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[Nostremitus]

Has anyone else gotten one of these?

From the email:

SeaWorld needs your help! Legislation has been introduced in Congress, HR 4019 (Schiff, D-CA) that would bring an end to killer whales at federally licensed facilities, like SeaWorld. Please click here to send a personal letter of opposition to your member of congress today!

Hundreds of millions of people have been inspired by the killer whales in our care, and SeaWorld is a world leader in animal research, rescue and rehabilitation.

Passage of this misguided legislation would rob future generations of the opportunity to better understand and ultimately protect killer whales in the wild by seeing them up close. It would also bring to an end research in our parks that is helping to understand and ultimately mitigate factors endangering whales in the wild. As you are well aware:

SeaWorld is a global leader in the understanding and care of killer whales. The whales at SeaWorld are healthy and thriving and live as long as their counterparts in the wild.
We have not collected from the wild in more than 35 years, and will not do so in the future.
We are leaders in protecting and preserving marine animals and have rescued and rehabilitated more than 27,000 since 1965.
SeaWorld has always supported science-based regulation and we look forward to continued collaboration with the government so that together we meet our shared goals of protecting animal welfare and saving the wild.

Members of congress need to hear from you! Please click here to send a letter of opposition to HR 4019 today. Also, if you have been inspired by a visit to SeaWorld you will be given the opportunity to personalize your letter with that story.

Thank you in advance for your continued support of SeaWorld and your compassion and concern for animals in our care and in the wild.









©2015 SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved.
View our privacy policy. Unsubscribe
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment • P.O. Box 690129 • Orlando, FL 32869

Also...

Could you people READ THE FUCKING BILL before posting?

https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr4019/BILLS-114hr4019ih.pdf

It prevents taking, importing, exporting, and breeding orcas for exhibition and display purposes. It does not force the release of orcas currently in captivity. It does not prevent rescuing wild orcas so long as they are not to be used as public attractions.

 

[The Beard]

Fuck SeaWorld. Killer whales are intelligent mammals with feelings, they should not be kept in swimming pools so they can make you money by doing bullshit tricks.

SeaWorld needs to die.

 

[Nostremitus]

Fuck SeaWorld. Killer whales are intelligent mammals with feelings, they should not be kept in swimming pools so they can make you money by doing bullshit tricks.

SeaWorld needs to die.

I agree, I had originally put "Make me captive and force me to jump through hoops for food if old" but thought it may be too inflammatory.

 

[fluffydelusions]

Fuck SeaWorld. Killer whales are intelligent mammals with feelings, they should not be kept in swimming pools so they can make you money by doing bullshit tricks.

SeaWorld needs to die.

Yep

 

[Madness]

Fuck Seaworld, I hope the ban happens. Future generations don't need to see Killer Whales in caged glass enclosures to understand they need fucking oceans to survive and thrive. Though who knows. Humans will probably start killing orcas en masse too, justify it for food or some kind of medicine. We've got people eating chimpanzees and gorillas as bush mean (97-98% same DNA as humans), elephants are being killed for their feet to be used as stools, their tusks for ivory, Tigers are killed and their penis ground into balms and liquids, bears killed for rugs and carpets, sharks finned and then thrown overboard so people can make a disgusting soup to show off their affluence. Now people have even started to increase eating horse, alligator, and turtle meat, just because they have the ability to eat it.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

sorry but we're right to ban whales....

 

[NealMcCauley]

Just give up already.

sorry but we're right to ban whales....

That's probably one of my top 5 episodes just because of that image.

 

[Wowfunhappy]

A huge corporation encouraging customers to write to congress about stuff like this kind of rubs me the wrong way. Although I guess I felt differently when it was Google and Net Neutrality, so maybe I have double standards.

I don't really know enough about this issue. I do think there's an argument to be had on both sides though—having them in captivity is useful for research. Also, while I know that orca's don't breed very often in captivity, I still feel like it offers some protection were they ever to go completely extinct in the wild.

 

[HUELEN10]

I am on Sea World's side on this one; they aren't going out of their way to get more Orcas, and they are doing a lot of good for all kinds of creatures. In Florida, they are well known for helping our wildlife. It's okay if you don't support them, but there is so much blind ignorance,

Fucking Blackfish...

