Blackfish (and other general commentary on orcas in captivity)

Has anybody seen this yet? I thought it was a well-made documentary. Granted, a one-sided one, and many of the facts are already publically available (specifically that Sea World and other marine parks for years spread the lie that orcas only live 25-30 years, and longer in captivity than in the world, when their lifespan is actually much, much shorter in captivity), but it did provide significant video evidence that was at times shocking.

Being from Orlando, I remember when Dawn Brancheau's death occurred - it was shocking, and the initial party line was "she accidentally fell in", which later became "he pulled her in by the ponytail". I left it at that at the time, but lost track of the story. I didn't even realize there are many spectators who actually claim she was grabbed by the arm (somewhat supported by the fact that it was ripped off), or the grisly details of her autopsy.

It's easy to point fingers at 'evil corporations', but Sea World seems like your typical ethically-challenged company - I have a friend who used to work there and she's told me some stories, though none juicy.

So...thoughts on the film, orcas in captivity, etc?

My ill-informed opinion would be:

Having somewhere to put the animals so they don't get hunted to extinction good

Running these places as businesses requiring animals to do tricks or be otherwise bothered by people bad

and it would be cool if someone who knows more than I do about this explains if/where I'm wrong?

I'm no expert either, but I found this document also illuminating: http://www.orcanetwork.org/nathist/biennial.pdf

The content was gripping, the doc was made very cable-cookie-cutter (ie CNN Films).

think that's a fair statement.

my brother used to work at sea world in san antonio for 4 years. now he's a vegan and big-uppin this doc.

one of the most horrifying moments is actual footage of an attack (off-hours) in 2006 where a trainer almost drowned, barely escaping with his life.

it's like, you can have all of the safety precautions in place, but once a several-ton whale has a hold of you, there is no way for someone to directly intervene and rescue you. just using techniques to convince the whale to release you, which may or may not work. As one ex-employee put it, you find out just how 'helpless' you are against it.

they also show footage of Sea World employees claiming that captive Orcas live longer than those in the wild, which has been thoroughly debunked (it's hard to tell if they were blatantly lying, or if it was just that in the 90s, there wasn't as strong of a scientific consensus). but still...the significant lifespan drop and the dorsal fin collapse is enough to make me swear off these places now.

also, won't spoil it, but the most heartbreaking scene is the whales 'wailing' scene. if you see it, you'll know what I mean.

know what you mean, makes me angry and ashamed. there are monsters in this world and they are us.

this was remarkably intense & saddening

there's a humongous backlash against this film in my area - mostly because I live 3 minutes from SeaWorld and it's probably at its peak of popularity at the moment. also much of it comes from employees of Sea World, which is to be expected.

it gets kind of old, I mean appeals to authority are somewhat tolerable when it's a trainer making the statement but I tend to roll my eyes when the dude that works in the gift shop says "as an employee of Sea World, I can tell you this is all baloney!".

my aforementioned ex-SW employee brother can attest to this. the trainers in the doc have been basically excommunicated. lots of friendships broken. my brother included since he's buddies with the main trainer in the doc.

I hate our local paper even more after they published what amounts to a whiny butthurt piece from an ex-employee that is dripping with unearned condescension.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-ed-seaworld-whale-breed-end-bad-for-conservation-032016-20160319-story.html

"the science says this - I'm not going to give any citations or tell you where to look, just be assured it does" (ftr, it doesn't, and many scientific journal publications contradict what he says).

He seems to be saying that they outlive those in the wild because all those in the wild will be dead. SCIENCE!

At its core, SeaWorld, or any zoo for that matter, is a societal cornerstone of education, research, awareness and conservation.

http://previews.123rf.com/images/sprokop/sprokop1008/sprokop100800084/7571899-SAN-DIEGO-JULY-9-Shamu-and-other-killer-whales-during-the-finale-of-the-inspirational-show-called-Be-Stock-Photo.jpg

is dude seriously saying zoos are the last line of defense to species loss? i mean the place that was previously owned by anheuser busch and he's mewling about "this all went down hill when we became publicly traded" fuck outta here

Saw this and fuck this