[Closed] 'Blackfish' Backlash: Fan Pressure Leads Willie Nelson to Cancel SeaWorld Concert

SeaWorld Orlando ends program that allowed visitors to feed dolphins

Animal rights group had pointed out that feeding throughout the day led to both obese and underweight dolphins, because some would become more aggressive.

Animal rights groups have campaigned against the dolphin exhibits since the 1990s, when ‘petting pools’ and public feedings became popular.

Jessica Glenza in New York
Tuesday 24 February 2015

SeaWorld Orlando is reportedly ending a practice that allowed the public to feed dolphins directly, the latest change to the way its animals interact with human visitors.

Starting next month, visitors will no longer be able to buy small, $7 trays of fish to feed dolphins directly. The company will instead sell $15 packages that will include touching the dolphins under a trainer’s supervision.

SeaWorld Orlando is the last of the three SeaWorld theme parks in the US to allow the public to feed its dolphins poolside. A spokesman told the Orlando Sentinel the program is similar to ones offered at its other two US locations, in San Antonio, Texas, and San Diego, California.

“We made this change to elevate the guest experience,” SeaWorld spokesperson Aimée Jeansonne Becka said via email. SeaWorld no longer permits reporters to interview representatives over the phone. “This new program is for those who would like to interact with the animals in an even more up-close and personal way, and have a reserved time and opportunity to do so.”

Experts say the move could be an effort to limit bites by dolphins, which has happened occasionally throughout the exhibit’s existence, or to bring in more revenue as attendance declines.

“I actually think it’s an improvement in the situation,” said Naomi Rose, a marine mammalogist with the Animal Welfare Institute who has lobbied against dolphin and orca captivity. “[It’s] certainly not what I want – I want the whole thing to end.”

The theme park chain has been the subject of intense criticism since the 2013 documentary Blackfish. The film explored whether captivity is appropriate for killer whales – no matter the circumstances – after a star trainer at SeaWorld’s Orlando park was killed by a whale in 2010. Her death also led to a complaint by trainers to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The dolphin-feeding program has also faced criticism. Animal rights groups have campaigned against the exhibits since the 1990s, when “petting pools” and public feedings became popular.

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society and Humane Society of the US issued a report on the topic as early as 2003, pointing out that feeding throughout the day by members of the public led to both obese and underweight dolphins, because some animals would become more aggressive than others.

Rose said it was also common for foreign objects to be dropped in tanks, leading to one dolphin developing zinc poisoning from consistently eating pennies.

“These dolphins were at the edge of the pool with their mouth agape, and they were absolutely shaking with eagerness to get a fish,” Rose said. “It was like watching a row of starving people being taunted with donuts hanging over their heads.”

“Basically, dolphins are bored out of their skulls in captivity,” said Mark Palmer, associate director of the International Marine Mammal Project at the Earth Island Institute. “We have terrible problem with dolphins in captivity eating all kinds of garbage, plastic.”

In 2012, video of an eight-year-old girl being bitten by a dolphin while feeding the animals at the Orlando park went viral. At the time, a spokesperson for the theme park told ABC News that the company they “regret” the experience, but that such bites are “few and far between”.

The company has also struggled financially.

In early 2013, SeaWorld’s corporate parent SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment went public with a $2.5bn valuation, but stock has consistently slid with declining attendance numbers. In August 2014, on the heels of a poor quarterly report, the stock price slid by almost one-third to $18, and hasn’t rebounded to its price at initial public offering.

Year over year, attendance at the parks has declined from 8.9 million visitors to 8.4 million, according to the most recent financial release from the third quarter of 2014. SeaWorld owns 11 theme parks in the US, but has recently announced its intention to open parks in the Middle East and Asia by 2020. (Which would mean even more marine mammals sentenced to a dismal life in captivity - Alana33)

“Clearly 2014 has been a challenging year, but I am confident we are taking the necessary steps to address our near term challenges and position the company to deliver value over the long term,” said Jim Atchison, CEO and president of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc, in a statement.

Migaloo the great white whale spotted off Australian east coast
Famous albino whale is with at least four other whales as part of seasonal migration of humpbacks to warmer waters

First noticed in 1991, Migaloo was sighted off the coast of Eden on Wednesday, and then Cronulla, south of Sydney.

Helen Davidson
Friday 20 June 2014

Migaloo the great white whale has been spotted making his way up the east coast of Australia.

The famous albino whale is travelling with at least four other whales as part of the seasonal migration of humpbacks to warmer waters

The white humpback, first noticed in 1991, was sighted off the coast of Eden on Wednesday, and then Cronulla, south of Sydney, on Thursday afternoon. A Port Stephens-based Twitter account reported a sighting on Friday morning.

He is travelling with at least four other whales as part of the seasonal migration of humpbacks to warmer waters.

Although Migaloo’s rough itinerary can be figured out, it is still a lucky whale watcher who spots him, Oskar Peterson, from the White Whale Research Centre, told Guardian Australia.

Although Migaloo’s rough itinerary can be figured out, it is still a lucky whale watcher who spots him. Photograph: whalewatchingsydney.com.au

“There were a couple of years after 1991 when we didn’t see him at all, and there’s been a couple of years when he goes missing in action,” said Peterson. “He glows, you can’t really miss him when you do see him out there from a distance, and it’s like fluorescent blue when you see him up close.”

Migaloo, whose name is an Aboriginal word for “white fella”, was the only known white whale in the world until 2011 when an all-white calf was filmed.

It is not known how old he is, but Peterson said he has had reports of the birth of a white whale in 1988, which could have been Migaloo. Humpback whales can live to about 80 years of age.

“He’s going to be around for a few generations,” Peterson said. “He’s been a bit of an ambassador for the whale watching tourism.”

Whales are frequently spotted off the east coast around this time of year, as the humpback population of about 15,000 migrate to warm waters to breed after spending the summer in Antarctica.

While many people take to the water in boats to watch the whale migration, there are strict rules in place to prevent harassment of the animals, including restrictions of up to 300m on how close people can get.

Migaloo has “special status” in New South Wales and Queensland. Watchers must stay at least 500m away – 600m for aircraft and jetskis – and there are heavy fines for breaching the laws.

Peterson’s organisation, a collaboration of marine biologists from Lismore’s Southern Cross university and a number of other marine professionals, has tracked and aggregated information about Migaloo over the years, hoping to raise awareness about the threats to whale populations and their surrounds.

“It’s about educating the world population of the dangers and lack of understanding of the marine environment, the Great Barrier Reef in particular,” he said.

“Over the years it’s gotten bigger and bigger and people ring up and send emails, and over the year we get a clear picture,” said Peterson. “Then, with the invention of Twitter, it’s gone ballistic.”

Peterson said since Migaloo’s sighting off Sydney on Thursday the organisation’s account had gained several hundred new followers overnight, from all over the world.

“It’s phenomenal. There’s so much interest in this white whale.”
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/20/migaloo-the-great-white-whale-spotted-off-australian-east-coast

(See previous page for a couple new posts on April 14, 2015 - Alana 33)

SLIDESHOW: Dolphin Day

Dolphins and humans share a unique, complicated relationship, one built on mutual curiosity and common qualities of complex sociability and high intelligence rare in the animal kingdom.

Sadly, as is often the case when humans interact with wildlife, the relationship is overwhelmingly one-sided. Humans may respect and even revere dolphins, but many of our activities intrude into their world and cause severe harm.

Our boats collide with and maim dolphins, our fishing nets trap and drown them, our pollution endangers and poisons them, our military sonars, thousands of times more powerful than jet engines, render them "blind," and our carbon dioxide emissions are altering the chemistry and temperatures of the waters they call home.

This National Dolphin Day, we're taking time to pause and reflect on these amazing marine mammals, so familiar to us, and yet in many ways so mysterious and vulnerable.

The name dolphin is derived from the Greek word delphys, meaning "womb"—imagine an ancient Greek fisherman thousands of years ago witnessing a dolphin give birth to live young and describing it for the first time ever as a "fish with a womb."

