http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/03/17/seaworld-orcas-killer-whales/81900498/
>SeaWorld Entertainment said Thursday that the killer whales currently living at its facilities will be its last as it will stop breeding them immediately and phase out theatrical orca shows.
>The move comes nearly three years after SeaWorld came under pressure for its treatment of killer whales and their trainers in the documentary Blackfish. The company had already announced plans to end killer whale shows at its San Diego park following regulatory scrutiny in California.
>The orca shows will end in San Diego in 2017, while the San Antonio and Orlando parks will end the shows by 2019.
>SeaWorld also Thursday announced a new partnership with longtime critic Humane Society of the United States to create educational programs and advocate for the health and welfare of marine life. The company said it would spend $50 million over five years to rescue animals and fight shark-finning and commercial fishing of whales and seals.
>SeaWorld has been struggling with an image problem and corresponding attendance issues in the wake of Blackfish. The company has turned to discounts to juice attendance and a marketing campaign to restore its image, which has suffered heavy setbacks — particularly in California, where regulators last year blocked the company from breeding orcas.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/03/17/why-seaworld-is-ending-its-killer-whale-program-in-one-brutal-chart/
THE FREE MARKET FIXED IT.
Good, these animals deserve to be in the open sea, not caged/walled in in tiny exhibits.
>>67828229
FUCK ORCAS
ONE TOOK MY HAND WHEN I WAS SURFING
I NOW KILL THEM
>>67828229
>Good, these animals deserve to be in the open sea, not caged/walled in in tiny exhibits.
/pol/'s official position on niggers.
>>67829975
It took your hand? That's pretty sad, bro. Why it didn't take both?
But I mean, what the fuck else are you going to do at seaworld? It's like if Arbys stopped selling beef because of pressure from external groups about how wrong eating cows is and then Arbys goes and spends their money on educational material to help the cows to improve their image but what the fuck would anyone go to Arbys for anymore?
>>67830104
But niggers DO deserve to be caged and laughed at, anon.
>make dolphins do tricks
OMG HOW CRUEL!
*eats burger*
>>67830300
seaworld is an amusement park, anon. rides, waterparks, concessions
they're just one of the only places you can see sea life of that size prance around a pool and do stunts so most know them for that
>>67828229
You're a faggot
>>67830602
no shit, but people don't go to seaworld for the rides, the main attraction is the whales
>>67827664
>tfw saw an Orca show when I was kid
>tfw younger generations will never get to
awesome, I can start my "back in my day" list to prove how my life was better than theirs.
>>67829975
Oh Strayans~
Is there nothing in Nature that doesn't want to kill you?
>>67827664
>FALLING 4 DA SHAMU JEW
>mfw future generations will never know the thrill of being splashed by captive slave animals
why live
>>67831038
>not living on a tropical island where whales get beached semi-annually
Used to slide off their tails when I was a.kid cause they're slippery
>>67830300
Orcas apparentely live in very shitty conditions on Seaworld. They form familiar clans yet they are separated when they are very young and put with a bunch of "strangers" (and it's not like putting a group of random zebras or lions together, they are depend more on their groups), also the limited space and etc.
I'm not against zoos or anything, but if you can't take care correctly of a specie don't take it. And if they really cared about the welfare of their major atractive as a company they should do something (I read that last year they had to stop wild captures in exchange of being able to make bigger tanks for their orcas)
>>67830484
>>make dolphins do tricks
for food, imagine having to do 100 jumping jacks every time you wanted something to eat
>>67831273
>>67831249
I'm pointing out the hypocrisy. Why is making animals do tricks 'cruel,' but hunting them for sport, or farming them in shitty conditions isn't?
>>67830896
Well I guess you better get your fix now, it'll become an extinct attraction like the circuses of old.
I'm going to assume Blackfish is sensationalist, animal rights, MUH MAGICAL WHALES bullshit for the most part. It says a lot when the family of the woman killed and other trainers basically said "we're not associated with/want no part in this and they misrepresented things".
>>67831273
I work eight hours a day in order to eat
I thought part of the point of these was to also inspire children to love such animals?
Or did those children grow up and decided to stop Seaworld?