 

[FloppyDelux]

sorry but we're right to ban whales....

Love that episode.

 

[Alphahawk]

I kinda just assumed Seaworld would just take the L. I thought they already stopped have killer whale shows and were concentrating exclusively on dolphin shows not.

I really do not see the porpoise of this letter.

 

[kiunchbb]

Siding with Seaworld here too, suck for Orca, but the funding that SeaWorld get goes to saving wildlife too. Seaworld is not a nonprofit, but some funding still better than none, and no one will foot the damn bill if SeaWorld stop giving.

 

[Rydeen]

To those saying that SeaWorld should release the Orcas they currently have in captivity back into the wild, I'd like to remind you of Keiko the whale's fate after years of being in captivity and used to the interaction with humans:

Keiko finally departed Icelandic waters with wild whales in early August 2002. However, about three weeks later he showed up in a Norway's Skålvik Fjord, apparently seeking contact with human beings and allowing children to ride on his back.[11] His caretakers relocated to Norway and continued to conduct boat-follows with Keiko for the next 15 months.[12] He failed to reintegrate with wild whales,[13] but on the basis of girth measurements and blood tests, it was assumed that he fed during his 900 mile journey to Norway from Iceland.[14] Keiko switched between different groups of wild killer whales, often remaining on the periphery, at distances of 100–300 m, with his head pointing toward the closest whales.[15]

Keiko died in Taknes Bay, Norway while swimming in the fjords on December 12, 2003, at about 27 years of age. Pneumonia was determined as his probable cause of death.

At this point, the whales living in Seaworld parks are too attached to humans, and do not have the instincts to survive in the wild for long. Keiko's story is a sad reminder of what's in store for the whales currently living in the parks if they are returned to the wild.

That doesn't make what SeaWorld did in the past right, but at this point its probably in the best interest of the whales in the parks currently to stay there.

 

[Alphahawk]

Siding with Seaworld here too, suck for Orca, but the funding that SeaWorld get goes to saving wildlife too. Seaworld is not a nonprofit, but some funding still better than none, and no one will foot the damn bill if SeaWorld stop giving.

But what are the chances of this mailing campaign actually having an effect? Either way it just gives people more reason to hate Seaworld and drives the public against them. Thus giving them less income to spend on helping wildlife.

 

[HUELEN10]

Siding with Seaworld here too, suck for Orca, but the funding that SeaWorld get goes to saving wildlife too. Seaworld is not a nonprofit, but some funding still better than none, and no one will foot the damn bill if SeaWorld stop giving.

People also tend to forget that smaller places are less controlled, and as such have more room and cracks to actually do more harm than good.

But try telling that to a blind Sea World hater,

Take it from someone who deals with those that work there; the people at Sea World right now are there because they LOVE the animals and want to help them!

 

[Alphahawk]

To those saying that SeaWorld should release the Orcas they currently have in captivity back into the wild, I'd like to remind you of Keiko the whale's fate after years of being in captivity and used to the interaction with humans:



At this point, the whales living in Seaworld parks are too attached to humans, and do not have the instincts to survive in the wild for long. Keiko's story is a sad reminder of what's in store for the whales currently living in the parks if they are returned to the wild.

That doesn't make what SeaWorld did in the past right, but at this point its probably in the best interest of the whales in the parks currently to stay there.

This is a good point, but I have to imagine that any ban on captive whales would take the Keiko story into account. They must have some sort of transition plan.

 

[Toxi]

Siding with Seaworld here too, suck for Orca, but the funding that SeaWorld get goes to saving wildlife too. Seaworld is not a nonprofit, but some funding still better than none, and no one will foot the damn bill if SeaWorld stop giving.

I am on Sea World's side on this one; they aren't going out of their way to get more Orcas, and they are doing a lot of good for all kinds of creatures. In Florida, they are well known for helping our wildlife. It's okay if you don't support them, but there is so much blind ignorance,

Fucking Blackfish...

Sea World can continue existing with this legislation, just without keeping orcas in captivity.