There is ongoing debate over how many distinct dolphin species and subspecies there are in the world. But the Society for Marine Mammalogy counts 38 species of marine dolphins and 4 species of river dolphins with a couple of other potential new species in dispute.

See link for slideshow:
http://support.edf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=dolphin_day&autologin=true&utm_source=EDF%20action%20network&utm_medium=email-44621&utm_campaign=cultivation

Japan’s Still Making Up Stuff About Science to Kill Whales

Alicia Graef
Apr 14, 2015

Despite international opposition, interference from whale advocates and a ruling from the world’s highest court to stop, Japan has continued to push for whaling in the Antarctic. This week it’s been dealt yet another blow from a panel of experts that denounced its latest proposal to resume whaling.

Despite a worldwide moratorium on commercial whaling that was put in place in 1986, Japan has continued with annual whale hunts that it claims are being conducted to collect scientific data. Whale advocates, however, have long argued the country’s abusing a loophole that allows for lethal research as a cover for commercial whaling.

A major victory came last year when the International Court of Justice ruled that Japan’s scientific whaling program in the Antarctic was illegal and ordered it be ended after concluding it was unscientific. Unfortunately, that did not bring an end to the issue.

While Japan initially said it would respect the ruling, some feared the country would tweak its program and try to make a comeback. Those fears were confirmed this past December when it submitted its latest proposal to continue with lethal research.

The new program, NEWREP-A (New Scientific Whale Research Program in the Antarctic Ocean) will save fin and humpback whales, but it includes plans to harpoon up to 333 minkes per year for the next 12 years. Those will be on top of whales killed under separate research conducted in the Pacific Northwest.

Not only will they needlessly slaughter thousands of whales, but this time they also intend to expand the territory they operate in with the new area overlapping the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, which was created in 1994 to protect whales and provide them with a refuge.

This week, a panel of experts from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) concluded that this plan is no more scientific than the last one, but more importantly it said no more whales need to die in the name of research.

In a report released on Monday, the panel said that Japan has failed to provide enough information to justify killing whales to meet its research objectives, stating,”Therefore, the current proposal does not demonstrate the need for lethal sampling to achieve those objectives.”

Anti-whaling advocates are applauding the announcement and hope to see Japan give up this cause and continue with non-lethal research.

“It has long been clear that Japan’s large-scale whaling operations are driven by politicians, not scientists, and serve no useful conservation or scientific need. This latest report from the IWC review panel essentially sends Japan back to the drawing board as it has failed to make a case for the need to kill whales in the name of science,” Claire Bass, UK director of the Humane Society International, told The Guardian.

The plans will be looked at again when the IWC’s Scientific Committee meets in May, but the next full meeting won’t be until 2016. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the panel has recommended Japan work on a new program, which could take several years to develop, before it can be considered for a full review under the current rules put forth by the IWC and the international court ruling.

“It’s 2015. You don’t need to be a scientific expert to know there’s no need to slaughter whales in the Southern Ocean. We urge Japan to continue the non-lethal research work it embarked on this year, and to present the results of that modern approach to the IWC when it meets in September 2016,” said Patrick Ramage, Global Whale Program Director for IFAW.

http://os.care2.com/all/japans-still-making-up-stuff-about-science-to-kill-whales?width=534&height=678&size=large&oswv=1&olcts=1429097195117#1

AN OPEN LETTER TO ELLEN DEGENERES
14 APRIL, 2015

HARRY MORGAN IS AN 11 YEAR OLD DOLPHIN PROJECT YOUTH AMBASSADOR FROM AUSTRALIA. PLEASE HELP HIM SHARE HIS OPEN LETTER. BOTTOM LINE IS THAT DOLPHINS DON’T BELONG IN CAPTIVITY AND CERTAINLY DON’T BELONG IN THE MOJAVE DESERT. LET’S HELP MAKE LAS VEGAS DOLPHIN SAFE. – RIC O’BARRY

Dear Ellen,

My name is Harry and I am 11 years old. I am writing to you because I was concerned to see that you are promoting and supporting The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.

The reason this worries me is because The Mirage keeps dolphins captive and this is cruel and inhumane. I thought that you were an animal lover and would be upset by this as well. I am shocked and sad that you don’t care about these dolphins.

On The Mirage website they claim their dolphin habitats are for scientific research and education. There doesn’t seem to be anything educational about what they do with dolphins. They charge people money to do activities with dolphins.

A new “experience” they offer is Painting with Dolphins. How is this for research or education? Do dolphins do this in the wild, in their natural habitat? We all know this is wrong and The Mirage are exploiting these animals to make money. Forcing a paintbrush into the mouth of a dolphin is very upsetting. It is cruel to treat animals in this inhumane way.

The Mirage also offers paying customers the opportunity to be a “Trainer for a day”. To be a trainer you have to force the dolphins to do silly tricks. The dolphins don’t perform tricks in the wild – I’ve never seen a dolphin in the wild balance a ball on their nose – this is not educational. It is also a well known fact that dolphins are deprived of food to make them do these silly circus tricks. In the wild, dolphins are fee to hunt for food whenever they feel like it.

Ellen, I would like to know if you think these activities are educational or done for the purpose of research. To me, it sounds like they are doing these things to make money and just telling the public that it’s for education and research.

There are lots of documentaries, for example ‘Spy in the Pod’, Blackfish, The Cove and also lots of books that educate us about dolphins. We don’t need to see them or keep them in captivity to learn about them, just like we don’t need to see dinosaurs to learn about them

On their website The Mirage states “Guests see the dolphins in a naturalistic environment, exhibiting natural behaviors”. How is a pool in the middle of a desert a naturalistic environment and how can a dolphin painting be called a natural behavior?

Being someone who says they are an animal lover, I would think you would see that keeping dolphins in captivity and forcing them to do tricks is wrong. You are a big celebrity and lots of people listen to what you say. By promoting The Mirage you are telling the world that you think it’s ok to keep dolphins captive.

After seeing you talk about the Cove I thought you were aware of the bigger issue. These dolphins in the Mirage may not come from the Taiji dolphin slaughter, but supporting dolphin habitats and shows contributes to the slaughter. If no one buys a ticket, there is no need to hunt and capture dolphins.

I would like to ask you Ellen to stop promoting and supporting The Mirage Hotel. There are lots of other great hotels that you can promote that don’t hurt and mistreat animals.

Thank you for reading my letter. We all love dolphins but we don’t need to see them to love. We can love them just as much when they are swimming wild and free.

From Harry Morgan

and all the dolphins held prisoner in habitats and parks all over the world.
Sign petition here:
https://www.change.org/p/ellen-degeneres-change-mgm-mirage-prize-mirage-has-virus-infected-dolphins-in-captivity

https://dolphinproject.net/blog/post/an-open-letter-to-ellen-degeneres/

The Reality of the Mirage in the Mojave Desert

https://dolphinproject.net/blog/post/the-vegas-dolphin-death-pool/

By: Cecilia Mialon
Free The Mojave Dolphins

Free the Mojave Dolphins, a Facebook group focusing on spreading awareness of the captive dolphins at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, NV, holds regular demonstrations and events, but the plight of these dolphins needs more attention to this disturbing situation.

The mirage in the middle of the Mojave Desert isn’t a mirage at all. It’s reality. Dolphins are dying regularly, right before our very eyes, and MGM Entertainment needs to hear about it and retire these dolphins to a sea pen sanctuary.

This mirage isn’t the tropical paradise where tourists come to relax and play like it alludes to. This mirage is the illusion of happy gambling tourists, world renowned restaurants, large entertainment productions, spas and swim-with-dolphins. One common reality among all of these attractions…it’s REALLY HOT here.

An inescapable heat

In the middle of the intensely hot sun, dry desert air and pollution lies a manufactured strip of massive hotel casinos and resorts. Each has their own illusions. From Paris and Italy to New York and Polynesia, Las Vegas is the epitome of an optical illusion. People from all over the world come to partake in this illusion. When a cab drives by with an advertisement of dolphins at The Mirage Casino, most people have to look twice.