>>67830276
That's gross to be honest.
Orcas are fucking scary. They are the top of the food chain and will kill and eat anything they come across, blue whales, great white sharks, it doesn't matter.
Even the ones in captivity are ruthless killers. If a bird lands in their pool during a show they will not hesitate to stop the show and murder the fuck out of the bird just because. There is one captive orca named Tilikum who has killed three people in separate incidents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_whale_attacks_on_humans
>>67829975
In marriage?
>>67831787
Might be their best defense against the box jellyfish menace.
What is even the point of Seaworld then
Journey to Atlantis?
Orca's are sick fucks that have been known to torture their prey
>>67830767
>dripping blue pills
Get out, cuck
>>67832008
What... like humans? Dolphins? Cats, and other intelligent animals?
>>67832181
yes, what's your point?
>>67831685
>>67832008
Yeah, the term "killer whale" is well deserved. Those fuckers are brutal. And smart as fuck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3__L0oAa2T8
>>67832270
What's yours?
Well, the training was a bit harsh.
>>67831402
>Why is making animals do tricks 'cruel,' but hunting them for sport, or farming them in shitty conditions isn't?
Is not only do tricks, you can teach your dog to do awesome shit and train him well and making him live a good live or you could just neglect his needs for space, company or whatever. Now picture the same with a 12 meter-long sea mammal and things get even more complicated.
I don't consider hunting for sport most ethic of activities tho, but If you make sure the animal has a quick death and you (or the guy you pay for a license to hunt x animal) are very sure it won't affect the population or the ecosystem in a bad way it's ok for me.
And farming them in shitty conditions is cruel, but the problem is that is extremely profitable.And even then is not like you are doing it for shits and giggles. Bulls are raised in open fields and have a extremely high chance to be killed in a local festivity (speared, with flares on his horns,etc) or by a matador, and that is a far worse fate than being shot in the neck with a bolt pistol.
>>67827664
Looks like the whale fell asleep on it's back and it's fin never recovered. You'd think they would surgically repair it since he basically a whore for fish.
Well, the Chinese are going to love this
>>67832364
idk, i just upset when people make edgy comments like "le humans are worse than animals" even though it's well known that animals can be just as cruel.
also i know that humans are animals, just didn't want to use the energy to distinguish.
That's exactly what I was implying lol
Those comments are so fucking blue pilled I overdosed on them
>tfw used to work at seaworld
>>67827664
I predict bankruptcy by around 2024-2026.
>>67832936
What was it like?
>>67832936
1. What'd you do?
2. Did you like it?
3. How do you feel about SW now?
>>67833059
I'd go with 2019 since the whale show is the majority of visitors go to
>>67831468
and everyone is secretly watching you for entertainment, josh.
;)
>>67832596
Orca and dolphin fins falls over in captivity because the water pressure isn't high enough because you can't feasibly have 300 meter deep pools. The cartilage in the fins loses strength and it can't support its own weight, like how astronauts on the ISS are unable to walk in earth gravity when they get back.
>>67832008
Many predators play with their food before eating it, also:
>Elephants rape and kill rhinos
>Sea otters kidnap seal cubs to fuck them to death
>Some bird species allow their offspring to fight against eachother, most of the times ending in fraticide.
>Chimps form gangs to kick other specimens
We are all sick fucks m8
>>67833233
Interesting, thanks.
They're bad ass.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rfbHZRO54cE
>>67833262
yeah i never implied otherwise dipshit fucking drown yourself
>>67831273
id get swole as fuck brah
>>67833461
Jesus
>>67827664
>Seaworld generates lots of money for conservation and aquatic animal rescue efforts
>Looses shit ton of money because no one cares about a glorified aquarium without whale shows
Have fun hauling out those beached whales, senpai.
Kind of unrelated, but did you guys know Shamu died in '71? My parents always told me they were taking me to see Shamu.
>>67830276
What the fuck, guy
#CetaceanLivesMatter
>>67827664
>we can make a tank large enough shark whales feel comfortable enough to reproduce
>we can't make a tank large enough for a fucking whale
I call bullshit and say Seaworld is being a bunch of cucks and incompetent animal keepers.