Yes, they'll take a loss. So does any other industry when regulation goes through congress. I do not see why their current funding to wildlife is reason to argue against an orca ban.

 

[Korey]

People also tend to forget that smaller places are less controlled, and as such have more room and cracks to actually do more harm than good.

But try telling that to a blind Sea World hater,

Take it from someone who deals with those that work there; the people at Sea World right now are there because they LOVE the animals and want to help them!

They love them and want to help them so much....by keeping them in captivity?

 

[Rydeen]

This is a good point, but I have to imagine that any ban on captive whales would take the Keiko story into account. They must have some sort of transition plan.

That's assuming that anybody remembers what happened to Keiko, which a lot of people even in this thread seem to have forgotten despite the emotional plea to free them.

If you guys think that freeing whales that have lived and worked with humans for over 30 years back into the wild with predators and instinctive proprietorial hierarchies within whale pods to who they will be an outcast, I've got bad news for you.

 

[HUELEN10]

They love them and want to help them so much....by keeping them in captivity?

If necessary, absolutely.

Do you know the initial condition of some of the creatures they help?

 

[Scarecrow]

People also tend to forget that smaller places are less controlled, and as such have more room and cracks to actually do more harm than good.

But try telling that to a blind Sea World hater,

Take it from someone who deals with those that work there; the people at Sea World right now are there because they LOVE the animals and want to help them!

People should really check out how animals are treated in other countries. US zoos are a paradise compared to the almost literal animal prisons I've seen abroad. I was good buddies with a zoo worker at Busch Gardens. They are absolutely dedicated to these animals, big and small.

Also, fuck Orcas. Assholes of the sea.

 

[foxtrot3d]

I mean so long as they are not allowed to capture any more Killer Whales from the wild I'm fine with them continuing what they are doing. It's not like you can just release the Orcas they have been raising and training for years back into the wild. However, that does make me wonder what to do with those Orcas that are potentially born in captivity.

 

[ugh_the_boot]

Seriously the best thing humans can do for all animals that are not domesticated is to leave them the fuck alone. Leave them a decent sized habitat that is a no go zone for all humans and let nature run it's course. Animals have NOTHING to gain from human research and anyone who says otherwise should really try being a lab rat and see how they feel being experimented on in captivity.

 

[The Faceless Master]

they can't release the captured ones into the wild, that's a death sentence.

a freeze on getting more should suffice. no re-ups!

 

[StoneFox]

I worry what will happen to the orcas if SeaWorld is forced to remove them, they cannot go back to the wild. They are going to have to live in captivity if they are to survive.

I'm on SeaWorld's side, they do more good than bad and the animals in their care are not as abused as people like to think they are. It was just unfortunate that in the past they decided to capture some orcas as a circus act to increase attendance.

 

[BlitzerRadic]

Really not getting the hate towards seaworld...

Whales are intelligent, but so are apes and I dont see anyone in the seaworld hate threads complaining about zoos.

 

[Rydeen]

they can't release the captured ones into the wild, that's a death sentence.

a freeze on getting more should suffice. no re-ups!

It sounds like the bill in the OP is suggesting just that: That any Orcas currently in captivity should be freed, which is a very stupid idea, more for the Orcas well-being than anything else. It also states that SeaWorld hasn't collected an Orca from the wild in over 35 years.

 

[ponpo]

I hope all the militant anti-Sea World people here don't eat meat.

 

[Hazmat]

Really not getting the hate towards seaworld...

Whales are intelligent, but so are apes and I dont see anyone in the seaworld hate threads complaining about zoos.

Zoos aren't for-profit theme-parks where they make the animals do tricks.

 

[gutter_trash]

I hope all the militant anti-Sea World people here don't eat meat.

false equivalency

cows have been altered through breeding, plus cows are over populated.


while many whale species are endangered

 

[Korey]

I worry what will happen to the orcas if SeaWorld is forced to remove them, they cannot go back to the wild. They are going to have to live in captivity if they are to survive.

I'm on SeaWorld's side, they do more good than bad and the animals in their care are not as abused as people like to think they are. It was just unfortunate that in the past they decided to capture some orcas as a circus act to increase attendance.