Most tourists aren’t even aware that there are currently ten dolphins swimming in circles, waiting listlessly at closed gates, beaching themselves, bored and stressed beyond comprehension right here, in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Tropical marine mammals in the middle of the desert, thousands of miles away from their natural home in the Atlantic Ocean, may be a surprise to many, but their well-being will also come as a surprise as well. They truly have been dying to entertain…for the past two decades.

A twenty-four year sentence

The Polynesian themed resort known as ‘The Mirage’ has been keeping dolphins captive for the past twenty-four years. Twenty-Two dolphins have been confined to a life of unnatural and tragic existence since the “habitat” opening in 1990. Twelve have perished including babies and four wild caught. That’s an astonishing 55% death rate giving the facility the nickname of “The Dolphin Death Pool”.

Here is a list of the dolphins that have died there since its opening in 1990:

* Rascal – age 4 – Death unknown
* Darla – age 18 – Died from chronic pancreatitis
* Squirt – age 15 – Died from respiratory ailment
* Picabo – age 18 – Died suddenly from internal tear in its stomach
* Bugsy – age 3 – Died from pulmonary abscess
* No name – Stillborn
* No name – 2 week old calf – died from pulmonary edema
* Sigma – age 32 – Died from heart failure
* Banjo – age 32 – Died from heart failure
* Merlin – age 40 (estimate) – died from pneumonia
* Sage – age 11 – death unknown
* St. Pepper – age 2 – lung infection

The causes for such a high mortality rate is due mainly to stress related diseases and perhaps the extreme summer temperatures as high as 118 degrees. We’ll never know exactly how this facility has failed to keep these dolphins alive. It could be that there’s no permanent shade against the sweltering desert sun. It may be foreign debris that finds its way past the 16 inch barricade between the viewing public and the dolphin tanks.

Many of the ten existing dolphins show obvious signs of stress. Poxvirus, a disease which would normally go into remission, runs rampant among the dolphins likely due to their soaring anxiety. From lying listless at the gates, beaching themselves, chasing one another aggressively and being confined to barely legal enclosures, the signs are too obvious to ignore. On the overhead speakers, patrons are repeatedly advised to view the pool where dolphins are being actively trained to not call attention to the obvious signs of compulsive and methodical behavior these dolphins show on a regular basis. There is no way to adequately duplicate any form of natural environment for dolphins in captivity, but the Mirage stands out for its poor facilities.

Nowhere to hide

This facility has been able to glide through their US Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspections un-noticed. One pool in particular is within the meager USDA guidelines by one foot to house three dolphins. There’s no permanent shade structure; therefore the dolphins have no option for shade from the desert sun from 11:30am-4:30pm in the center and back pools.

While patrons participating in the “Trainer-For-A-Day” Program partake in some dolphin free fun in the pool, four of the largest male dolphins are moved into a tiny channel to wait. The underwater viewing area is not supervised nor is there anything posted to stop patrons from continually harassing the dolphins by banging and tapping on the glass. There are no educational brochures handed out, and the employees spit out little tidbits of generic and mostly useless information about each dolphin and how wonderful their circus tricks are.

It isn’t surprising that speaking to the head honchos of MGM that they are minimally informed on what really goes on at the dolphin exhibit at The Mirage and as of now, they have no plans to close it down or stop its breeding program.

A voice for the Voiceless

We at Free The Mojave Dolphins urge you to use your words, your deeds and your conviction to put an end to these cruel illusions once and for all. Join our page for upcoming events and updates on what’s happening with this sad situation. We have some exciting events coming up, and we need your help to put the pressure on MGM. Their CEO Jim Murren is a known preacher of education and doing what’s “right”. Maybe all he needs is some education to make the right decision? These dolphins don’t belong in small chlorinated pools in Florida, or Texas or California. They certainly don’t belong in the desert of Nevada.

You can use this letter template to send to MGM asking them to shut down the “Dolphin Death Pool” once and for all.

Or write your own polite letter or send an email to:

Yvette Monet
MGM Resorts Public Affairs
3600 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109
702-491-6426
ymonet@mgmresorts.com

secretgarden@mirage.com
Contact the Mirage directly

https://www.facebook.com/TheMirage

https://twitter.com/TheMirageLV

#Tweet4Dolphins
#FreeMojaveDolphins

I watched a new Seaworld ad last night.
They're calling it "Getting the Facts"

2 attractive trainers in wetsuits speak:
They say about their Orcas:
1. They don't take killer whales from the wild.
(They don't mention the breeding program where Tilikum is their star sperm donor and that they breed/interbreed them via artificial insemination nor that the fun job of masturbating a killer whale to produce sperm, can be yours, too!)

They say:
2. Their animals have the highest standard of care in the world!
3.They're healthy!
4. They're Thriving!
5. Gov. research shows they live just as long as those in the wild.
6. They love them!

They're so full of it!:X(td)(td)(td)(td)(td)
They should rename the ad to "getting delusional and desperate!"

Here's what Carl Hiaasen had to say in an older Miami Herald Op-Ed:

SeaWorld’s troubles increase as public learns about plight of orcas

BY CARL HIAASEN
08/16/2014

SeaWorld’s stock took a dive last week in the backlash against its treatment of captive killer whales.

The company reported that attendance at its marine theme parks fell 4.3 percent during the first half of the year, and predicted revenue will continue to drop substantially in the coming months.

In the entertainment business, this is known as a wake-up call. It’s time for SeaWorld to quit using orcas like trained poodles and think up with a new act.

The company’s headaches began last summer with the release of a powerful documentary called Blackfish, which chronicles the exploitation of killer whales beginning with the first specimens that were herded up and taken from their family pods in the late ’60s and early ’70s.

Some of the footage is sickening to watch, and it doesn’t get much easier as the film goes on. By the time it’s over, you’re disgusted, angry — and in no mood to take your family to see orcas doing tricks for a bucket of dead fish.

Unfortunately for SeaWorld’s shareholders, Blackfish came out in July 2013, only three months after the company went public. The documentary was widely aired on CNN, and provoked such a strong public reaction that Willie Nelson, Heart and other popular music groups cancelled scheduled performances at SeaWorld’s Orlando park, home to the troubled orca featured in Blackfish.

Weighing six tons, Tilikum is believed to be the largest male killer whale in captivity. He’s also a basket case, depressed and unpredictable after a long, tedious life of swimming circles in concrete pools.

No killer whale in the wild has ever attacked a human, but “Tili” has been involved in the deaths of three persons — most recently that of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, thrashed and drowned in February 2010.

That incident, recorded on tourists’ videos, is the heartbreaking focus of the Blackfish documentary. Afterward, SeaWorld officials actually blamed Brancheau, speculating that her ponytail had incited the whale.

That was a clear signal that the company would stoop to any tactic in order to protect its lucrative performing-mammal franchise.

It didn’t work. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) ruled that SeaWorld put its trainers in dangerous situations, and ordered the company to install barriers separating the orcas from employees.

A federal judge agreed with OSHA, but SeaWorld vigorously appealed, saying that “contact with killer whales is essential to the product . . . ”

In other words, customers won’t line up merely to observe one of the planet’s most spectacular, intelligent animals. You gotta make them critters do some stunts!

Like swim ’round and ’round with a full-grown human balancing on their nose — yeehaw, that’s educational. And also the highlight of any whale’s day . . .

But not so fast. In April, a U.S. appeals court ruled 2-1 that SeaWorld had exposed its trainers to “recognized hazards” while they interacted with orcas. The decision allows OSHA to set stricter rules for contact.

SeaWorld, which owns 11 theme parks in the United States, said it has already enacted new safety measures, including removing trainers from the water during the killer whale performances.

Still, California is debating a proposed ban on keeping any orcas in captivity. The publicity has hurt business at SeaWorld’s San Diego park, and was a factor in the company’s stock dropping last week.

Back in Orlando, moody Tilikum is still on display.

Despite his history of attacks, the SeaWorld empire highly values his stud service.

Because it’s now illegal to take killer whales from the sea, captive breeding is the only source of fresh talent for the company’s “product.” Tilikum’s sperm is priceless, having produced more than 20 baby orcas.

