the past.
Putting the whale down achieves nothing. It is confined and not going to be a potential public menace the way a viscous dog could be. The only people with access are trained and know and accept the risk. The idiot that breaks into an animal pen because he is drunk, high or seeking a thrill probably needs to be weeded from the gene pool anyway.
What is your position on the issue? That rant was a bit incoherent.
Bottom line, when somebody can't even bring themselves to tell you it's all right to kill head lice, you know there's a problem.
Duckmeister,
PETA etc. are whack jobs.
Nothing is wrong with keeping animals and using animal products.
Animals in captivity are potentially dangerous. Don't necessarily blame and put down the animal when someone is hurt, e.g. that whale is not going to get out and wander around the neighborhood like someone's pit bull can.
I hope that is clearer.
I'm always for Gods' creatures who can't speak for themselves. I think it was this ladys' sister who said she thought her sister would not want it to be put down!
These whales are not in their natural inviroment. Yes, they are trained and pampered but they are too huge to be in this confined setting for the delight of humans, who see them as a giant dressed up in a black and white suit entertaining them...its sad!
Turning them loose would be cruel since some are born in captivity, they would not survive. I say with regret, they should all be takin out to Sea and set free, at least we would not see them die or be executed....it would be Natures' doing.
Its ends up being a show for the mighty dollar at the expense of a life of human and animal/mammal....getting too used to this it seems!
CM
"It actually goes much deeper than that. They ultimately want to end ALL use of animals by humans - medical research, hunting, fishing, pet ownership, leather and food production. They even advocate humane traps for vermin and relocating them when they are caught."
It even goes deeper than that. Ultimately, they want to blur, then erase, the ethical difference between man and beast.
What those "do-gooders" REALLY think of animals show the calls for having the Orca put down now instead of concluding that animals like that ought not to be kept in captivity, let alone being bred there. CM is 100% right.
I'm soory, Alligator. I meant Beaks rant.
Your post was rational and due to the fact that Beak operates this censored board it hadn't been posted when I asked about Beaks hysteria.
Duncy
Commies use the animal rights and environmental movements as fronts.
Who is censored on this board? I post every comment un altered. We function in this manner because Ren' henchmen have spammed this site and made criminal threats.
No problem Duck.
Seems to me that this whale should have been released ages ago. This Orca already had
two notches on its dorsal fin before it went to SeaWorld and has killed yet again.
Now if you guys want to boil this sorry event down into a discussion about capitalism vs. communism - with capitalism being the side that feels it has every right to keep wild animals and communism saying set them free. I think, for once, I'll have to agree.
Who else, but a good capitalist, would be able to ignore the fact that an animal is extremely dangerous and keep it in captivity (where it will have the opportunity to kill again) instead of releasing it. I suppose it's far better to look at the "educational value" of said whale (read capital asset) in a balance sheet manner and decide that future earnings should supercede worker safety and keep the bloody thing.
And, of course, allow your trainers to enter the water with an animal that is a known killer of man.
The show must go on.
Mac
Marine mammal shows require plenty of work between trainer and the Animal.
In the first episode the death was not attributable to this Orca alone. Two females and this particular Orca played volleyball with a trainer. How much of this is attributable to this particular Orca is not known. Some have interpreted it as play gone wrong.
The second episode involves a drunk jumping in the pool. This is
no fault of the animal or Sea World.
This last death has been interpreted in many ways. There are those who also see this as play gone awry. However, I do believe her family when they state that the last thing the deceased would want is for any harm done to her charges.
We did free Willy who was not able to feed himself and sought out human contact. The reality is more complex than the fables.
It seems this whale was slated for release off Iceland when Sea World northwest went under. Before that could happen it got scarfed up by Orlando. They knew that this whale had caused two deaths. However, Sea World Orlando should have said, "let's not use this particular whale" and released it. Someone wasn't very smart in deciding to go ahead with this whale after two strikes.
Today I saw that the CEO of Sea World said that the whale will remain an attraction. I don't think putting the whale down would achieve anything, but this position is rather macabre and morbid. I'm sure they are looking at it strictly from a $$$ standpoint.
I could see keeping a whale that could no longer fend for itself due to injury, strictly educational purposes, etc. but I am of a growing mind not to catch and confine a healthy one simply for showmanship.
This is bizarre! Of course, this particular whale has now a perverted, morbid attraction BECAUSE he has killed three people. Only a totally corrupted society can expect anything else from him. Animals like that ought not to be kept in captivity at all. To think they can be "trained" or even develop an attachment to their human captors is bizarre. The only predator we are able to tame are dogs because of an inexplicable, age-old, "contract" we humans have closed at one point in time with that particular species. Imagine a cat with a height of 64 cm and a weight of 35 kilo, like my German shorthair pointer, in the house. And that is only a moderately sized dog.
It is that crazed leftist ideology that everything on earth is basically good that has brought all that misery over those animals. It is perverted and crazed thinking to apply anthropomorphic standards to animals. The whale is neither good nor evil. Animals don't know ethical standards. And now, as he has "disappointed" the do-gooder brigade by behaving like the animal he is, they want to put him down, a healthy creature. Maybe, realistically, that is the best solution for him, but if it is done it is all for the wrong reasons.
Beak, around here, a bear kills one person, it's dead.
The only difference between that whale and the average rogue bear is, the whale is a commodity. It has future value.
A rogue bear doesn't, and since we already know that if the bear gets the opportunity there's a chance it'll kill again, we don't think twice about doing the intelligent thing, do we?
