#Funding issues
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
Congress Candidate Withdraws: Funding Woes Hit Puri Lok Sabha Seat Contest
In a significant setback for the Congress party in Odisha, Sucharita Mohanty, the candidate for the Puri Lok Sabha seat, has withdrawn from the electoral race. Citing the partyâs alleged denial of funding, Mohantyâs decision has stirred controversy and highlighted internal challenges within the party.
Background: Sucharita Mohanty, a seasoned journalist turned politician, expressed her inability to continue campaigning in Puri without financial support from the party. She emphasized the crucial role of funding in mounting an effective campaign, especially in a high-profile constituency like Puri.
Financial Strain: Facing a financial crunch, Mohantyâs campaign struggled to secure necessary resources for effective outreach and mobilization efforts. Despite her earnest efforts, she encountered hurdles in securing funds, which severely hampered her electoral campaign.
Party Response: Ajoy Kumar, the AICC Odisha in-charge, refuted Mohantyâs allegations and assured that funding was not an issue for Congress candidates. He clarified that the party had requested changes in candidate selection for several constituencies, including Puri, indicating ongoing internal deliberations.
High-Stakes Contest: Puri Lok Sabha seat has emerged as a battleground for prominent political figures, with BJPâs national spokesperson Sambit Patra and BJDâs Arup Patnaik vying for victory. Mohantyâs withdrawal adds another layer of complexity to an already intense electoral contest.
Public Appeal: Mohantyâs withdrawal sparked public discourse, with concerns raised over the challenges faced by opposition parties in securing adequate resources for electoral campaigns. Her appeal for public donations underscored the broader issue of financial constraints in political campaigning.
Party Dynamics: The Congress partyâs inability to address Mohantyâs funding concerns highlights internal challenges and underscores the need for cohesive decision-making processes. The withdrawal of candidates in key constituencies could impact the partyâs electoral prospects and organizational credibility.
Looking Ahead: As the electoral landscape evolves, the Congress party must address internal issues and streamline its campaign strategies to remain competitive in the upcoming elections. Mohantyâs withdrawal serves as a wake-up call for the party leadership to prioritize resource allocation and organizational cohesion.
Conclusion: Sucharita Mohantyâs withdrawal from the Puri Lok Sabha contest sheds light on the complexities of political campaigning and the critical role of funding in electoral processes. As political parties navigate challenges and opportunities, effective resource management and strategic decision-making will be essential for success in the electoral arena.
0 notes
Text
The Jess episodes in Season 6 are SO gratifying (for those of us who, like Rory, would say, "I KNEW you could do something like this! I KNEW it, I knew it!") but at the same time SO FRUSTRATING, because everything about the way they were written suggests that they were making deliberate comparisons between Jess and Logan- comparisons in which Logan doesn't come off particularly well. Like they went to great pains to imply that: Jess knew Rory better than Logan (the birthday subplot), was better FOR her, was more mature, loyal, freaking noble, etc. etc... And then they just... never went anywhere with it! Logan jumps off a cliff and Rory feels guilty, and... The whole plotline gets dropped and they never talk about it again! It really freaking seemed like they were making a point, but WHAT WAS THE FREAKING POINT??? *flips a table!*
#Gilmore Girls#Literati#Was it just bad timing???#With all the external changes going on?#This is BY FAR the most frustrating aspect of TV storytelling to me#I want a PLOT! I want a PLAN!!!#I want you to think through the beats of a story and then BRING IT TO COMPLETION!#And it's SO FRUSTRATING for that to get interrupted and abruptly change direction because the external factors are so precarious!#It's SO SUBJECT to time or funding or personal issues involving actors or writers etc. etc.#I wanted CATHARSIS dang it!!!#It's like having a lover who continually gets bored or distracted halfway through the process!
138 notes
¡
View notes
Text
Jonjay shippers, since we are claiming that Jon and Damian never had any chemistry, no platonic chemistry, no friendship chemistry and claiming they donât really like each other all that much and Damianâs emotionless and feels nothing for Jon and just genuinely horrible to him, hereâs a shit ton of panels proving otherwise!
1.
âI thought Iâd just sit right here so youâre not alone.â
2.