For older whales that were snatched from the wild decades ago — such as Tilikum, and Lolita at the Miami Seaquarium — a return to freedom could be perilous. They don’t know how to hunt for fish, and nobody’s going to toss them a mackerel for doing somersaults in Puget Sound.

If they can’t safely be released, there’s got to be a better future. Rodeo horses get more space to roam than captive orcas.

SeaWorld says they look forward to their daily tricks, which is another way of saying they’re bored stiff most of the time.

If only the company cared about the whales as much as the staff that works with them do.

For the past year, SeaWorld has blasted Blackfish as “inaccurate and misleading,” yet the credibility of the experts and former trainers interviewed in the documentary holds up.

See for yourself. You can order the film from Netflix, iTunes or other sites.

Everybody should watch it — parents, kids, and especially investors considering SeaWorld stock.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/carl-hiaasen/article1980082.html#storylink=cpy

Why whale poo could be the secret to reversing the effects of climate change

Philip Hoare
July 8, 2014

The first success of the environmental movements of the 1960s was to save the whale. Now, with deep irony, whales may be about to save us with their poo. A new scientific report from the University of Vermont, which gathers together several decades of research, shows that the great whales which nearly became extinct in the 20th century – and are now recovering in number due to the 1983 ban on whaling – may be the enablers of massive carbon sinks via their prodigious production of faeces.

Not only do the nutrients in whale poo feed other organisms, from phytoplankton upwards – and thereby absorb the carbon we humans are pumping into the atmosphere – even in death the sinking bodies of these massive animals create new resources on the sea bed, where entire species exist solely to graze on rotting whale. There's an additional and direct benefit for humans, too. Contrary to the suspicions of fishermen that whales take their catch, cetacean recovery could "lead to higher rates of productivity in locations where whales aggregate to feed and give birth". Their fertilizing faeces here, too, would encourage phytoplankton which in turn would encourage healthier fisheries.

Such propositions speak to our own species' arrogance. As demonstrated in the fantastical geoengineering projects dreamed up to address climate change, the human race's belief that the world revolves around it knows no bounds. What if whales were nature's ultimate geoengineers?

The new report only underlines what has been suspected for some time: that cetaceans, both living and dead, are ecosystems in their own right. But it also raises a hitherto unexplored prospect, that climate change may have been accelerated by the terrible whale culls of the 20th century, which removed hundreds of thousands of these ultimate facilitators of CO2 absorption. As Greg Gatenby, the acclaimed Canadian writer on whales told me in response to the Vermont report, "about 300,000 blue whales were taken in the 20th century. If you average each whale at 100 tons, that makes for the removal from the ocean of approximately 30m tons of biomass. And that's just for one species".

There's another irony here, too. American whaling, as celebrated in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (1851), declined in part because of the discovery of mineral oil wells in the second half of the 19th century. One unsustainable resource – the whale oil which lit and lubricated the industrial revolution – was replaced by another. By killing so many whales, then turning to carbon-emitting mineral oil, humans created a double-whammy for climate change. (Conversely, and perhaps perversely, some US commentators have claimed that capitalism saved the whales rather than environmentalists. They contend that our use of mineral oil actually alleviated the pressure on whale populations – proof, they say, that human ingenuity has the ultimate power to solve the planet's problems)

The 10 scientists who jointly contributed to the new paper note the benefits of "an ocean repopulated by the great whales". Working on a whalewatching boat off Cape Cod last month, I witnessed astonishing numbers of fin whales, humpbacks and minkes feeding on vast schools of sand eels. I watched dozens of whales at a time, co-operatively hoovering up the bait – and producing plentiful clouds of poo in the process. (Having been at the receiving end of a defecating sperm whale, I can testify to its richly odiferous qualities.)

Observers in the Azores have reported similarly remarkable concentrations of cetaceans this summer. And with a 10% increase in humpback calves returning to Australian waters each year, and blue whales being seen in the Irish Sea, a burgeoning global population of cetaceans might not just be good for the whalewatching industry, they may play a significant role in the planet's rearguard action against climate change.

It would certainly be a generous return on their part, given what we've inflicted on them. Indeed, as Melville imagined in his prophetic chapter in Moby-Dick, Does the Whale's Magnitude Diminish?, the whale might yet have the last laugh, regaining its reign in a flooded world of the future to "spout his frothed defiance to the skies".

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/08/whale-poo-reverse-climate-change

WHALES BLOW HOLE IN SONAR PLAN

By David Henkin | Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Whales, dolphins, sea turtles and many other marine mammals, not to mention everyone here at Earthjustice, are celebrating a court ruling that promises relief from harmful Navy weapons and sonar testing in the Pacific Ocean.

On March 31, a federal judge ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service broke the law when it approved the U.S. Navy's five-year Pacific weapons testing and training plan. The agency had concluded that the Navy's use of sonar, explosives and vessel strikes would threaten thousands of ocean dwellers with permanent hearing loss, lung damage and death—but approved it anyway.

Ever wonder what sonar sounds like out on the water? To humans, it’s unpleasantly reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard, but it can spell disaster for marine mammals that depend on hearing for survival. A single “ping” of the Navy’s most powerful sonar is capable of permanently deafening some whales. According to the government’s own estimates, the Navy’s plan would cause an estimated 9.6 million instances of harm to marine mammals over the plan’s five-year duration.

Earthjustice filed this lawsuit in 2013 in the U.S. District Court of Hawai‘i, representing Conservation Council for Hawai‘i, the Animal Welfare Institute, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Ocean Mammal Institute, alleging violations of the National Environmental Policy Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act.

The National Environmental Policy Act requires that federal agencies consider a range of alternatives to their proposed plans, including alternatives that can reduce the threat of environmental harm. We sued because the Fisheries Service and the Navy failed to evaluate alternatives that would protect biologically sensitive areas from training and testing.

Having failed to require such protections, the Fisheries Service authorized harm to what the court described as a “stunning number of marine mammals,” violating its legal duties under the Endangered Species Act. This law exists to ensure that activities like Navy training would not push endangered whales to extinction. The Fisheries Service also violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which serves to prevent harm to marine mammal populations.

The Fisheries Service has already identified vital areas to protect for whales, dolphins and other marine mammals around the Hawaiian Islands and off the coast of Southern California. In 2004, Navy sonar training near Hawai‘i was implicated in a mass stranding of up to 200 melon-headed whales in Kaua‘i's Hanalei Bay. Given events like this, it is shocking that the agency gave the Navy free rein to train throughout the Pacific without protecting biologically sensitive areas. The court’s ruling serves as an important reminder that the federal government has a responsibility to protect both our national security and our natural heritage.

The court's decision recognizes that the Navy doesn't need every inch of the Pacific for training. There is plenty of ocean for the Navy to carry out its mission and also to avoid severe harm to marine mammals by staying out of a small number of biologically sensitive areas.

Click here to listen to David Henkin speak about this case on Hawai‘i Public Radio.
http://earthjustice.org/blog/2015-april/whales-blow-hole-in-sonar-plan?utm_source=crm&utm_content=sonartitle&curation=ebrief

One Million Petition Signatures Delivered to the White House Calling for End to Japan’s Dolphin Slaughter

Six years after the film The Cove shed a light on the horrific annual capture and slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan, Dolphin Project founder and activist Ric O’Barry delivered your names—more than 1 million signatures—to the White House. You've urged President Obama, Vice President Biden, and the American ambassador to Japan to put pressure on the Japanese government to end the yearly slaughter. Thank you for speaking up!

In honor of the delivery, 100 people gathered together last Friday to mark the occasion at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center Building in Washington, D.C. Joined by nearly 500 supporters watching live online, the participants viewed a special animated video projection of the 1 million petition signatures and listened to passionate speeches from such dignitaries as O’Barry, race-car driver and animal activist Leilani Munter, and The Cove director Louie Psihoyos.

During his speech, Psihoyos made a big announcement: The filmmakers are in negotiations with the Japanese distributor to regain the film’s rights and intend to release The Cove for free in Japan—finally letting those in that country know what’s happening right in their homeland. As O’Barry said, “There’s no better tool in the world than The Cove to educate people about this issue.”