>>67833233
>300 meters
That's below the photic zone AND the maximum depth of an orca dive. I doubt they even need to get that deep on nature (being most of their preys on the surface and that).Still even an 30 meter tank is unfeasible, so your point is not that bad. But most of the time dolphin dorsal fins seem completely straight, or almost, unlike orcas.So there is something more there I think.
>>67834264
not a peta guy but the biology of fish and mammals is very different
Didn't the whale from Free Willy spend so much time in captivity that when he was returned to the ocean he died?
Whales that have lived in captivity like that can't be released into the wild. They can't form the social groups necessary for survival, but I guess it's cool that they wont force them into those shows.
>>67834336
>30 meter tank unfeasible
I'll go and point again to the whale shark tanks and how they are fucking breeding on their own. Once you have animals breeding on their own, it's pretty safe to say they are in a well designed habitat.
Sure, this means Seaworld will have to take it's name a bit more literally and build a giant ass tank like the one they made in Japan, but for fucks sakes, this is your business.
>>67834591
And? The whale shark was, and is, an animal we have far worse knowledge off and only thanks to the giant ass tanks we have been able to say anything more useful than "yeah, it's pretty big".
We have studied, kept in captivity alive, and breed orcas for close to 70 years now. If you can't build a proper tank for it when we can build tanks for other less studied animals (we have tanks were Abyss creatures are reproducing), then you are doing it wrong.
>>67834641
Most animals die when release into the wild because releasing an animal back into the wild is retarded beyond measure.
>>67834336
dolphins dorsal fins are also much smaller and thus weigh less
>>67833461
not sure which part is more terrifying, the teeth or the dragging straight down
>>67834641
Yep. Reintroducing whales is extremely difficult, especially since they may be rejected by wild pods.
>>67835046
Fuck that. Did you dog suffer terribly when you taught it how to catch a stick, or when you made it learn how to roll? No, because shows don't fucking kill you. The fact all seaworld animals live close to 10-20 years longer than an animal in the wild should tell you a lot.
>>67834591
I was going to say this.
Whale sharks have families and are okay cruising a coast at one depth and grazing.
Orcas are highly social, thousand-kilometer-trekking hunters. They don't need a pool, they need the whole ocean.
The more apt comparison would be great white sharks, which, for related reasons, have never been successfully kept.
>>67835183
>may
Will. Pods barely tolerate each other after multiple contacts, much less a loner with no fucking clue of the language.
>>67835250
>I don't know shit about whale sharks
>I don't know that white sharks die due to injruy and sickness
>I don't know why orca's travel
Also, fucking grazing, nigga?
>>67827664
Anyone seen Blackfish? Is it worth watching?
>>67833852
I think shamu is the stage name they give to the main killer whale, so when one dies they just pick a new shamu.
>>67835056
>I'll go and point again to the whale shark tanks and how they are fucking breeding on their own
You can't just compare a whale shark with an orca in terms of care. Is like saying that if you can keep a hamster healthy you can do the same with a lizard.
A whale shark is a passive loner that bases it's life on eating and swimming slowly. An orca is a pack hunter and is far more active than the former and you would need more individuals, and thus you would need an even bigger tank (in width and length).
In fact, the orca pools and the whale shark tanks are about the same size. With the difference that the sharks share their tank with other animals.
>>67827664
Reminder "Blackfish" was based on testimony from an orca handler in training who was fired for incompetence.
>>67833461
god damn.
>>67835881
*depth
>>67831273
They don't stop feeding the dolphins if they don't follow orders you idiot. Most of the 'tricks' that they do are actually an excersice regimen and health test anyway.
>>67835720
If you're into activist propaganda, then yes.
>>67827664
Good. Never liked shit like this. Dont even like zoos desu
>>67836289
And that's why all animals will die off.
>>67835881
>>67836041
>same depth
Alberto, deja de fumar tanto.
>>67836399
>Shark whale tanks are 10 meters in depth
>Orca tanks in Orlando and San Antonio are about 15 according to Wikipedia
Got a different result checking another site before writing that post, but still the difference is minimal compared to what they could need.