âYeah, right. Never.â
3. Damian freaking out when Jon gets hurt.
4. Damian hugging Jon for no reason.
5. Damian denying Jon his place in the Titans but realizing he was the only one out of them they believed he had what it takes to be a member, then feeling like an idiot about it.
6. Jon calling Damian his hero.
7. I couldnât tell you why but thereâs something so sweet about this.
8. Clark using Jon as leverage for Damian to behave himself.
9. âNeeding to remember.â
10. "That's why we're pals."
11. "You can't be responsible for everything Damian does."
12. Sewing cape.
13. "I mean that with love."
14. Protective Damian.
15. Protective Damian Pt2
16. Damian Wayne hates hugs right?
17. Shoulder sleeping.
18. Damian goes out of his way to buy Jon a christmas gift.
19. I don't know if Jon has a thought that isn't about Damian.
20. Hm
Anyway, I seriously don't understand how someone could say this? Do you seriously think that Damian doesn't care about Jon? This is why I truly think that you must HATE Damian and not read his comics to understand how he works. He does care about Jon, their friendship is not one sided or nonexistent, they are about each other and the stories they are in go out of their way to prove that to you. The lack of reading comprehension is crazy.
#this came from a jonj*y shipper too by the way#you wanna talk about chemistry???#THAT IS CRAAAAAAAZY#damian wayne#jon kent#jonathan kent#super sons#supersons#dc comics#batfam#superfam#a beloved comic book serious doesnt get funded on no chemistry#you wanna say that about the series of all time#when your ships comics cant break 6 issues?#lets be soooo serious#why do they lowkey hate damian?!
166 notes
¡
View notes
Note
How do the researchers react to the clan cats leaving the lake for a time?
You mean the little patrols they send out?
They aren't aware of them, EXCEPT for the Beaver Expedition that Dovepaw was on. They found out about that one because they got a phone call from the team in charge of the beaver introduction.
It was NERVE WRACKING. Both teams were terrified the other would injure their subjects. They were horrified when the cats dug out the top of the dam and pulled the squealing baby beavers out, thinking this was going to end BADLY, but practically cried in relief and excitement when the Clan cats baited the parents towards the lake.
(I like to imagine someone on the beaver team ended up hitting it off with someone on the Clan cat team. The wedding cake was cats and beavers.)
But generally? They don't know about expeditions. Sometimes they catch them leaving, but don't have the funding to chase them down.
Clan cats are also not under constant surveillance. Very important to understand this. Clan cats will attack anything that upsets them and good cameras are expensive; they snuck one into the ThunderClan Camp once in like 2009, and Firestar dug it up at the stake and dropped it down the WindClan border ravine because it was freaking his warriors out.
(The cats don't understand that the cameras watch; they just don't like the Freaky Human Thing)
So the team has to be careful, not install too many, and hide the ones they do have. They don't want the cats to move again.
#I try to make sure that my researchers are more like actual wildlife scientists than gods. Yknow?#I think it's more interesting that they have funding issues and can't just install endless cameras#PLUS the cats reach the lake around 2008-ish. So I try to keep the technology accurate#Re: a lot of this is based off techniques they had to use for capturing the footage on Meerkat Manor#I also use the wayback machine to reference the Sirtrack catalogue which was cutting edge tech at the time#And mind you! This isn't meerkat manor. These researchers are ridiculously underfunded#Have i ever mentioned that i loved meerkat manor as a kid? A family member used to record it for me lmaooo#Better bones au#Millie's radio collar
169 notes
¡
View notes
Text
We need to start a prayer circle so sapnap goes to the spreen ping pong event.
41 notes
¡
View notes
Note
It's really disheartening that Rick Riordan stance on the war I understand that he wants to be neutral on this stance but in my opinion by becoming neutral he only worsening the issue as many Palestines are dying that are mostly children, how the majority of Israeli are supporting the Genocide of Palestine, and how the government is trying so hard (but miserably failing) to justified the genocide. I will hold him accountable for what he said on this issue as during this period the choice is basically "you are with us or against us."
Part of me wishes he will realize what he said was wrong and understand the bigger issue that plays at hand. I will criticism for his actions as how can a man who promotes LGBTQIA and representation of minorities and disabilities in his books turn a blind eyes to Genocide of people. However we can only wait and see on his next move.
