#saveorcas

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

"But SeaWorld doesn't talk about the Southern Residents!" Sorry but I know and have heard trainers talk about the Southern Residents during Inside Look, Encounter programs and during Dine with Orcas. They've discussed their research projects like the drone studies and milk composition studies, which have directly and indirectly assisted with monitoring the population more accurately. And they have discussed specific threats that orcas face in the wild.

Could it be mentioned more specifically in shows? Sure. But it's funny how anti caps in the notes shrug off Blackfish not mentioning it, or don't criticise "conservation" groups, which just yell about captivity to their tens of thousands of followers daily, but are critical of SeaWorld for not throwing Breach the Dam messaging to tourists at a theme park. Those "conservation" groups are literally primed for action - they'll sign whatever petition you shove in their face if they think it'll make orcas less sad.

But we also need to think about target audience. For example, tourists going to a theme park are less likely to be receptive to radical conservation action messaging than members of a anti captivity focused Facebook group/page who tend to do a lot of ego stroking about who can do the Most for orcas (usually without doing a whole lot, except for signing a petition).

I remember when I used to reach the conservation part of my keeper talks at the aquarium with the threatened to almost endangered dugong species - one of the only dugongs in human care, which is a huge privilege to get to see up close. And people just... left. Some people stayed and I hope that they understood some of the messaging. But unfortunately intense conservation messaging doesn't really work in that sort of setting.

It's a lot more subtle, like signage or interactive exhibits. The best moments are usually when you can engage people one on one or guests are curious enough to approach and ask questions or when you have a more captive audience who wants to know more.

In SeaWorld's case, I would say that Inside Look, Dine with Orcas and Orca Interaction Programs are a lot more likely to be effective in conveying specific conservation messaging. Whereas the theatrical shows start to plant the seeds of conservation thinking, while being entertained and hopefully inspired to learn more.

The general public is extremely saturated by anti captivity messaging. It's clear on every comment thread you read. For whatever reason, someone has linked an image of a wild orca to anti SeaWorld/Blackfish related propaganda and said how glad they are that the animal is "free!"

Whale watching companies also feed this sort of egotistical "you're doing a good thing by seeing them in the wild." rhetoric, which reinforces this idea that they're making a Difference. When they're just seeing orcas from a boat (and sometimes harassing them hooray)

It's clear because of how much the algorithm feeds you anti SeaWorld/anti captivity crap if you so much as like a video of a wild orca. Because it's rage bait - its gets views and comments and that's what the algorithm likes. So more people are getting saturated over and over with this message of SeaWorld being the biggest threat to a killer whale over anything to do with dams, salmon populations, fishing gear entanglement ect.

It's just: #saveorcas #fuckseaworld #blackfish

Well done, you've done an Activism by doing Nothing. You did it.

There are 58 orcas in captivity worldwide (19 of which live at one of the three SeaWorld parks). There are 74 Southern Resident orcas left. Do with this information what you will.

[theworldinthedepths]

I made an Anit-SeaWorld Meme.

What do you people think ????

[parishangover]

#SeaWorld, y'all ain't slick. You're not that nice to orcas. You torture them by holding them in captivity. Did you know that's how they could die? Swipe ➡ to see where they really belong. ••• #Orcas really belong in the ocean with their family. They need to be free to swim around. By holding them in captivity, you're killing them. Literally. Please tell your friends not to support SeaWorld. Don't step foot in SeaWorld. #peta2 #saveorcas #savemarinelife

[bytheriversofbabylon]

sí. seguro 100% no hay nada. #Repost @greenpeace • • • It’s not if, but when. Join the wave of resistance against dangerous oil pipelines at the link in our bio! . . . . #StopPipelines #StopLine3 #NoKXL#NoBayouBridge #NoDAPL #ProtectThePacific #PeopleNotPipelines #ProtectWater #SaveOrcas #WaveOfResistance #WaterNotPipelines #PeopleVsOil #Greenpeace #activism #environment #water

[wildlifevoiceinc]

Killing orcas? This can’t happen and can’t be allowed! 🦈 “The whaler whose crew harpooned and killed three orcas off Barrouallie, a town in western St. Vincent, on Sunday, has defended his action, saying that the kill is important to the livelihood of townsmen, and that they have broken no local law.” 🦈 🖋 Kenton X Chance 📷 iWitness News Article linked on our fb page #orcas #stvincent #orca #saveorcas #saveouroceans #saveourseas

[jaklynnrivero]

#BoycottSeaworld #SeaworldSucks #SaveOrcas #DontBuyaTicket

[blveblood-blog]

"Hi guys! I just wanted to inform you about something that you may not have heard of. We’re all familiar with the idea of seeing dolphins at a marine park or if you have travelled overseas, to see orcas (killer whales) performing to an audience, as well as other small whales and porpoises. The other thing that these marine parks do is make a lot of money and this money is made, although caring for the animals, by exploiting them and deciding the way the animals will live their lives in captivity. I have always had a passion for animals and animal rights but later last year I was finally able to view a documentary calledBlackfish. And I’m very glad I did. The documentary shows one side of this argument and looks at the mistreatment of marine life, particularly orcas in captivity and the psychological problems they develop. Although it is important to look at both sides of an issue, I still believe that is not right for these intelligent animals to be captive. Another thing I learned is that these orcas are extremely emotional, more so than us as human beings. They actually have a part of the brain used for emotions that we do not. Orcas in the wild live with their families and mothers for life and have extremely important social bonds. Orcas in captivity are taken from their family at a very young age and put into a sterile tank with other orcas from other families. At this point I’ll let you know that whilst orcas use the same ways of communication, they have different languages for each different pod. These whales are being put into a tank together, literally not speaking the same language and are expected to perform without any conflict towards each other - which is often not the case. The main point that I want to get across is that we can make a start to release the whales, dolphins and other cetaceans (marine mammals) to show to people that this is not the way their lives are supposed to be.  We can start with Tilikum, an Orca at Seaworld Orlando, who is now isolated and only used for breeding. He has been involved in the killing of three people; many believe that this has led from a psychosis. It is also known that there has not been any record of harm to a human from killer whales in the wild. They are spiritual animals and do not deserve to be taken from the wild. If you are interested in this matter, please sign this petition and share it around to family and friends. One million signatures are needed to consider the release of Tilikum. If we start with him who is to say that we can’t have every whale released and stop the marine entertainment industry for good? It is now up to us to make a difference in these animals’ lives as well as every other animal on earth.

