Well, I sent a copy of it to Sea World. I finally got a response: Dear Amelie Lillith, You state your position in blunt terms, so I will not insult you by trying to change your mind. I’ll simply note that the following are irrefutable facts that demonstrate our commitment to animals.SeaWorld has been caring for marine animals for 46 years. Our husbandry, veterinary and training standards are the highest in the world. There is no organization in the world today more committed to the animals in its care than SeaWorld. Nearly 13 million people each year visit a SeaWorld park and every one of those visits includes educational experiences intended to inspire a deeper respect for the natural world we share and the desire to conserve and protect all animals.Our commitment to animals goes far beyond our parks. In addition to direct support of hundreds of environmental, research and conservation groups, we provide millions of dollars in cash, materiel support and human resources to the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, a registered non-profit conservation foundation.No organization in the world today rescues, rehabilitates and returns to the wild more marine animals than SeaWorld. This year alone, more than 1,000 mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been treated by our animal rescue teams and most have already been returned to the wild.
Thank you, again, for your note.
Respectfully,
Rusty Harman Senior Director Customer Relations SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment
Okay, well let's take a look at Mr. Rusty Harman's work history to see if MAYBE he's POTENTIALLY a little slanted by his paychecks for the last 21 years....
I seem to keep having the same conversation with people. It goes something like this:
I complain about work.
They complain about work.
I say that western civilization is evil.
They ignore me and say "I wish there was some other way to survive".
I tell them that people used to live in a way where they could survive without paying rent, going to the grocery store, and working a wage-slave job.
They look at me for a second and then say "you are saying you want to live like a Native American?"
I say: "essentially yes"
They look aghast and say something like: "You would give up all of the modern conveniences just to avoid a 40 hour a week job?"
I nod, and say "To avoid the job, yes, and because it might actually save life on the planet if we all did it."
This is when they look worried, about me. They start rambling on and on about modern conveniences, microwaves, air conditioning, etc. etc.
I tend to walk away at that point.
People need to stop holding onto their microwaves as if they were flotation devices. It is amazing to me how worried people get when I mention getting rid of aspects of the typical American lifestyle that are neither necessary nor healthy to use. I have linked a few friends to my other blog, The Plastics Project, to show them how I am working to eliminate plastics from my daily life. When they ask why on earth I would do such a thing I mention the environmental impact as well as the horrible (and often cancerous) effects plastics can have on humans (I mention humans separately from the environment because typically the person I am talking to considers things this way). I have only had one friend that actually wants to know more about the horrible things plastics do. The rest of them told me not to tell them, that "everything causes cancer".
Okay, let's tackle that one for a minute. "Everything causes cancer".
Everything does not cause cancer. EVERYDAY ITEMS IN WESTERN SOCIETY CAUSE CANCER. Plastic wrap anyone? These cancer causing items are so normalized in our society that it seems that everything causes cancer. Somehow I think there are many things around (or used to be) that didn't cause cancer. Examples?
Well things western society has made disposable (or made profits from) work as good examples:
-I'm sure coral reefs never caused cancer before they had to start trying to survive in a polluted ocean.
-Mercury poisoning from fish never used to be an issue before western civilization took hold.
-Did you know that the chances of miscarriage go up by a large percentage when a woman watches 15 hours or more of television a week? I'm pretty sure that that wasn't the case if she were to watch a camp fire each night, or her community members as they broke into song and dance.
-WATER BOTTLES…everyone was horrified when the neon colored Nalgenes turned out to have BPA in them. I'm pretty sure animal hide canteens didn't have the same effects; gourds were probably pretty safe too.
I recently read a report that said not to be in the same ROOM as a microwave oven while it is running. Why do we fill our homes with such dangers? So many people do not want to hear it when I tell them these things. Why wouldn't you want to know of a danger so close to home? Is happiness so closely tied to Easy Mac that you are willing to risk cancer for it? …Apparently it is.
Everything doesn't cause cancer. However, soon enough if civilization keeps going the way it has been, everything THAT IS LEFT will.
Let go of the flotation devices this society tells you that you need and watch the cancer rates plummet.
Have you ever had a song or a grouping of songs that you can't listen to too much? Not because they are bad songs, or "just good to dance to" songs. No, a group of songs or a song you can't listen to too much because if you did you might just drop everything that society tells you "matters" and seek out something that really does. A song or songs that speak so directly to your soul that you are afraid it will burst forth and demand that you stop ignoring it. A song you can't listen to too often or you will quit your job, abandon your lease and drive off, only ever to be heard of in passing comments at roadside cafes and wavering memories of those who meet too many and know too few. Have you ever heard a song like that? I have several, and I've put links so you can listen to them below. Enjoy, and if you do run off...let me know first...perhaps I'll come along.