One last thing about your previous you said you don't group Riordan with other authors where do you would group him with? Also this is more on an opinion base answer but many people are boycotting companies that support Israel there as been another post on Twitter on boycotting authors. Rick Riordan happens to be one of them. Do you believed that he should be boycotted with other authors or he should be properly educated and apologized for his previous statement? If you believed he should be boycotted what do tou have to say to those who might have the mentality of "separate the art from the artist"
thank you for this ask, and i completely agree with you! it is extremely hypocritical of him considering what he preaches for in his books. i think heâs convinced he has properly addressed the apartheid by using very vague language that can be applied to anything, and in doing so, heâs addressed nothing really.
your first question on who i would group him withâ probably other authors who are doing the exact same as him in their virtue signalling. i always like to link my other blogs to each other, so i donât think itâs a secret that i have a red queen account and iâm pretty passionate about that. unfortunately, victoria aveyard is another fantasy author who has literally wrote a whole four-book series on the uprising against oppression but is now playing neutral in her address of the apartheid. rebecca yarros is in the same boat, although i havenât read âfourth wing,â fans have said there are large themes of oppression within the book. so if i had to group riordan it would probably be in the âi-like-to-write-about-it-for-profit-and-praise-onlyâ group.
in terms of boycotting, i think thatâs a great idea! i would also like to remind everyone that the percy jackson tv show is coming out in a little over a month, but disney is a huge industry financially supporting israel as well ($2 million in funding), which is obviously far more damning than a poorly written address by one person. there is a boycott happening for disney as wellâ and the pjo show will be released on disney + . i implore everyone to not watch it on that platform!! personally i will be pirating it online (idk if iâll get into trouble saying that here but lol oh well), because im pretty sure the boycott is only for withdrawing financial support, not simply consuming media.
i feel like separating art from the artist only works if that artist is⌠like, dead, and youâre using that art and its values as a historical insight to how the world was during its time. you can still like a piece of work that has a problematic artist, you can engage with the work (to an extent). but separating art from the artist barely works because either:
to engage with the art is to support the artist in some way, so that artist is making money based on your interaction with that (particularly in the case for singers and streaming of songs)
that artistsâ views and values are so rancid that itâs literally embedded within the text itself. to ignore it is harmful.
harry potter is my all-time favourite example to use, because jkr is the scum of the earth, and her views are entrenched in her work. a lesser known example is sarah j maas and her books (sheâs also not as dogshit as jkr, but then again, its not hard to be a better person than her). iâm not going to bag on these people for liking things by problematic people (would be hypocritical of me), i just think itâs cowardly not to address it when you come across it, or at least admit to it. to simply write things off as âseparate to the artistâ is like purposefully turning off your critical thinking skills.
on whether boycotting or an apology is enoughâ if riordan did apologise and used specific language and not the nonsense he had in that blog, expressed his remorse for his ignorance and then actually did or said something to support the people of palestine then, yeah. thatâs fine and thatâs how we learn ig. but he should educate himself, too many activists, people from the arab community and especially palestinians are expected to be all-knowing and to educate everyone else on an already draining and personal tragedy. itâs been exhausting for me, i canât imagine what theyâre going through. if riordan (or anyone) needs to be educated, he should do it himself, and (at least in my opinion) i donât think the info is very hard to find now. itâs just about weeding out the misinformation.
i think boycotting is a good idea as of now. it can serve to be a catalyst for self reflection for many people. also, as much as i hate most online discourses, talking about it online needs to happen. i donât want these authors to forget, for a moment, about the ignorance they posted online during a time of international crisis.