(this is a post i found online, please sign up and help make a difference)

[thesurfsoup]

SeaWorld's "Blackfish" Controversy Performed Another Trick by Brandy Betz, The Motley Fool Jan 10th 2014 6:40PM Updated Jan 10th 2014 6:42PM Aquatic amusement park company SeaWorld was back in hot water last week after a business journal caught the company inflating the results of an online poll. The poll question dealt with whether the recent documentary Blackfish had changed reader opinions about SeaWorld. In the failed attempt to alter poll results, SeaWorld pushed itself back into a difficult public-relations battle that's taken the wind out of share prices. Can SeaWorld improve its performance? Or should investors instead turn to the amusement park companies Walt Disney or Cedar Fair ? SeaWorld's woes stem from the documentary Blackfish, which tells the story of a SeaWorld orca responsible for the deaths of three employees. Blackfish debuted at Sundance early last year, but it gained a much larger audience when it was broadcast on CNN in October. The film became available on Netflix last month. Backlash intensified as Blackfish found more viewers. And that backlash started to hit SeaWorld where it hurt when a number of musicians began canceling shows at the parks. In the midst of all the negative press attention, SeaWorld reported a dwindling summer attendance. That raised an important question: Do SeaWorld's problems run deeper than this controversy? Fanning the fire SeaWorld naturally went on the defensive, but one attempt backfired last week. The Orlando Business Journal had posted an online poll asking readers: "Has CNN's 'Blackfish' documentary changed your perception of SeaWorld?" Results poured in that indicated 99% of respondents had voted "No," which seemed an oddly high number to vote in either direction. So the Journal conducted an investigation and tracked more than 54% of the votes back to a single IP address. And that IP address belongs to SeaWorld. The Journal points out that the tampering wasn't even necessary, since 95% of the non-SeaWorld respondents had actually voted in favor of the company. But the true results don't necessarily mean customers don't care about Blackfish. The total number of votes was 328 at the time the Journal began investigating -- and that counts SeaWorld's votes. So it's a small sample size. Online polls aren't the best evidence that customers have turned away from SeaWorld. But attendance numbers do paint a concerning picture. Falling attendance Most of SeaWorld's revenue comes from admissions, or ticket sales. In the third quarter, admissions accounted for more than 63% of total sales. Admissions were up 5% year over year, which looks encouraging at a glance. But the growth was due to a ticket price increase. Actual attendance was on the decline during the all-important summer season. Attendance in the second quarter, which included June, was down 9.5%. The number improved in the third quarter, but only to a drop of 3.5%. The company blamed adverse weather conditions for the poor summer performance. But neighboring Walt Disney World parks didn't suffer a weather-related attendance drop. Disney didn't break down specific attendance numbers, but disclosed in its fourth-quarter earnings call that the park in Florida had record attendance. Cedar Fair's parks also had a better summer than SeaWorld. The Cedar Point owner reported third-quarter attendance as flat compared to the prior year -- a number that jumps to 2% growth when excluding two water parks the company had sold between the two periods. So the drop in SeaWorld attendance had more factors at play than weather. Was Blackfish backlash one of those reasons? Possibly. But at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter why. It only matters that it happened. And the drop marks another problem that's dogged the company since its IPO in the spring, which also raises the question of whether the IPO was a great idea in the first place. The Blackstone Group paid $2.3 billion in 2009 to purchase SeaWorld from Anheuser-Busch and took the company public in April of this year. Blackstone received about $500 million in proceeds. Blackstone had a 63% stake initially, but recently sold more SeaWorld shares, dropping to a 40% stake. Foolish final thoughts SeaWorld's in a bind. The Blackfish controversies continue, and the summer attendance drop proved disappointing from a business standpoint. Investors considering a theme-park investment might consider Cedar Fair or Disney, which has multiple entertainment industries in the bundle that would help offset any potential future drops in guests at its parks. No tricks, just whale-size returns They said it couldn't be done. But David Gardner has proved them wrong time, and time, and time again with stock returns like 926%, 2,239%, and 4,371%. In fact, just recently one of his favorite stocks became a 100-bagger. And he's ready to do it again. You can uncover his scientific approach to crushing the market and his carefully chosen six picks for ultimate growth instantly, because he's making this premium report free for you today. Click here now for access. The article SeaWorld's "Blackfish" Controversy Performed Another Trick originally appeared on Fool.com.

[friends-of-the-ocean]

“Orcas are highly social, intelligent and sentient creatures with strong matrilineal ties, developing bonds that are lifelong. Captivity severely compromises their wellbeing and starves them of their birthright. Orcas cannot be at peace unless they have freedom.”

— Ric O’Barry

[jaklynnrivero]

Please take the time to read this. #SeaworldSucks #SaveOrcas #WatchBlackfish #WatchKillerinthePool #TakeAction