>>67835720
Yeah, more than anything it shows how screwed up psychologically a captive whale can become. If you've ever seen the domestic child abuse documentary Child of Rage, it's like that for marine animals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2-Re_Fl_L4
Also it paints a really awful picture of coverup by past Seaworld management of their personnel training and safety practices at their OSHA hearing.
That all said it's really overtly biased.
>>67827664
Good, it's time they shut down that racist program. Funny how the black whales are "killers", yet the deadliest animal is a GREAT WHITE.
>>67837488
Well... Killer Whales eat Great Whites for breakfast, actually... Sometimes literally.
Maybe think of them as the black and white police cars of the oceans?
>>67837488
I wonder who is behind this post...
>>67827664
well at least i bought a giant orca stuffed toy in san diego last year
>>67837034
>>67827664
This is where animal rights activist and eco-activists sign their own death warrant.
Do you folks have any idea how many children are inspired to "save the ocean" by these damned killer whale shows? How much ecological awareness come directly from the sort of spectacles Sea World and their ilk were putting on?
And now you're removing probably the single most impacting emotional event your average child can have in regards to that? To see and touch this stunning creature? To have a literal physical experience with the sheer majesty and beauty of the thing?
This is going to cut the next generation of ecologically aware individuals in half.
If you don't think it's worth making a few whales uncomfortable, to inspire millions to save the rest, you've won the battle and lost the war. Sadly, the human heart always has plenty of room for an individual sob story, but never time for the death and suffering on a massive scale of the sort that these very presentations were helping to prevent.
>>67838491
It's really not worth it, specially because the moment you use a single charismatic animal arbitarily as a flag for conservation it ends up being questioned by many. Just look at the panda.
There are far more convincing reasons to conserve the oceans (even those that affect the part that hurts people most, which isn't the heart but the wallet) and inspire people. And if those aren't doing shit, how is a whale that not every middle class child has seen with their own eyes going to improve that?
>>67839419
Where do you think half of the adults that make up the various "save the ocean" organizations, that lead to shit like dolphin safe tuna, saner fisheries, and whaling being almost universally illegal came from? What do you think so inspired them to fall in love with whales and the ocean?
Shows like these are the only reason these animals, and hundreds like them, haven't been driven into extinction already. They were the vanguard that gave a face-to-face experience, that he majority of children had at some point in their lives, that would otherwise be a meaningless statistic.
They may not have been aware of it, but the various Shamoos across the nation and the world were literally responsible for saving their species.
You can't blame the whales for not understanding that. ...But you can certainly blame the humans for being so myopic as to forget it.
>>67835720
No.
It can be interesting if you don't know any better but if you bother to do actual research you'll find the movie is full of metric fuck tons of bullshit. Straight up propaganda.
>>67827664
>>67838491
The logic of torture an animal to inspire/pay for protection isn't very sound.
>>67829975
Aye, the legendary One-Handed Shitposter...
>>67838491
I think these passed several decades have drilled in the minds of many younger generations that larger structural initiatives are important in conservation.
The wildfires out West and in Yellowstone Nation Park in 1988 have taught us that the Smokey Bear campaign worked too well and made an overgrowth of tinder fuel available and now we need controlled burns.
The on-going fights against invasive species of reptiles in Florida and Australia.
There's also the case of Wild American Horses, once nearly extinct, but now in such surplus that they threaten the grazing supply for many animals in the Western States:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS16KFSrhRs
It's a matter of balance and, yes, sustainability.
The Louisiana Black Bear is schedules to be removed from the Endangered Species list soon, but some groups are suing to keep it on the list.
http://news.yahoo.com/real-life-teddy-bear-no-longer-endangered-120716646.html
http://www.home.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/environmental-group-petitions-to-have-florida-black-bear-protected-as/2269766
You don't hear about the Florida Panther anymore even though it's still endangered and basically confined to breeding space in the Everglades.
I got to watch the Shamu show a few months ago.
:^)
>it will stop breeding them immediately
Hippies cock blocking whales.
>>67833059
>I predict bankruptcy by around 2024-2026.