#sorry if this is so messy. its 3am where i am rn#i finished two exams today and my brain is deaddd#but ty for this ask!#i have sooo many opinions about the whole âseparate the art from artistâ and when to boycott something#because usually im actually not a big fan of boycotting. i just dont think it works most of the time (at least recently)#boycotting as a way of âcancelingâ someone is something i think is a bit silly for instance.#esp when people gonna forget about what that person did in like. two months at most#but i feel like this issue (especially for corporations funding millions of dollars into genocide) is big enough to warrant a call for-#-everyone to abstain financially from things#like it isnt someone saying some dumb shit online. theres a whole country being wiped out.#unfortunately so many corporations fund israel. an insidious amount. so just do ur best to navigate thru it#riordanverse#incorrect riordanverse#rick riordan#hoo#heroes of olympus#percy jackson#pjo#trials of apollo#toa#ask#anon#free palestine#percy jackson disney+#pjo tv show#rewriting
196 notes
¡
View notes
Text
It's been a few years and I have to wonder... did the 2020 lockdown onward cause a decrease in the amount of zines in that insanely oversaturated fandom market because money, or did they go up because people were bored at home, but smaller, lower cost, easier solo or friend-group ones also or alternatively went up, maybe?
Because I just remember being So Tired of zines becoming polished art and cliquey popularity contest magazines that cost $30+ (Usually like $60 if there was physical merch included like keychains) basically and almost all the profit went to charity or material cost recouping, while people who were spending hours to days (and maybe longer, especially literature zines) on their pieces for like... $20 or less of pay, and that became the standard expectation :|
And I just now realized I haven't seen 2 trillion zine posts on social media lately except small low cost and more casual solo artist ones.
#I remember at the height of it before there were like 5 different zine scandals I got quite a few invitations#and having to turn down invitations for some of the most niche zines ever???#Aside from little to no pay and the constant issues of the people at the head of zines either stealing funds or being an unprepared mess#I had doubts some of them would sell very well like they thought they would if the zine even made it to completion...#not art#vena vents
27 notes
¡
View notes
Text
My study partner and I got to weigh our rainbow trout, and wow have they grown! They came to us weighing an average of 10 grams, and only in a monthâs time even the smallest fish have doubled in weight! There were some very hefty guys too, from a randomly selected group of fish the biggest weighed 81 grams, a massive amount of growth considering how small they were before! Weâre aiming for an average weight of 100-150 grams, so weâre well on our way there.
To weigh the fish, we put them under anaesthesia so they wouldnât be too stressed about the situation or thrash around in the weighing bucket. Hereâs a picture I took of some rainbow trouts still coming to from said anaesthesia, absolutely zonked:
You can see some drastic size differences between different rainbow trout individuals. Not to worry, every fish recovered and was swimming normally with their buddies after a few minutes!
#so far there has been only a singular fish death after one jumped out from the tank in the night but we solved that issue with a lid#besides that the rest of the ~100 fish have been doing mighty well! they swim actively and look healthy#its hard not to get attached to these little guys! i was greatly looking forward to seeing them again#hmm i should get a tag for my fish research#maybe just fish research?#yeah thats good#fish research#nothing super fancy research since im not writing a paper; but this is sort of pre-research!#perhaps its nicer to not have to handle the funding hell that is actual research to be honest
104 notes
¡
View notes
Text
All talk and he only gets top 15 đđ
#mha#mha fanart#my hero academia#bakugou katsuki#bnha bakugou#bakugo fanart#boku no hero academia#my hero art#dude ima crash out HES ONLY TOP 15 đ#not even top 10âŚ#he needs to pay for anger issue management instead of funding thst damn suit
21 notes
¡
View notes
Text
seeing someone genuinely argue that Bruce Wayne is just as, if not more, socialist than Oliver QueenâŚ.is this the world we live in
#dc lets bruce be a centrist when theyâre feeling nice. other times Batman comics are actively saying the police departmentâs#issue is a lack of funding.#ollie kicks down the doors of landlords on a casual friday afternoon
62 notes
¡
View notes
Text
I genuinely think a lot of outrage over whether/how things are being covered by the news would be solved by Tumblr users actually regularly engaging with major news sources.
I recently saw a post with someone expressing outrage about how the Washington Post "broke" the news about Biden signing the aid package to Israel and that they had to search so much to find the information, as though there hasn't been literally months of coverage from every major news site that covers politics about the machinations to get Israel and Ukraine funding through Congress.
I see people saying that nobody covers what Israel is doing in Gaza--as though that hasn't been a major topic in the news for months. I see people talking about how nobody covers what's happening in Yemen, Sudan, Haiti, etc. as though, again, that requires more than literally googling things like "Yemen New York Times" to find a wide breadth of coverage that spans years.