Read more about the event.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/04/18/cove-dolphin-event?cmpid=action-eml-2015-04-21-cove

US court to hear case on chimpanzees' right to freedom

Group says chimps should have at least some limited rights, traditionally reserved for humans, due to intelligence.
21 Apr 2015 22:37 GMT | Environment, US & Canada, Law

The victory could spur similar cases on behalf of elephants, dolphins and other intelligent animals [File: Reuters]

New York state's Supreme Court has granted a hearing to an animal rights group that seeks to prove that captivating chimpanzees equals to unlawful imprisonment of humans because they are intelligent creatures.

The Nonhuman Rights Project group requested the hearing in order to secure freedom for two chimps - Hercules and Leo - held by the State University of New York at Stony Brook on Long Island.

The court order issued on Monday by Barbara Jaffe, a New York state Supreme Court justice in Manhattan, requires that the university defend its right in court to keep the primates.

The university did not immediately return a request from the Reuters news agency asking for comment on Tuesday.

The rights group wants Leo and Hercules, who are used in research on physical movement, to be sent to a sanctuary in Florida.
To achieve that, the court needs to find that chimps have at least some limited rights traditionally reserved for humans.
The hearing, in which the university will be represented by the New York state attorney general's office, is scheduled for May 6.

Most Humpback Whales Will Lose Protection Under New Proposal

by Alicia Graef
April 21, 20154:00 pm

http://www.care2.com/causes/most-humpback-whales-will-lose-protection-under-new-proposal.html?onswipe_redirect=no&oswrr=4#comments

This week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced some big changes for humpback whales with a proposal to remove federal protection for most of their populations around the world. Conservationists fear the move is premature and could jeopardize their future.

Humpback whales, which were once severely threatened by commercial whaling, were protected globally under the under the Endangered Species Conservation Act in 1970 before it was replaced by the Endangered Species Act in 1973.

Now, according to NOAA, that protection, along with a global moratorium on whaling, have helped them recover to the point where most of their populations can be delisted.

Under NOAA’s proposal, humpback whales will be divided into 14 distinct population groups around the world. Of those, ten will be removed from protection. Two populations who live in Central America and the Western North Pacific will be listed as “threatened” and two populations in the Arabian Sea and Northwest Africa would remain listed as “endangered.”

“The return of the iconic humpback whale is an ESA success story,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries. “As we learn more about the species — and realize the populations are largely independent of each other — managing them separately allows us to focus protection on the animals that need it the most.”

Even though they’re successfully continuing to return from the brink and would still be protected from hunting and harassment under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, some conservationists are worried that the move to delist them is being made far too soon.

“It’s heartening to see that some humpback whales are recovering, but it’s premature to remove protections when so many threats, like climate change and ocean noise, are increasing,” said Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Since commercial whaling ended, humpbacks have enjoyed protection, but they’re still drowning in fishing gear and getting hit by ships.”

In addition to climate change, noise and entanglement, humpbacks also continue face threats from pollution, habitat degradation, overfishing and ocean acidification, which could affect their food sources.

Ship strikes that can be fatal are another major ongoing and growing worry. After recent petitions were filed by Alaska and Hawaii to delist them in the Pacific, scientists raised concerns that even more of these collisions will happen as more ships and species of whales, including humpbacks, head farther north into newly-ice free arctic waters.

Still others argue that splitting them up and declaring recovery successful for some groups is more complicated than it sounds.

Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director and senior biologist for Whale and Dolphin Conservation also said the move is premature, telling the The Gaurdian, “It’s not so simple as drawing a line and saying: ‘They belong to this population and there’s a lot of them so we are going to take them off the list.’”

She added that we should all be concerned. Not only do these whales play a valuable role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems, but they also have an economic value as one of the top species sought out by whale watching ventures.

NOAA will be holding public hearings in Hawaii, Alaska, Massachusetts and Virginia this May and June and has opened a 90-day public comment period. Concerned individuals wishing to submit a comment can do so at the Federal Register.

https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/04/21/2015-09010/endangered-and-threatened-species-identification-of-14-distinct-population-segments-of-the-humpback

The Unseen Slaughter Under the Sea

http://www.takepart.com/feature/2015/04/20/people-stopping-ghost-fishing-killing-whales-dolphins-seals?cmpid=tpseries-eml-2015-04-22-BPcontent

Could 3 Lawsuits in 3 Weeks Finally Bring SeaWorld Down?

Abigail Geer
April 23, 2015

Since the release of Blackfish in 2013, animal rights campaigners have been attacking SeaWorld with wave after wave of protests, petitions, marches and media campaigns.

Public awareness of the inherently cruel nature of marine parks has never been higher, and this has resulted in lower attendance and loss of support for SeaWorld.

Progress is definitely being made in that respect, but when so much money rests on SeaWorld getting people through the gates, they’re clearly not going to cave in to pressure from animal rights campaigners and stop their exploitative practices. This is why campaigners have now started hitting them with legal action.

3 Court Cases in 3 Weeks for SeaWorld

Three separate court cases have now been filed against SeaWorld in the last three weeks, with each one taking a different approach to suing the company.

The first two legal complaints were filed in California and Orlando, claiming that SeaWorld had been selling tickets to customers under false pretenses, by claiming that the orcas were happy and thriving. They are calling for SeaWorld to “cease its unfair business practices” and to reimburse the ticket price back to customers. If successful, the class action lawsuit would be applied to all customers over the last four years, and with around 5 million visitors per year, these lawsuits could cost SeaWorld in excess of 2 billion dollars.

The latest lawsuit is taking a different approach, and is not looking to reimburse customers for ticket prices, but to “cease making false statements” in their advertising. The lawsuit plaintiffs in this case are two members of the public who had visited the San Diego SeaWorld park, and whose legal team is being advised by the Earth Island Institute, an environmental advocacy and research group that “[wants] to force SeaWorld to tell the truth.”

The lawsuit is demanding that SeaWorld “cease making false statements about the health and welfare of the orcas and to make a public statement about the orcas, refuting previous false claims.” Mark Palmer from the Earth Island Institute told reporters “we hope the courts order SeaWorld to tell the truth about orcas in captivity.”

Public Pressure Alone Is Not Enough to Stop SeaWorld

The latest onslaught of legal cases being filed against SeaWorld highlight the complexity of the battle which is being fought to free those being held captive in their tiny aquatic prisons.

While protests, marches, public speak outs and media coverage of SeaWorld’s controversial activities have been successful in removing the gloss from their public image and have even resulted in fewer ticket sales, these actions are unlikely to be enough to put an end to the exploitation of these beautiful creatures alone. If successful, the court cases would change the situation entirely, crippling their finances, exposing their lies, and forcing them to completely alter the way they can talk about the animals in their marine parks.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/could-3-lawsuits-in-3-weeks-finally-bring-seaworld-down.html#ixzz3YFlLCd2K

Victory! World’s Top Zoo Association Kicks Japan Out Over Cruel Dolphin Drives

Alicia Graef
Apr 24, 2015

This week, animal advocates are celebrating news that the world’s top zoo association has finally suspended its Japanese member over its ties with the brutal dolphin drives that take place every year in Taiji.

Conservationists have been working for years to get the World Association for Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) to take a meaningful stand against member facilities that support the live capture of dolphins, but it had yet to take any real action until now.

WAZA announced that after failing to reach an agreement regarding its policies addressing the acquisition of animals, it voted unanimously to suspend the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA) because of its continued involvement with controversial drive hunts.

Whale and dolphin advocates have brought these hunts into the public’s view, most notably with the award-winning documentary “The Cove,” and have raised international outrage over the mass slaughter and captures of dolphins that continue to take place annually.

While thousands are butchered and sold for their meat, more are torn from their families and sold to zoos and aquariums for public display. Many have continued to argue that if it weren’t for the money brought in by sales for captivity, the drives would have ended by now.

WAZA has said it condemns the drives and is not involved in any way, but it had continued to allow JAZA to violate its Code of Ethics and Animal Welfare without consequence. Now JAZA is finally being held accountable.