Try 2021
Unless they turn Sea world into a giant water park
>>67829975
I've heard tales of the one handed shit poster. Never thought I would cross paths with the son of a bitch
>>67838491
>>67827664
It's more than uncomfortable. That limp fin only happens in captivity. It's a sign of clinical depression. Consider how much space they have in the ocean and what they are confined to in SeaWorld. It's like a human living in a closet all their life.
>>67827664
I side with the hippies on this one, who fucking cares about keeping animals captive
I don't see why they don't have open tanks kind like a doggy door. Whales go out and do what the want in the wild and come back at certain times for free food and shit.
Will they still have dolphins and sea turtles and shit?
I'm not a petafag or anything, but I do feel like the whales are a probably too big to be kept in an enclosure comfortably.
>>67841603
>Whales go out and do what the want in the wild and come back at certain times for free food and shit.
Did you think about what you posted
>>67841603
Whales aren't scavengers
>Sea World without Shamu
That's like taking Mickey Mouse out of Disneyland for fucks sake.
Not these fucking hippies depriving the Americans an experience to be within 500 ft of an Orca
>>67827664
Thanks god I got to see that.
>>67841842
>Shamu
shamu died like 40 years ago..
>>67841994
The name shamu is still used in performances.
>>67840347
Like I said, not everyone has seen an orca. And I'd say dolpins are far more famous and common. Orcas are ALMOST as known as bottlenose dolphins by most people because they are pretty much giant dolphins with panda eyes.Also it is still functionally an aquarium, and while is not that impressive you can't just outright deny its effect.
Old zoos were absolute shitholes where animals were kept in concrete boxes, fortunately that changed and there are zoos where animals have somewhat comfortable lives and mimicking their habitat (or do you expect a kid that think that lions live in concrete instalations to care about their real home) if they can do the same with orcas, good.
But the whole the bad of a few for the greater good doesn't work that way.
>>67841751
They can fuck and kill shit in the wild then come back to try and eat a human.
>>67841994
Shamu is a title given to all killer whales in Seaworld
>>67841994
And why did he die?
Because he was released. He was completely unable to survive in the wild and died miserably. SeaWorld hasn't collected a whale from the wild in ~30 years. They are all bred and raised in captivity, adjusting to a lifestyle that makes them incompatible with the wild.
It was Shamu or another similar case where the whale would constantly swim up to passenger boats to be pet and interact with people, as it had grown accustomed to and enjoyed.
SeaWorld is a bunch of spineless fucks for caving into this, especially considering that Blackfish has been proven to be nothing more than propaganda and founded totally on lies. The SJWs have only guaranteed that the next generation of people won't know or care about killer whales nearly as much as they do now.
>>67834336
Deepest recorded dive from orca has been 259m. While it's rare that they dive more than 100m.. hell most of the time they stay in depth of less than 10m
>>67830921
Maybe it isn't that australian fauna is dangerous maybe it's just australian fauna hates australians?
Honestly could you blame them?
>>67829975
With what? your stub?
>tfw I'll never get to take my kids to see Shamu
>they'll never get to sit in the first few rows and get drenched while staring face to face with those smug fucking orcas through the glass
Thanks liberals
Strange reading these news when suddenly 50% of Billboards in San Diego advertise Seaworld
>>67831402
An orca is at least as smart as a nigger. They have varying dialects and cultures and complex clan relationships. A cow is more like walking broccoli.
>>67831402
Cetaceans are basically as intelligent as apes. They pass all the same tests.
i think i might have a phobia of orcas. it's the only creature i have nightmare about every now and then. it's always a massive orca though. a couple weeks ago i dreamt one the size of a city building came from the sky and i was in a water park trying to hide from it but it found me and ate me. i also have dreams of being in the deep ocean and massive, absolutely gigantic orcas swimming beneath and around me, and opening their mouths and sucking me under by the water displacement.
fuck orcas
>>67838491
While I agree being that I am one of those kids that was inspired by the killer whale shows at seaworld I also concede that animal rights groups are right about not keeping orcas in captivity in fact I would say that this is the only situation I agree with those groups.
Orca's do absolutely terribly in captivity for example the average lifespan of wild orcas is about 60-70 years but only about 40 in captivity.
>>67832335
>how can seals even compare
But for real that shit is fucking amazing and interesting.