So, other than for the almighty dollar, why would we give a whale the same opportunity?
And four times, no less.
Mac
Lets take a look at the cases in question,
1) The first case was an episode involving three Orcas. The evidence is not conclusive in this case.
2) A trespasser swam in a tank. Orcas are highly trained animals and an animal should not be punished because a drunk had way too many and jumped in the tank.
3) The trainer violated many procedures and did so knowing the risk. This Orca was not accustomed or trained to have human swimmers in the tank. This is a trainer error.
Mac
Lets take a look at the cases in question,
1) The first case was an episode involving three Orcas. The evidence is not conclusive in this case.
2) A trespasser swam in a tank. Orcas are highly trained animals and an animal should not be punished because a drunk had way too many and jumped in the tank.
3) The trainer violated many procedures and did so knowing the risk. This Orca was not accustomed or trained to have human swimmers in the tank. This is a trainer error.
Yes indeed Beak, three separate instances where a person ends up dead after being around that Orca.
And I get it that you don't see a pattern.
What is it with cityfolk that they don't quite grasp what the adjective wild means when it's used to describe an animal?
"So, other than for the almighty dollar, why would we give a whale the same opportunity?
And four times, no less."
Mac, don't you think there is a difference between a rogue bear (a bear who is living in its natural environment but who has, for some reason, lost its native shyness and avoidance of men and started to kill them) and a whale that is kept in a tank and which is supposed actually to PLAY with people? They tried to turn him into a circus clown and then they are amazed that he still does what is natural to him. But whatever, maybe criteria like "fairness" don't apply here and I'm sure the animal will be better off dead anyway.
I think it is just basically wrong to keep wild, untamable animals in captivity for the amusement of people or for WHATEVER reason.
Beak, animals don't understand the concept of "punishment". They don't know good from bad.
Hey Mac, your comment about city folk not grasping what a wild animal is reminded me of a short op-ed by renowned Native intellectual, Vine Deloria, Jr. I couldn't post the entire article here but the link is below. Beak, if you know of way to include the entire op-ed, that'd be great.
Deloria, Standing Rock Sioux, died five years ago and left behind a laudable body of scholarly and activist work. I was privileged to have been able to meet him a few times and enjoyed him immensely.
I think you'll appreciate his words in this op-ed. I hope you guys are doing well! Just cut and past the url below my name and it should come up.
Ray
http://wholeearth.com/issue/1340/article/59/outside.the.yuppie.zoo
Mac
As the Editrix stated a wild Bear that has taken to killing humans is different from an animal in a tank.The former is a free roaming menace that has learned a dangerous behavior.
It is clear the trainer violated procedures that were established. She did so knowingly and sadly paid for it with her life.
Animals in facilities are not risks to the public and need to be handled carefully.
"Your post was rational and due to the fact that Beak operates this censored board it hadn't been posted when I asked about Beaks hysteria."
Ducky, you really are an arsehole. How many comments of yours has Beak left unpublished? Be honest! He gets a lot of flak from me as well (albeit for different reason) and has published every single one of my rants. To be frank, he is a liberal arsehole anyway to publish your drivel at all.
Setting the comment-facility to "moderated" is a matter of survival for a blog in the age of spam. To me it seems as if Beak has a life and is away from the computer a lot, so comments don't get published all that quickly. To label that censorship is the height of shittyness. If it isn't, get help about your paranoia.
"Animals in facilities are not risks to the public and need to be handled carefully."
They ought not to be handled at all. Their life in a tank is hell. They are highly intelligent animals -- MAMMALS! They ought to be left alone. What purposes do shows like that serve? Voyeurism and dosh, the former of which I find infinitely more disgusting than the latter.
If you ask me, the whale has not nearly killed enough morons.
From the Whole Earth website: "About six years ago we had a rash of tourists in Rapid City, South Dakota being bitten by rattlesnakes at state campgrounds. It seems that they did not regard the snake as dangerous. Each year we have several incidents in western parks involving visitors frolicking or picnicking with local bears much to their discomfort when they discover that the bears are in fact hungry and aggressive. Rangers in Wind Cave National Monument have to be especially alert to prevent tourists from wandering into the buffalo herd to take pictures. People seem to be of the opinion that the animals that are humanized on television should immediately strike up a personal relationship with them when encountered in the wild. Thus, the belief that Yellowstone bears are a western version of Gentle Ben is creating a hazardous situation for wildlife because they are the ones killed when a tourist is injured or frightened.
This is incredible! How stupid can people be? One doesn't even have to resort to the wilderness to know that a lot of animals are dangerous. Go and challenge a herd of COWS in a pasture and you might regret it. Or try to play with some "cute" two-year old colts in a field. Different from the cows they may not even be mean, but four- or fivehundred kilograms of playful flesh with hard hoofs at the end is something to be reckoned with.
I wrote this about a rogue bear in Germany some years ago. Animal rights activists come a close second in the scum-of-the-earth-race to feminists. Animals can't be your "friends". Dogs are the only animals who have this special "covenant" with mankind. A dog is the only potentially dangerous animal we can keep as a pet (therefore setting up dogs for dog fights is a specifically heinous crime) but even with a dog we have to keep strict rules to avoid to turn him potentially into a danger as well. But no cat of the size of even a middle-sized dog could be kept as a pet to begin with. But that "covenant" doesn't mean the dog "loves" you in the way you love him. To not realise that is a recipe for frustration and despair. To anthropomorphise an animal -- ANY animal -- is a crime against nature.
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