Good news: Sea World to end orca breeding

[LPC]

It has been announced today that Sea World is to stop breeding orcas. For those currently in captivity, it will be "the last generation". See http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35829477

After much public opposition to its orca programme, Sea World has at last seen sense. No doubt this decision is financially based, as Sea World was losing a lot of money recently owing to the bad publicity over its treatment of orcas. But anything which reduces animal abuse, whatever the reason, is welcome.

[Catherine]

I heard this on the news this morning. 

They are doing it because of the public reaction to Blackfish.    It is good to know that the documentary served its purpose. The film maker must be proud.  It is even better to know that public opinion carries weight.  Every petition and protest had a part in their decision.

I wish they would stop breeding Orcas because it is wrong to keep them in captivity. As long as they stop that is good enough for the Orcas.

They are right. people no longer want to see performing animals in small cages.

[Ruth]

I am watching Blackfish right now. It's horrible how they capture the whales! Setting off bombs in the water to herd them. These poor creatures should be left alone!

[Catherine]

They stopped capturing them because public opinion is so strong. 

Now they are closing the shows and the orca breeding programs. It is a major victory.
Blackfish will soon be a movie about what was done in the past.
Now we just have to push for them to retire the orcas gracefully and kindly.

[platy]

I'm a part of a zookeeper group on FB and 99% of people on there are going mental over this decision saying it's the worst thing to have happened.
In that group I am in the minority as I think it's a good thing they're not breeding them anymore.
Keepers are saying that orcas will now die out because sea world isn't allowed to breed them (couldn't roll my eyes enough at that one), and that people will never get a chance to see orcas again and that it's the end of conservation and blah blah blah. I think that's incredibly melodramatic and they seem more concerned about the loss of their jobs than the welfare of cetaceans.
I don't believe that sea world bred orcas for any other purpose than to continue having stock across their facilities. They never had intention to release orcas or add to wild populations ergo not contributing to their conservation.
Much more beneficial conservation work is actually done with wild orcas.

What does worry me is that it's these same people who petitioned for the end of sea world who want all zoos shut down.
While I don't believe that will happen, it is a concern because there are many zoos that actually do actively contribute to conservation. The birds I work with for example would not be alive today if it were not for zoos.

Stopping the shows I'm in two minds about. I kind of feel like doing the shows gives them a purpose and something to do instead of just rotting in a tank.

[Catherine]

Sea world was breeding Orcas to exploit them for animal shows.
Zoos breed endangered species as part of a program to save that species and return them to the wild.
There is a grandson on a Toronto Orangutan living in the wild.
The Prezwalskis Horses were saved from extinction by zoos.

Zoos and Sea World are two different things. (different like the difference between a petting zoo and a fur farm)

I am glad that Sea World is getting out of the Orca business. It is odd that keepers are against them doing it. Orcas need our help in the wild, but we can't give them what they need in captivity.

[platy]

I heard today that the end of breeding is only applying to America and that the parks in the Canary Islands and wherever will still be allowed to breed orcas.

[Catherine]

I hope this is not a trick on their part to stop the pressure from protesters.
That would be terrible.
I understood that they were getting rid of the performing Orca shows.  Not breeding them implies that they will soon stop having them. I hope they don't plan to sneak them in from some other breeding facility.

It is possible that they don't have jurisdiction over the other sites and so can't speak for them. I hope that is it, but I would be suspicious.

[platy]

(03-21-2016, 01:49 PM)Catherine Wrote: Sea world was breeding Orcas to exploit them for animal shows.
Zoos breed endangered species as part of a program to save that species and return them to the wild.
There is a grandson on a Toronto Orangutan living in the wild.
The Prezwalskis Horses were saved from extinction by zoos.

Zoos and Sea World are two different things. (different like the difference between a petting zoo and a fur farm)

I am glad that Sea World is getting out of the Orca business. It is odd that keepers are against them doing it. Orcas need our help in the wild, but we can't give them what they need in captivity.

While we may be able to see the difference, the extremists do not. There are many, many voices out there calling for the end of zoos. In all the media about Sea World the past week there has always been comments "Zoos next".

[Catherine]

I hear the remarks against zoos. People have little understanding of what zoos actually do.

Our zoo has many animals that are not on display. They are part of breeding programs that really are bringing species back from extinction and restoring the ecological balance of some ecosystems.

Extremists everywhere, for any cause are quite simply, extremists. They take thing out of balance. They often do good things because they support good causes, but they also do damage because their thinking is not balanced.

I don't remember the details, but extremists that were against a fur farm, quite simply, broke in and released the mink.
The mink were not local animals and they were in numbers too large for the area anyhow. The results were disastrous for local wildlife.  They wanted to save life and they ended up destroying more than they saved.