That's a terrible argument. http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1296-6-awful-realities-behind-scenes-at-seaworld.html

I'm not saying that SeaWorld is an evil place, but I am saying that some animals shouldn't be held in captivity. That's the core issue, and the one that they'll do anything to spin an argument away from. SeaWorld recently "set the record straight" with this letter, talking about all the conservation and animal rescue work they make possible. But the issue isn't (and has never been) whether they're also doing nice things on the side; that's like hitting a hobo with your car and cheerfully explaining that, for every homeless person you run down, you donate six action figures to Toys for Tots.

 

[Toxi]

they can't release the captured ones into the wild, that's a death sentence.

a freeze on getting more should suffice. no re-ups!

I worry what will happen to the orcas if SeaWorld is forced to remove them, they cannot go back to the wild. They are going to have to live in captivity if they are to survive.

I'm on SeaWorld's side, they do more good than bad and the animals in their care are not as abused as people like to think they are. It was just unfortunate that in the past they decided to capture some orcas as a circus act to increase attendance.

It sounds like the bill in the OP is suggesting just that: That any Orcas currently in captivity should be freed, which is a very stupid idea, more for the Orcas well-being than anything else. It also states that SeaWorld hasn't collected an Orca from the wild in over 35 years.

Could you people READ THE FUCKING BILL before posting?

https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr4019/BILLS-114hr4019ih.pdf

It prevents taking, importing, exporting, and breeding orcas for exhibition and display purposes. It does not force the release of orcas currently in captivity. It does not prevent rescuing wild orcas so long as they are not to be used as public attractions.

 

[Dryk]

I don't really know enough about this issue. I do think there's an argument to be had on both sides though—having them in captivity is useful for research. Also, while I know that orca's don't breed very often in captivity, I still feel like it offers some protection were they ever to go completely extinct in the wild.

Every orca pod speaks a different dialect. Throwing a bunch of them that don't even understand each other into the same group doesn't work. Whether it's taking them from the wild or releasing them back into it.

 

[ponpo]

false equivalency

cows have been altered through breeding, plus cows are over populated.


while many whale species are endangered

It's quite different I agree, but being rabidly against Sea World for housing (how many?) whales while being fine with having animals killed because you enjoy the taste of them is questionable ethically.

 

[blame space]

Also, fuck Orcas. Assholes of the sea.

I think they're the killer whales of the sea.

 

[StoneFox]

Could you people READ THE FUCKING BILL before posting?

https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr4019/BILLS-114hr4019ih.pdf

It prevents taking, importing, exporting, and breeding orcas for exhibition and display purposes It does not force the release of orcas currently in captivity. It does not prevent rescuing wild orcas so long as they are not to be used as public attractions.

Ok sorry, it's just that "bring an end to killer whales at federally licensed facilities, like SeaWorld" made it sound like removal over just stopping the shows.

 

[KDR_11k]

Zoos aren't for-profit theme-parks where they make the animals do tricks.

Except sea lions and penguins at feeding time...

Ok sorry, it's just that "bring an end to killer whales at federally licensed facilities, like SeaWorld" made it sound like removal over just stopping the shows.

Probably the idea, to make people think the govt is being unreasonable. After all SeaWorld has a lot of money riding on this.

 

[Toxi]

Ok sorry, it's just that "bring an end to killer whales at federally licensed facilities, like SeaWorld" made it sound like removal over just stopping the shows.

It's some pretty clever phrasing. This will eventually bring an end to killer whales at Sea World... Because they won't be profitable any more.

 

[Mortemis]

Ok sorry, it's just that "bring an end to killer whales at federally licensed facilities, like SeaWorld" made it sound like removal over just stopping the shows.

Yeah, that was probably the intent behind the wording seeing how it's an email from SeaWorld.