Critiques of news coverage are absolutely fair and valid--but when you start them by saying that "nobody is talking about this" all it shows is that you aren't bothering to look.
#news literacy#media literacy#to be clear the nyt wapo etc are not in any way perfect in their coverage#but if you don't know basic information about what's going on in american politics like them passing these funding bills#that's a skill issue#not a nyt issue#let's have useful critiques of things
69 notes
¡
View notes
Text
The funniest kind of critical role "critique" is always going to be the 'they present themselves as if they arenât rich/a company no I will not give any examples' crowd. Like what does this even mean. They start literally every single episode with informing you they are professional voice actors. They have clearly advertised sponsors. They have an entire line of merch and an animated show. The production value of the set is bonkers. They run a charity foundation. Do you want them to start every episode with a blaring siren and a warning saying 'beware! company run content! we make money!!' Are you just angry that they are friends having fun as they make a living. Do you have any understanding of how money works.
#critical role#it's always the same people who think they couldâve funded tlovm in its entirety with the kickstarter money too#or that the cast is personally responsible for every single fan acting badly#'how dare they say donât forget to love each other when their fans are sometimes mean!' like cmon#my theory is that some people are so unable to view celebrities as actual people that theyâve started to view the critrole cast the same#as those corporately run social media accounts pretending to be fun and friendly while just trying to advertise#i donât know how to tell you that the cast really are friends playing a game. they are also a company. and actual people hanging out online#they are incredibly open about all of this#if you somehow still think they are presenting themselves as not a company that is frankly a skill issue#cr discourse#i came across one of those old posts and was reminded how silly a take this is#nella talks cr
105 notes
¡
View notes
Text
one thing that i do find weird is that the majority of people here hate on iron man either for being in the mcu and getting an undue amount of attention/being an annoying character (fair) or being a billionaire. which the second part is not really as founded because batman is a character most people comparatively love and he is also a billionaire. obviously in real life its not possible to be a billionaire and still do the right thing since the only moral choice would be wealth redistribution. but if youre willing to suspend that disbelief for fiction where a billionaire uses their money to become a superhero then i do not see why that logic would apply to iron man as well
#spiderman#disclaimer i dont particularly care for iron man i think hes annoying and not that interesting. but this is not a moral issue#disclaimer 2 i dont care how many soup kitchens batman funds. if you want to talk about this with a real world lens there is no amount of#-faux charity a billionaire can do as ârepentanceâ for their wealth.#obviously its a comic book and the comic book requires batman to have money to feasibly be batman. which i can accept as a premise#but the same goes for iron man. so i dont get the double standard
19 notes
¡
View notes
Text
Before we start, here is my GoFundMe to help me afford Top Surgery. I have several posts on the subject on my blog but if need be you can ask questions in my ask box.
CW: Discussion of Suicidality. No explicit actions thoughts or ideas depicting the act of suicide are written, but suicidality is discussed.
It's very difficult to explain that "I can't afford my gender affirming care" = passive suicidality.
Cuz like, I'm not gonna do anything. I've learned to not make plans at this point. (<- A joke you may laugh at). But seriously, how do I tell people "I am suicidal because I cannot get top surgery" and then ask them to donate to my GoFundMe?
I don't want to be manipulative, or even potentially be accused of it. I don't want people to pity me or say "things will get better". I know they will. I know that it's just a matter of time. I know I'm not alone. I'm not clueless. At the same time, posting the same "here's my GoFundMe so you can help me reach my goal!!! đđđŤ°â¤ď¸â¤ď¸â¤ď¸" when my reality and thoughts are much darker is killing me. I feel fake. I feel dishonest. It's not just a casual thing to ask for money, especially $10,000 but it's what I need.
That's the key word. Need.
Top Surgery isn't something I decided on a whim. It's not something I can live without. My dysphoria is so bad. I need top surgery more than I can possibly explain. Even in this post I'm making sure to keep several things to myself because even this admission is very difficult for me. But it's safer to scream into the Tumblr void and hope my echos bounce to people who can help me than to just keep everything bottled up.