>>67844206
...a handful of whales, born and raised in captivity, living maybe three quarters of their normal life span, is a small sacrifice to make, to save all the rest.
Without these shows, Sea World will go under. Without Sea World and its ilk, few children will have any direct contact with real ocean life, and almost certainly none with anything as spectacular as the Orca.
The ecological impact of man on of the ocean will thus be mere statistics. The human heart does not bleed for statistics.
These animals may very well all go extinct, thanks to some short sighted folks who failed to see the bigger picture.
>>67829975
WHITE WHALE
HOLY GRAIL
WHITE WHALE
HOLY GRAIL
>>67830896
Bullshit. The kraken at Orlando seaworld is hands down in the top 3 roller coasters in Florida.
>>67838491
>This is going to cut the next generation of ecologically aware individuals in half.
your exaggerating
Whales are overrated anyways, let's move on to sharks.
>>67830300
dem curly fries. chicken tenders are ok. have a glass of arbys sauce
>>67833262
Sau e on elephantrape
>>67827664
Who cares? Things adapt, especially if theyre born into that environment. We keep pigs so we can eat them, whats wrong with keeping whales to inspire wonder and joy in kids?
>>67845415
>These animals may very well all go extinct,
Orcas are not endangered even slightly
They are the most prosperous mammals on earth after humans,living in every ocean climate in all regions.
They are in no risk of extinction.
>>67848098
Actually, in a lot of areas they are endangered, largely due to overfishing. Eco-activists, raised on Sea World's shows, have been the single biggest instigators on laws mitigating and regulating said overfishing.
The outrage that would rise from children so raised is also the only reason Orca aren't among the things being overfished. There's a lot of potential profit being ignored there, simply because far too many children have such attachments to these whales.
After a generation or two of no such children, these things will be on the menu again, and be hunted much more efficient and much larger force than they've ever faced before.
Barring a resurgence of such children with emotional attachments to said critters, they will in all likelihood, be hunted into extinction shortly thereafter.
>>67845996
This
If you haven't been to the kraken in FL you need to shut the fuck up, SeaWorld Orlando is the shit! food sucks but everything else including the rides are pretty good IMO.
Seaworld is just weird to me, if I wanted to ride roller coasters I'd drive to six flags. If I wanted to look at fish I'd go to the aquarium.
>mfw the Free Market has been beaten back by anti freedom socialist cucks
this is a dark day indeed...
>>67849532
>If I wanted to look at fish I'd go to the aquarium.
It was an aquarium, just writ large... The roller coasters got added quite a bit later.
>>67831273
>amerifats literally L I T E R A L L Y equate exercise with torture
YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS SHIT UP
>>67848720
>Actually, in a lot of areas they are endangered
They aren't even categorized as least concern.
>>67830276
>>67830236
The mods just deleted dolphinsex copypasta...
...this is a strange board sometimes.
>>67849948
Not globally, but locally there's plenty of instances of declining population and even complete exodus due to declining salmon counts and the like.
...and once we start hunting them again, they be fucked.
>>67838491
There's shit tons of animals to inspire future generations. All they need is a flagship species something cute or bad ass. Tigers, elephants, pandas, rhinos, and so forth.
Especially with the internet and social media new and unique endangered animals are brought to peoples attention all the time.
Thanks, liberals. Hope you're happy, you've managed to take even more joy out of the world.
>>67827664
I know captivity is shit but if you've never seen an orca up close and in person (like you never will from a boat) there is nothing else like it. Literally a life changing experience, no bullshit, and thanks to SJWs very soon no one will ever have that experience again.
>>67838491
This.
Congrats. They "saved" the whales that were in captivity. Now the next generation won't give a shit about saving the whales in the wild.
Expect extinctions as a result of this.
>>67851006
idk man. I've seen orcas plenty of times in my life, I don't think it's a life changing experience. Sea World is great for their penguin exhibit, and touchable dolphins.
>>67828229
Most were born there so I don't care, as long as they're not captured
fuck killer whales
>>67851546
fuck you
>>67833852
>>67835760
There's like 20 shamus
Seriously, if you watch Blackfish theres a fucking genealogy chart they made.
Those faggots had a lot of time on their hands.