WAZA said in a statement that it “requires all members to adhere to policies that prohibit participating in cruel and non-selective methods of taking animals from the wild.” It added: “The basis for the suspension is a determination that JAZA has violated the WAZA Code of Ethics and Animal Welfare. Moreover, WAZA Council re-affirmed its position that members of WAZA must confirm that they will not acquire dolphins from the Taiji fishery.”

“We congratulate and applaud WAZA Council for doing the right thing,” said the Dolphin Project‘s Ric O’Barry. “Their credibility with their peers has been destroyed. This is a big win for all wild dolphins swimming past the shores of Taiji.”

The suspension also comes on the heels of a lawsuit that was filed last month by Australia for Dolphins (AFD), which hoped to get WAZA to uphold its Code of Ethics, or give JAZA the boot.

“The suspension of JAZA following AFD’s legal action is great news. It is a significant first step towards ending the horrific annual dolphin hunts in Taiji,” said Sarah Lucas, CEO of AFD. “Up to 40% of total demand for Taiji dolphins comes from WAZA network aquariums. WAZA’s decision to suspend its Japanese member for involvement in the hunts is a major blow to the world’s largest dolphin trade.”

According to AFD, JAZA facilities are home to more than 600 dolphins, while more half of JAZA’s 65 members acquire dolphins from the Taiji drive hunts. Whale and Dolphin Conservation, which is also applauding the move, added that since 2004, over 1,200 dolphins caught in the hunts have been sent to dolphinaria in Japan and other countries, including the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, China, Iran, Palau, the Philippines and Turkey.

AFD says it will continue with its legal action on behalf of dolphins who end up in other countries and, following the exposure of other serious abuses last month, hopes to get WAZA to enforce its animal welfare policies at all of its member facilities.

While the announcement is a huge step towards ending the drive hunts, captivity itself is still a major problem for dolphins and cetaceans. The demand won’t end until we stop supporting facilities that keep them.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vzaUI1hSvmY

Watch What Happens Behind the Scenes During the Cove Dolphin Roundup

Sea Shepherd’s new video documents every step of the slaughter made infamous in ‘The Cove.’

February 21, 2015 By Taylor Hill

Though the season for culling dolphins at the infamous cove in Taiji, Japan, will wrap up on the first day of March, Sea Shepherd’s Cove Guardians want you to see what goes on before, during, and after the dolphin slaughter.

This video shows how the fishing fleet drives dolphins and small whales into the cove and selects certain animals for captivity—and others for slaughter. Mothers become separated from calves, and some hunts can wipe out entire familial pods of dolphins. Other dolphins are captured for sale to water parks and aquariums.

Perched above the cove, the activists fly a pirate flag, team leader Melissa Sehgal says in the video, to show “the hunters that the atrocities committed in Taiji will not go unseen.”

This video is part of Sea Shepherd’s “Operation Infinite Patience” campaign to monitor the hunting boats each day through the six-month hunting season, keeping track of the kills and captures. The group has been on the ground in Taiji Cove, documenting the annual hunt, every year since 2010.

https://vimeo.com/112547406

Bubble Feeding

A Drone Caught These Whales Singing as They Fish for Their Lunch
The marine mammals team up to make catching small fish easier.

December 16, 2014 By Taylor Hill

When humpback whales are plying polar waterways, they’re constantly trying to fill up—sucking down as much as two tons of food a day. They need to pack on the pounds to support their 70,000-pound frame before migrating thousands of miles south to tropical waters to breed.

You'd think that with their massive mouths, humpbacks would search out the biggest fish they could swallow. But no, their diet is primarily made up of tiny shrimp and small fish they filter through their baleen plates.

And with hungry humpbacks on the lookout for the same food supply, you would expect that they would keep their distance from each other.

But take a look at this seagull-view footage, and it’s clear—humpbacks have a strategy all their own when it comes to fishing, and that strategy takes teamwork.

To execute the scheme, called bubble-net feeding, between four and 20 whales are needed. The group dives together, waiting below the school of fish that’s soon to become lunch. One whale breaks off from the group, circling below the fish and blowing bubbles at the same time. As the ring of bubbles rises around the fish, it spooks them and they naturally school up into tight balls.

Now comes the above-surface action. In unison, the rest of the whales lunge from below the school, mouths agape toward the surface, scarfing up the loads of fish in the process.

And thanks to the drone footage uploaded from AkXpro, we’re able to see, and hear, the humpback pod in Alaska's Prince William Sound coordinate the effort from above.

It Takes a Village to Save a Monk Seal
http://www.takepart.com/feature/2015/04/22/endangered-hawaiian-monk-seal-ocean-plastic-pollution-climate-change?cmpid=tpanimals-eml-2015-04-25-cove

Elephants playing video:
http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/07/10/baby-elephants-playing

On news this morning:

Mattel will no longer make Seaworld themed Barbie's.
Another one bites the dust! (tu)

Barbie Quits Seaworld as Jane Gooddall Says it ‘Should Be Closed Down

EcoWatch
Apr 30, 2015
Written by Lorraine Chow, and reposted with permission from EcoWatch

SeaWorld is still taking a dive two years after the release of the gripping documentary Blackfish, about the company’s treatment of killer whales in captivity. Most recently, renowned conservationist and primatologist Jane Goodall has delivered a scathing statement about the theme park. Her sharp words followed Mattel’s announcement that it will no longer produce SeaWorld-branded merchandise, including its popular SeaWorld Trainer Barbie dolls.

“We are disappointed in Mattel’s decision to stop production of the SeaWorld Trainer Barbie,” SeaWorld said in a statement. “We are proud that Mattel had chosen to honor the women—and men—at SeaWorld who dedicate their lives to the care and conservation of killer whales and other animals living in our parks. Particularly disappointing is that the decision appears to be based on complaints from PETA, an extremist organization that works to close zoos and aquariums.” According to Reuters, the prominent animal rights group had approached Mattel in 2012 to stop making the doll.

Mattel has not commented on why it’s ending production of the Trainer Barbie line which launched in 2012. “A number of factors go into a decision like that,” spokesman Alex Clark told NBC News. “Their licensing deal expired and we’ve elected not to renew it.”

According to CNN Money, SeaWorld’s stock price fallen roughly 48 percent since the documentary debuted. Attendance is down across its 11 parks and destinations.

Despite strongly denying the documentary’s claims, Blackfish has spurred a powerful anti-captivity movement that involves a growing list of bold faced names, including Jane Goodall. In an interview with the Huffington Post earlier this week, Goodall said whales and dolphins should never be held in captivity and Seaworld “definitely should be closed down.”

The esteemed 81-year-old conservationist and primatologist Jane Goodall says SeaWorld should close down. Confining cetacea (e.g. whales, dolphins and porpoises that communicate with sonar-like sound waves) in tanks produces an “acoustical hell,” she said.

According to figures from the nonprofit advocacy group Whale and Dolphin Conservation, as of last December, SeaWorld has held 22 orcas in its three U.S. marine parks (Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio), five of which were caught in the wild, the Huffington Post reported.

“It’s not only that they’re really big, highly intelligent and social animals so that the capture and confinement in itself is cruel,” Goodall said, but also “they have emotions like ours.”

Goodall, who is considered the world’s leading expert on chimpanzees, has spoken on marine animal conservation before.
Last May, she urged the Vancouver Aquarium to phase out belugas and dolphins in captivity.

“When they are contained in these tanks … that is acoustical hell,” she told Huffington Post. “The sounds bounce back from the walls of the tank.”

SeaWorld has refuted Goodall’s claims. “Jane Goodall is a respected scientist and advocate for the world’s primates, but we couldn’t disagree more with her on this,” SeaWorld said in an emailed statement. “Zoos and marine mammal parks like SeaWorld allow people to experience animals in a way that is inspiring and educational.”

SeaWorld also tweeted, a link to its website about noise concerns. It reads, “We have worked with independent experts in the field of bioacoustics from Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and the National Marine Mammal Foundation to measure the ambient noise in our environments (including music, etc.). Our underwater noise levels are quieter than the ambient ocean. And those above water sounds don’t transfer underwater. So, based on these studies, we are confident the sounds in our environment are not detrimental to the animal’s wellbeing.”

Last August, Southwest Airlines also ended its 26-year-long partnership with the company after Blackfish backlash.