I am sick and tired of Jack Hanna's PR laden attempt to justify the enslavement of animals at zoos and, most recently, at Sea World. If he reaches for the numbers of visitors to Sea World per year one more time in his misguided attempt to justify the caged animals existing there I might just scream. I may not know Jack, but neither does he.
Justifying the existence of anything based upon the fact that people visit it is flawed at its very core. People went to see gladiators fight lions and tigers in ancient Rome, but it wasn't right. Huge crowds gathered (and still gather in some places) to watch public hangings. Does that make it right? I don't think so. Jack has also taken to mentioning that people, upon exiting Sea World, say they feel educated about marine life. Of course this survey was most likely performed by Sea World, and I wouldn't doubt if the questions weren't a bit leading. Also, even if people WERE educated about marine life in captivity, that still does not prove that captivity is right.
Someone could but Jack Hanna in a cage and sell tickets to see him. People would likely learn a lot about Public Relations and the Zoo industry by going to visit him. Would that make it right to lock him up? No. Would people be claiming that it was justified to enslave Jack Hanna because he can now be a spokesman for zoology? I doubt it.
I challenge Jack Hanna to come up with a compelling reason to keep animals in captivity that actually makes sense. I challenge him to get some actual scientific data to back his theory of captive animals being more educational than those in the wild (I do not mean attendance records for the theme parks with him on their pay roll either). I challenge him to go and try to preserve the natural homes of the animals he is so happy to enslave. Perhaps spend some time seeing them in the wild and not behind bars. Perhaps he should spend less time on talk shows with enslaved animals and more time in their natural habitats stopping poachers and others encroaching on natural habitats.
Using the fact that most people might not be able to afford to see these animals in the wild is not going to fly with me either. I may never be able to afford to travel to Australia, but that does not mean putting someone from Australia in a cage so I can learn from them is permissible. I can pick up a book, or watch a documentary to learn.
Interview with Jack Hanna:
Excerpt:
Hanna: Why do we have Tilly and why do we have whales as well as elephants, other animals in our zoological parts. We have it to educate folks, it's the last chance we have to save these animals…"
Newscaster: Are you doing something unnatural and is it worth the risk?
Hanna "Let's say 20-30 years from now, there's 200 killer whales left in the wild. Let me tell ya where we're going to go. We're going to go to Sea World to see what we're going to do to save this magnificent creature."
Newscaster: But at what point does a whale get too big to be in captivity?
Hanna: I don't know. Some people say they know what the whale is thinking. That's impossible. I don't know what the whale is thinking, I don't know what stress is to the whale. All I know is that we, that Sea World provides the best possible care. I've been going to those parks for 30 something years. I've always seen nothing but animals that seem to be very very happy.
I find it quite funny that he accidentally said "we" when referring to Sea World…
Also, perhaps people should spend some more time learning about their own land and the animals upon it. Perhaps people in the Midwestern United States need to start caring about the whooping cranes they SHOULD see out their back doors but no longer do. Perhaps those on the west coast of America need to start campaigning to save the salmon that no longer swim up streams. Those in Florida need to start campaigning for the preservation of the everglade ecosystem. Are there orcas living naturally in everyone's backyard? No. Does that mean some should be put them in cages? No. There are amazing animals all over the world that live in the wild that need people's help. Covering a giant expanse of land with concrete and dropping whales into swimming pools doesn't solve anything.
Bob Barker meets Jack Hanna on the Issue:
Excerpt:
Hanna: Over 12million people visited Sea World parks last year, and over 90% of those folks say that it's the most incredible experience of their lives…If it wasn't for Sea World, animals like the manatee in Florida might not be in existence right now…180million people last year went to our zoos and aquariums. 180million people. Ingrid has about 2 million members, we have tens of millions of members. The education that we do for folks in the Sea World parks is something that has to be done. As you well know in the wild, what's happening in the wild right now, the creatures out there are suffering from pollution, because of all man made things that we have done…Bob keeps referring to these as tanks, these are artificial habitats. By the way, the whale, has already bred at Sea World and produced many needed killer whales in our parks…
Larry King: but how about that point that that whale killed before, why keep him in the tank.
Hanna: Larry, it has killed before. Larry, didn't our astronauts go up in a space shuttle and we lost them when they came back. It was a terrible thing wasn’t it? They went right back up into space didn't they? Because they want to learn from space want to learn how to help mankind. That's what Sea World does and what we all do. Our business Larry, it's killer whales, these are dangerous animals yes we know that…
Sea World is a business, plain and simple. It is created to make money. If conservation or education were the true goals of the company there wouldn't be choreographed shows to ENTERTAIN. There also would not be a roller coaster in the park. The park would not keep animals that rely on sonar to navigate in concrete pools. They would not chlorinate those pools. Sea World is a business that uses conservation and education as a fall back to justify their bottom line.
