Jack Hanna Needs a Smaller Cage

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.

Long Past Time to Free Every Willy, an open letter to Sea World

I write on behalf of every animal you keep in a cage, a pool, or any sort of an enclosure. I write on behalf of the ones that have died, are still alive, and with a force thousands strong for those that have not yet been captured. This letter is for every soul of every animal that was extinguished, coated over, and destroyed by your theme parks. It is also for every animal currently walking or swimming in circles, wondering why they cannot hear or see their families anymore. This letter is for them, but it is from me.

Who am I to write such a letter and declaration to you? I am your ideal customer. I, like the trainer who died at your Orlando park on Wednesday, February 24, used to dream of being a whale trainer at one of your parks. My eyes lit up with wonder when I first saw a killer whale up close, and I wanted to know these creatures, love them, learn from them. For many years I planned to be a marine biologist, but with each of those passing years and studies I realized I could not with a good conscience be a whale trainer.

I learned, for instance, of the complicated family and migration rituals of the killer whale. I heard the songs of a family communicating. I watched documentary after documentary and read study after study about the beautiful black and white creatures. I saw them leap into the air with glee, play with each other, teach their young, love. I saw it all in these wild animals.

Then I returned to Sea World with my family. Instead of beauty surrounding the animals I saw there, I witnessed chains. No, not literal chains, but when you surround an animal with dry land that needs water to survive, you strap them into a small cell as a result. I looked into the eyes of one of your Orcas on your viewing deck, and I saw nothing there but pain, and loss. Could that same whale have been the one that killed the trainer at the same park? Possibly. Whether or not it was, however, is not what matters here. What matters here is the overwhelming sadness present in a place like Sea World.

The entire park is based upon the exploitation of wild animals for human amusement. The animals do not live long happy lives in captivity as is so cleverly marketed to the general public. They become lonely, and often die. They miss their families, their friends, and their homes. Even the children they give birth to in the pools and cages rarely survive.

Whales are amazing creatures. They have highly complicated family groups with communication and cooperation humans are just beginning to understand. When one whale (or dolphin) is removed from their family it is in essence kidnapping. Each whale and dolphin is an individual in their respective family, not just another random living creature. The whales and dolphins recognize each other and thus react differently depending which individual it is. This is not unlike humans. From this thriving community of cooperation and love whales and dolphins are ripped away and placed in small tanks (and any tank is small compared to the ocean) and made to perform for a live audience of humans.

Is it tragic that trainer Dawn Brancheau had to lose her life? Of course it is. It must be remembered, however, that the whales she so loved were trapped against their will and forced to perform for people they did not know. These whales (and dolphins) have many among them that probably still remember life in the wild, with no pavement pools or screaming humans. Many still remember the glimmer on the surface of the water at sunrise and sunset. Many still remember the feeling of freedom beneath their fins.

Sea World takes away the freedom of many of the most intelligent and majestic of all living creatures. Not only do they take away this freedom, but they do it to turn a profit. This is unacceptable, cruel, and wrong.

The public relations specialists for Sea World will probably start promoting all of the "good" the company has done and will do in the coming weeks. They will show the public pictures of their veterinarians going to help wild animals affected by pollution, illness, oil spills. Sea World will do all of this while openly ignoring the fact that they are enslaving animals with their very existence.

What do I propose Sea World should do? They should get their animals ready to live in the wild again. Teach them to fish for themselves, yet again. Do all that is possible to prepare them and then set them free. Will all of them survive? No. Will some? Most definitely. The fact that some will die is one that will happen if they are left in their pools that are chains as well. Sea World also needs to stop paying for animals captured from the wild. They need to halt all activities that hold animals against their will and exploit their natural abilities for profit. Sea World needs to close its gates for good or reinvent for itself an image not based on animal exploitation.

I hope that trainer Dawn Brancheau rests in peace and that the whale Tilikum along with all of the similarly enslaved animals at Sea World will one day see the sunrise and set on the ocean again. I demand that they be set loose to the wild to yet again choose their own fates, and never again perform for a screaming audience for nothing but profit.

UPDATE: I was contacted from James Brown from the BBC Radio show World Have Your Say. They are running a live show this afternoon at 12pm Central Daylight Time (1800gmt) and they might call me to discuss this issue. Please listen in! Here's the link: http://worldhaveyoursay.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/should-animals-be-kept-for-our-entertainment/