Click to learn more...
http://www.care2.com/causes/barbie-quits-seaworld-as-jane-gooddall-says-it-should-be-closed-down.html?onswipe_redirect=no&oswrr=4#comments

Record Number of Whales Being Tangled in Fishing Gear

by Alicia Graef
April 30, 2015

Record Number of Whales Being Tangled in Fishing Gear
Whale advocates are calling on wildlife officials to take urgent action to protect whales in the Pacific who are being entangled in fishing gear in astounding numbers.

According to a coalition of groups including the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice and Oceana, numbers from the National Marine Fisheries Service show that in 2014 there were a record reported whale entanglements with 30, mostly gray and humpback whales, spotted in trouble – twice as many as the previous year.

More concerning is that already this year another 25 have been reported off the coast of California, with the most recent case involving an orca, believed to be a transient, who washed up dead tangled in crab gear. Conservationists worry the numbers may be even higher with more entangled whales going undetected.

“It’s heartbreaking to know so many whales are getting tangled up in fishing gear. They often drown or drag gear around until they’re too exhausted to feed. Even more disturbing is that this problem is only getting worse,” said Catherine Kilduff, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity.

According to the groups, most of the recent entanglements have occurred with Dungeness crab gear, but lobster, spot prawn gear and gillnets are also causing problems.

For federally protected humpbacks, it’s a serious problem. Just last week, NOAA proposed removing federal protection from most of their populations around the world, including those who migrate along the West coast. But their advocates argue that even though they’re doing well, it’s too soon. The growing problem with entanglement is another serious threat among many they still face and a sign they need continued protection.

In a letter to officials, the groups point to studies that estimate over half of all humpback whales on the West Coast have suffered fishing gear entanglements.

Dan Lawson, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, told Reuters the agency is seeking to “do whatever we need to do to reduce the amount of entanglements,” and a Task Force has been set up to address the problem. But conservationists believe immediate action needs to be taken to stop the issue from getting worse.

Now, the groups are urging the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Fish and Game Commission to make some changes before the crab season begins again next fall to prevent more injuries and deaths.

Some of the changes they want to see include closing fisheries where whales are feeding, using lines that will break away when caught on a whale, reducing the number of lines in the water and supporting programs that retrieve lost gear.

“Californians are incredibly lucky to share our coastal waters with these magnificent whales. We have a responsibility to act quickly to prevent more whales from getting tangled up in fishing gear,” said Andrea Treece, an attorney with Earthjustice. “We’re requesting that the state work with our groups and the fishing industry to protect whales and secure federally required permits that protect fishermen.”

http://os.care2.com/all/record-number-of-whales-being-tangled-in-fishing-gear#1

There's a disturbing truth behind 'swim with dolphins' tourist attractions

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-disturbing-truth-behind-your-swim-with-the-dolphins-2015-5

CHRISTINA M. RUSSO,
THE DODO
MAY 2, 201

Swimming with dolphins may be way more problematic than you realize.

Throngs of Americans are heading south to the Caribbean right now, for the balmy sunshine, intoxicating evening breeze, turquoise waters … and the opportunity to swim with dolphins.

But despite their popularity, swim-with-the-dolphin programs have a dark underbelly, and those on the inside are starting to speak out against them.

Swim-with-the-dolphin (SWTD) programs can be found all over the world, but they've become exceptionally popular in the Caribbean in the past decade or so.

A former dolphin trainer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The Dodo that these programs are inherently problematic — and cetaceans simply do not belong in captivity.

"Dolphins are beautiful and amazing creatures in their natural habitat," says the former trainer, who requested anonymity because he still works in the Caribbean hotel industry. "But stick them in a cage, and you watch them change."

One trainer's story
Born and raised in the Bahamas, the trainer says he was employed at two swim-with-the-dolphin facilities in the Caribbean, and his concerns grew over his tenure. The dolphins' holding pens were not only excessively shallow, but also far too small. At one facility, he says, more than 40 dolphins were caged in three compact cells.

In the open sea pens — as opposed to enclosed pools within a resort — debris like nails and fish hooks would float in from the ocean, he adds.

"Because they didn't have a vet or any type of veterinary care at [this particular] facility, the dolphins would swallow things, and there would be nothing you could do about it," he says. Though he witnessed the enclosed pens being cleaned, he claims the smell of the chlorine was so strong, it would "choke" the trainers — and that some of the animals eventually went blind because of its use.

He also maintains that many of the dolphins suffered from "psychosis," a behavior not unheard of in marine mammals forced to swim in small pens all day long. They were also under extreme pressure to perform, which may have made them dangerous to humans, he says: "They did 10 interactions a day … the same motions, the same speech, the same signals over and over. They would get frustrated ... and aggressive to guests or knock food buckets out of our hands."

The former trainer's most troubling allegation, however, is that some female dolphins prevented their new babies from breathing — by stopping them from coming to the surface. The trainer, who isn't a scientist, said he and his colleagues deduced the mothers did this because they didn't want their babies to "live in captivity."

Though that allegation can't be proven, another former trainer has echoed other worries. Moreover, studies have pointed to some issues with dolphin captivity in general. According to a World Animal Protection/Humane Society of the United States report called "The Case Against Marine Mammals in Captivity," cetaceans in captivity are routinely given antibiotics and ulcer medications, are in need of vitamin supplements because they are being fed nutrient-deficient frozen fish and have a history of premature death from a variety of causes.

The report also notes that, for many dolphins, enclosure sizes are less than 1 percent of their natural habitat range.

What's wrong about swimming with dolphins?
"Swim with the dolphins" (SWTD) is a general term for a variety of dolphin-themed itineraries. Besides swimming with a dolphin (or two), you can be photographed with a dolphin, pulled through the water by a dolphin (the "dorsal tow"), smooched by a dolphin or pushed by the beak of a dolphin. You can even pay to be a dolphin "trainer," complete with a whistle and training manual.

There are some 30 dolphinariums in the Caribbean, says Naomi Rose, a marine mammal scientist with the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI). They can be found at a number of tourist meccas, including the Bahamas, Jamaica, Tortola, Grand Cayman, the Dominican Republic and Cancun.

Even more facilities are being built in the region, including one that recently opened in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and others are being proposed in Turks and Caicos and St. Lucia, says Courtney Vail, the campaigns and program manager at Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), who has been campaigning against cetacean captivity for 16 years.

The WDC documented many welfare incidents in the Caribbean in a 2010 paper called "Captivity in the Caribbean." In one facility in Antigua, dolphins were found to be "unusually dark" due to shallow enclosures and subsequent sunburn; some were found to be held in isolation for training purposes; and some were exposed to polluted water.

"Although some Caribbean countries have developed legislation to address these captive dolphin programs, regulations are rarely enforced, and facilities operate under the radar in most, due to the lack of capacity and oversight," Vail told The Dodo.

Ceta Base is a site that logs the capture, transport and death rates of captive dolphins around the world. At The Dodo's request, Ceta Base estimated there are some 240 dolphins — both wild-caught and captive-bred — in facilities across the Caribbean, and that most of the wild dolphins hailed from Cuba, Honduras and the Gulf of Mexico.

A dolphinarium's view
Forty of these dolphins are at Dolphin Cay, a popular facility at Atlantis, a resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Opened in 2007, Dolphin Cay is a 14-acre lagoon with "seven million gallons of natural Bahamian ocean water," says Greg Charbeneau, vice president of Marine Operations.

The first dolphins to live at Dolphin Cay were relocated from the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, Mississippi, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The transfer was well-publicized and was also the subject of a 2007 book, "The Katrina Dolphins: One-Way Ticket To Paradise."

Since Atlantis is one of the most popular facilities, The Dodo reached out for a response to welfare concerns with SWTD programs. Atlantis prioritizes the well-being of its dolphins with a team of 90 specialists and veterinarians to "ensure their safety and comfort at all times," said Charbeneau in an email to The Dodo. He also explained that dolphin programs help teach people about marine mammals and conservation, and it is one of Atlantis' passions to conserve marine life.