 

[gutter_trash]

It's quite different I agree, but being rabidly against Sea World for housing (how many?) whales while being fine with having animals killed because you enjoy the taste of them is questionable ethically.

you can't contain a migratory animal that swims thousands of miles in its natural habitat into a freaking indoor pool

Orcas lose their mind and go crazy, they are too highly intelligent to be kept in such confined spaces that their minds lose it.

we are talking about a an animal that swims thousand of nautical miles from part of an ocean to the other

it is absolutely cruel to deny such an animal its mobility

 

[OrlanisWorks]

Down with Seaworld? Yes. Down with Seaworld.

 

[Orcastar]

I don't know enough about SeaWorld to really say anything about them, but orcas should definitely not be kept in captivity.

Also, fuck Orcas. Assholes of the sea.

Did orcas kill your mother or something?

Oh wait, you just watched one of those videos of orcas playing with their food and decided that they're assholes for "torturing" poor, defenceless sea lions or penguins for their own amusement.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Have there been layoffs at seaworld yet? I know attendence has been on decline since blackfish

 

[Toxi]

Oh wait, you just watched one of those videos of orcas playing with their food and decided that they're assholes for "torturing" poor, defenceless sea lions or penguins for their own amusement.

A lot of the time, animals playing with their food while it's still alive isn't actually for amusement. When a predator brings it's mouth close to the prey, it also brings the rest of the face close. If the prey lashes out, it could possibly injure an eye or something of the like. So some predators will often intentionally disorient prey by hitting it or pulling it around.

When a cat "plays" with a mouse, it's not being cruel, just cautious. Not sure if orcas do it for the same reason, but I wouldn't be surprised if they do.

 

[Kinokou]

Fuck Seaworld, I hope the ban happens. Future generations don't need to see Killer Whales in caged glass enclosures to understand they need fucking oceans to survive and thrive. Though who knows. Humans will probably start killing orcas en masse too, justify it for food or some kind of medicine. We've got people eating chimpanzees and gorillas as bush mean (97-98% same DNA as humans), elephants are being killed for their feet to be used as stools, their tusks for ivory, Tigers are killed and their penis ground into balms and liquids, bears killed for rugs and carpets, sharks finned and then thrown overboard so people can make a disgusting soup to show off their affluence. Now people have even started to increase eating horse, alligator, and turtle meat, just because they have the ability to eat it.

You have listed a lot of disgusting behaviors but what is wrong with eating horse? They are clearly not endangered, considered healthier than regular beef and in some areas wild horses as even seen as a menace. Also they are just as cute and beautiful as deer or cows. I'm wondering the same about alligators, but I assume chimps, gorillas and turtles have some extinction problems.

 

[Madness]

I hope all the militant anti-Sea World people here don't eat meat.

This is always the dumbest argument. The day whales number in the billions or hundreds of millions again, like chickens and cows, and are domesticated and sustainably bred as part of domestic food consumption, can you say oh if you eat meat, you can't be for animal rights. There is a massive difference in eating chicken breasts bought from a supermarket and wanting to stop killer whales in captivity or speaking out against shark finning etc. Wildlife is different from livestock.

 

[Nokterian]

Fuck SeaWorld. Killer whales are intelligent mammals with feelings, they should not be kept in swimming pools so they can make you money by doing bullshit tricks.

SeaWorld needs to die.

This right here and the documentary is also doing its work..Blackfish go watch it if you didn't see it.

 

[Orcastar]

A lot of the time, animals playing with their food while it's still alive isn't actually for amusement. When a predator brings it's mouth close to the prey, it also brings the rest of the face close. If the prey lashes out, it could possibly injure an eye or something of the like. So some predators will often intentionally disorient prey by hitting it or pulling it around.

When a cat "plays" with a mouse, it's not being cruel, just cautious. Not sure if orcas do it for the same reason, but I wouldn't be surprised if they do.

I know. The point I was trying to make is that people who call orcas or dolphins "assholes of the sea" or similar and apply similar monikers to other animals do so out of ignorance, since they're applying human standards to natural animal behaviour.

 

[Mad Season]

Nice knowing you sea world

 

[Subpar Scrub]

SeaWorld here on the Gold Coast, Australia are usually the first responders to incidents of whales and dolphins getting injured or stuck in nets off our shores. They do a good job, and their animals seem happy enough. I know a couple of people who work there, and they consider the animals they care for as their family.