Because I cannot afford to tell my therapist and risk getting out in a hospital. Literally cannot afford it. I need to put whatever is left of each paycheck towards top surgery in order to inch closer to my top surgery goal. Sitting in a hospital won't help me in this case.
So once again here's my GoFundMe in case you can spare something.
#transgender#lgbtq#trans#lgbt#trans masc#nonbinary#ftm#mental health#mental heath issues#mental health discussion#top surgery gofundme#top surgery funds#top surgery fund#top surgery#gofundme#surgery fund#surgery gofundme#medical gofundme#trans healthcare
35 notes
¡
View notes
Text
I am seriously so saddened to realize people have used my name and my cat to steal money from some of you. This is crazy, never, ever did I think that my Poppy would be used negatively.
Letâs give a little rundown of who we are. Iâm Michelle, a 30-something year old married mama to 3 skin kittens, and 3 fuzzy kittens. One of my skin kittens is an adult, the other two are rapidly approaching attempting to leave the nest. I am disabled, physically and mentally which leads to emotionally, too. My fuzzy kittens help a lot with that.
2 summers ago, a friend texted me asking if I wanted a kitten. Of course I did. Then I found out she was a feral kitten that her mama had left behind because her one back leg was missing a foot, so she couldnât climb and jump like the rest of the kittens were, and she was getting too heavy to carry in her mouth. That kitten now only have 3 legs, and is my Lucky baby.ďżź
Come early February of the next year, I saw on a friendâs aunts rescue site two of the most gorgeous little calico kittens I had ever seen. I claimed them before Valentineâs Day, even though I wouldnât be able to get them until after Motherâs Day since they were slow to grow. They were attached at the hip, there was no way I could get one and not the other. Those were my Poppy girl and Millie moon.
Thatâs how I ended up with my fuzzy kittens. They are the best fuzzy kittens I have ever met. All 3 of them have a different job in calming me and my middle daughter down while in emotional crisis. Poppy is and has always been that calming rumble that you try to concentrate on instead of everything else that is happening. And it works more than anyone would believe.
Poppy is sick. My go fund me has all the explanations and updates you could ever need; I even have to add the email with the vet when she gets a chance to email back to me. I have endless pictures and videos to show she is my little love.
Please, if you can, share this post anywhere and everywhere, across all forms of social media. My follower numbers are so low, Iâm surprised itâs not a negative number. I know a bunch of you got scammed, and Iâm sorry. I really am. If I could make it better, I would.
Myself, Iâve even cut back some of my less essential but still needed medications so I have the money to get Poppy the treatment she deserves. I just need my baby girl to be better. Itâs time sensitive because we honestly donât know how much time she has left with her red blood cell count being in the low 10s percent wise (I think it was 13-14% last time, and it should be above 35). I am extremely transparent in what I show you all because if you are helping pay for it, I figure you have a right to see where the care is going and what itâs being used for.
We are trying to get the maximum amount of funding so we can get all the testing done because the liver and spleen are just as important as the bone marrow biopsy, but we will not look a gift horse in the mouth. Whatever we get it, itâs another cent that we didnât have to scrounge around to find, another minute off the ever clicking clock.
Best ways to donate: to the hospital itself:
Philadelphia Animal Specialty and Emergency
Dial 267-727-3738, press 2, ask to place a credit on Poppy Riggs account, #FE22554C. All of this info is able to be found on the images in the gofundme.
The Gofundme. It is the *only* go fund me I have up. Anything else is a scam.
These account below are the only official ways to donate outside of the gofundme.
My email is listed below, and I am willing to answer any and all questions via email or on here, your choice.
Thank you so much for helping. It means everything to us.
#gofundme#go fund me#cats#cat#sick cat#sick cats#mutual aid#mutualaid#pretty cats#cats of tumblr#cats of instagram#cats of the day#cute cats#calico#calico cats#long post#longpost#disabled#mental heath issues#mental heath support#emotional support cat#emotional#support cat#doctor cat#therapy cat#donate#will the real poppy please stand up#please save poppy#real Poppy#please donate
270 notes
¡
View notes
Text
Why you canât just âreleaseâ dolphins
In case anyone who follows me was wondering about the captive cetacean stuff, I thought Iâd type up a little thing about why theyâre so difficult to return to the wild compared to many other animals.