Atlantis is accredited by both the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums and is also a member of the International Marine Animal Trainers Association, he notes.

The facility has had 16 successful dolphin births since 2007 and one dolphin mortality. Its interaction coves, says Charbeneau, are 10 feet deep.

Sam Duncombe, the director of reEarth, a Bahamian grassroots organization that was behind the closure of another SWTD facility in the Bahamas last year, disagrees with some of Charbeneau's claims. Born and raised in the area, Duncombe told The Dodo she's been fighting against the development of dolphinariums — including the Atlantis — for nearly 25 years.

"[The Katrina dolphins] were bought, not rescued," Duncombe says. "It was greenwashing in a big way." Duncombe also maintains that the cells the dolphins are in are "horrible."

"When I saw what they had built [for the dolphins], I cried," she said. "The bloody fish in the aquarium have more than [them], with corals and rocks. These dolphins just have bare white concrete pools."

In fact, Duncombe's concern about the depth of the pools is shared by scientist Naomi Rose, from AWI, who says that dolphins routinely dive to 60 feet.

Ten feet, she argues, "is far too shallow!"

All aboard: the role of the cruise ship

How did dolphinariums in the Caribbean get so popular? In short: the cruise ship. "Every proposal for a new swim-with-dolphin facility was premised on the need to meet the demand from cruise ship tourism," says Rose, who notes the trend really took off in the 2000s. Some dolphinariums, she points out, don't even have parking lots: Tourists simply debark, swim with the cetaceans, then re-board their giant boat.

Statistics gathered from the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association show there's no sign of a slow down. Its most recent report ranked the Caribbean the most popular cruise destination, owning about 37 percent of the market share in 2014, up 3 percent from the year before.

"Unless you stop the demand side, which is those great many cruise ship passengers and North American tourists, you will continue to see dolphinariums open in the Caribbean," says Diana McCaulay, CEO of the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), which has protested dolphinariums in Jamaica.

How wild dolphins end up in captivity
McCaulay told The Dodo that the process of capturing dolphins in the wild is "very traumatic."

"They are chased into nets … they are rounded up, the ones they want are selected, then they are lifted up into a boat and transported," she explains, adding that female dolphins are preferred because they are more "trainable."

A December 2014 letter jointly written by the AWI and WDC in protest of a proposed St. Kitts dolphinarium at Bird Rock Beach details how dolphins are caught in the wild:

Individuals may become entangled in the capture nets and suffocate or suffer stress-related conditions associated with the trauma of capture. In addition, captures from the wild can negatively impact already depleted dolphin populations by removing breeding (or otherwise important) members from the group.
The letter points out that scientific data from 1995 have shown that the mortality rate of captured bottlenose dolphins is dramatically increased during capture and transport.

Moreover, "methods used to transport cetaceans can also be inhumane, and many individuals have died as a result of injury and stress brought about by efforts to supply captive facilities around the world."

A review of Ceta Base shows just how often dolphins are transported. One dolphin, for example, named Tamra, has been transported 14 times. According to Ceta Base, she is currently at Atlantis.

The endless cycle: breeding for captivity
Although some places still capture dolphins from the wild, many in the Caribbean stock their facilities with captive-bred animals. Another prominent company in the Caribbean is Dolphin Cove, based in Jamaica. Dolphin Cove Ltd. owns a number of dolphinariums in the region and has won a World Travel Award — "the Oscars of the travel industry" — since 2011.

The owners of Dolphin Cove, Stafford and Marilyn Burrowes, recently told The Jamaica Observer that the company launched a captive dolphin breeding program four years ago. Five of its dolphins have since given birth. "These days it is almost impossible to get dolphins from the wild because of the actions of animal rights groups," Stafford Burrowes told the newspaper. Dolphin Cove did not respond to The Dodo's request for comment.

reEarth's Duncombe says one of her numerous concerns about breeding is that the captive-bred dolphins are losing their instincts: "What these facilities are doing ... is creating a whole substructure of animals who have no way of living in the wild."

In the end, Duncombe hopes that the public will pay more attention to the plight of the dolphin in captivity. But to the tourist who is still thinking about swimming with dolphins, she says bluntly:

"Your desire to be with them — is killing them."

Airline Takes On Big Game Hunters to Protect Rhinos, Lions, and Elephants

Africa’s largest airline bans the shipment of endangered animal trophies on its flights.

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/04/30/south-africa-airline-bans-hunting-trophies?cmpid=tpnews-eml-2015-05-02-baltimore

April 30, 2015 By Taylor Hill

It just got harder for big game hunters to bring endangered animal trophies back home from South Africa to hang on their wall.

That’s because South African Airways, the continent’s largest airline, has banned the transport of endangered rhinos, elephants, and lions aboard its passenger and cargo flights.

“SAA will no longer support game hunters by carrying their trophies back to their country of origin,” SAA country manager Tim Clyde-Smith told the South African media on Wednesday. “The vast majority of tourists visit Africa in particular to witness the wonderful wildlife that remains. We consider it our duty to work to ensure this is preserved for future generations and that we deter activity that puts this wonderful resource in danger.”

The news broke April 25, when the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa posted internal documents from SAA revealing its embargo plans. The airline then issued a statement announcing that the embargo had gone into effect April 21 on all of its flights. No exceptions will be made, even if the hunter holds a valid permit “issued by the relevant authorities” to transport the animal, the airline said.

SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said in an email that a recent incident influenced the airline to establish the embargo. “Early in April 2015, a shipment lodged as machinery spare parts was discovered in Australia whilst in transit to Kuala Lumpur. The shipment contained elephant tusks and was seized. We were issued with a notice of seizure.”

“We recognize that this decision could impact several stakeholders,” Tlali added. “SAA Cargo remains committed to playing a significant role in curbing the illegal transportation of all animal species while positively contributing to national and international conservation efforts.”

Conservation groups are touting the move as a step in the right direction, helping curb the hunting of Africa’s endangered animals and limiting options for illegal wildlife traffickers who might otherwise transport wildlife products under the guise that the goods were obtained via legal hunts.

“We see this as a bold and positive move on South African Airways’ part to limit human-induced mortalities,” said African Wildlife Foundation spokesperson Kathleen Garrigan. “It’s especially impactful given that [SAA] services a major sport-hunting destination.”

With SAA taking the first step, the question is whether other international airlines will follow suit. Delta Airlines, the only U.S.-based airline with direct flights to South Africa, did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding SAA’s embargo.

If other airlines jump on board, trophy hunting might not be so appealing to big game hunters if they can’t bring evidence of their kills home. American hunters are already facing restrictions on what African animals they can go after.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials banned ivory trophy imports from Tanzania and Zimbabwe last year and are considering listing the African elephant as an endangered species—which would effectively ban all ivory trophy and elephant skin imports from legal hunts.

“This move will likely not deter hunters from hunting, but it may deter them from choosing South Africa as a destination for sport hunting,” Garrigan said.

Watch the Trailer for Kristin Davis' Elephant-Poaching Doc 'Gardeners of Eden'

As Africa's elephants hurtle toward extinction to fuel the worldwide ivory trade, actor-producer Kristin Davis takes you on a gripping first-person journey inside the operations of Kenya's David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

April 07, 2015 By TakePart Staff

Africa's elephants are hurtling toward extinction to fuel the worldwide ivory trade. While conservationists howl and corrupt governments fail to address the ongoing slaughter, one brave family has been working for decades to stem the tide, one elephant at a time. In Gardeners of Eden, actor, philanthropist, and producer Kristin Davis takes you on a gripping, first-person journey inside the operations of Kenya's David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. From the front lines of the crisis, we witness their heroic efforts to stop the poachers in the bush, rescue the orphans of slain elephants, and raise them by hand until, one day, returning them to their home in the wild.

Gardeners of Eden premieres Wednesday, May 6, at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, only on Pivot TV. To learn more and take action against elephant poaching, visit takepart.com/ivory.

Watch trailer on this link:
http://www.takepart.com/video/2015/04/07/watch-trailer-elephant-poaching-doc-gardeners-eden-sex-and-city-actress-kristin?cmpid=tpnews-eml-2015-05-02-baltimore