Because animals differ widely in how easily they can be reintroduced to their habitat. It depends on how many life skills they need to learn, whether they have a complex social structure they also need to learn about first, how dangerous their habitat is, and how much theyâve already been accustomed to humans. Wildlife rescuers take in animals as babies and release them as adults on a regular basis, by taking pains to make sure they donât bond with their caregivers. But this doesnât work with all species.
Cetaceans are really complicated for two reasons: theyâre predators, so they have to be able to hunt, and theyâre extremely social, so they have to learn to navigate a pod structure. If theyâre interrupted early in their socialization process, they actually fail to develop these skills. Itâs why thereâs a cutoff point around the age of 3, below which a stranded dolphin cannot be released. Like, legally. Itâs not aquariums deciding this, itâs a national policy. A bottlenose dolphin that strands as a calf is not eligible for release, ever. It will not grow up into a wild dolphin at that point. Itâs like the reverse of a feral cat.
(There are exceptions to this rule, typically involving less social cetacean species like harbor porpoises. They can be rescued as calves and later released, because the life skills they have to learn are less complicated. But bottlenoses and most other oceanic dolphins, orcas, pilot whales etc., cannot be released alone, and wild pods often donât accept them. Hence the policy.)
They also bond to humans, like, hard. If a cetacean was captured or rescued as a youngster, or born in human care, itâs pretty much impossible to de-socialize them to humans. Every effort was made to do exactly that with Keiko, the whale who played Willy, and he just would not do it. Teaching him to hunt, trying to get him to interact with wild whales... he played along to some extent, but he wouldnât take the final step of breaking ties with humans. He kept seeking them out. And since that wasnât according to plan, he wasnât allowed to return to human care. Wasnât an option, it wouldâve looked bad. Instead, when he refused to integrate, he was confined to a netted cove, where he died. This is on top of multiple cases of attempted releases, mostly of bottlenose dolphins, that resulted in the animals either starving, stranding, or coming up to humans in the wild and begging them for food and attention. (Including one in the 90s that was conducted by notorious anti-captivity advocate Ric OâBarry. The project failed miserably, one animal was killed in the attempt, but he didnât learn his lesson and is still on his bullshit today.)
Weâve seen it again and again. Animals trained to go out to sea, who are reluctant to leave their pen and then reluctant to leave the escort boat. Animals that escape sea pens and come back, literally jump right back in as soon as the novelty of freedom wears off. On a few occasions, wild cetaceans have even tamed themselves. Thatâs how people used to end up with âpetâ dolphins back in the day when it wasnât yet illegal.
Now, there have been successful cetacean releases. All of those cases involved adult animals which had only been captive a short time, usually after being rescued. They re-adjust just fine. But if the animal has adapted to living with humans, it wonât un-learn those behaviors. It is functionally no longer a wild animal. Ironically, considering their presence in captivity is more controversial than any other animal group, cetaceans are among the very hardest to âreturn to the wildâ. And part of the reason seems to be that they donât want to. Contrary to all expectations, they often choose easy meals and safety over freedom. A lot of wild animals will do this, given the chance, but dolphins are really stubborn about it. Releasing a captive cetacean involves convincing it that it WANTS to be free. And sometimes that seems to be the hardest part.
So yeah, weâve tried it several times. We know what works and what doesnât. Itâs not a hypothetical, we have a very good idea what will happen if we try to release all captive whales and dolphins (most of which, by now, were born in captivity, since Western facilities havenât captured wild animals in decades). We know that the odds of success are dismal, and animals will almost certainly die in the attempt. Hence the big clash between people who have practical experience with cetaceans, or in-depth knowledge of their care, and animal rights activists (and the public theyâve been misleading for years now). It doesnât even matter at this point if you think they should be released. Thatâs not relevant. It doesnât work, itâs dangerous, and it flies in the face of all welfare concerns. It shouldnât even still be on the table at this point. I donât know how many more times weâll have to watch it go wrong before we accept that.
#that's not even going into the practical issues with sea pens and 'soft captivity'#the funding issues ALONE are insane#but that's its own rant and this post is long enough
229 notes
¡
View notes