I was wondering what all of you think about this. Some people from SeaShepherd Conservation Society will be speaking outside the IMATA conference happening soon in Orlando Florida. Here is the link: Sea Shepherd Orlando to Hold Gathering Outside IMATA Conference - Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Personally I support Seashepherd (prepares for criticism from ceatecean in captivity supporters) and I think it is great to educate trainers about where some animals that they train come from or are descended from but what do you think?
(From the link) Somehow I don't anticipate a fruitful dialogue. "Animal captivity enthusiasts"??? In any case, since the conference is actually on Disney grounds, they wil either be standing by the side of the road a mile away from the conference or they can picket at SeaWorld the evening the conference is at that site. I cannot imagine that the trainers and keepers are so ignorant.
I agree with Zooplantman. Or to be more verbose... I'm pretty sure, the people who attend that meeting have spent more time going over the moral landscape on whether or not it is right to keep cetaceans in captivity. Much more so than the average attendee of a marine park. I also imagine many of those people are aware of the seashepherd.org and have read over the information there. PS. I have pondered the moral justification of keeping psittacins captive just as much as a have worried about keeping cetaceans captive. Both groups are highly intelligent creatures that require social interaction to maintain mental health. I noticed that in your response to "5 species would be in your zoo" post, you listed palm cockatoo. Did you ponder over the bird's living conditions as much as you would say a bottle nose dolphin?
you do make a valid point. Psittacins are often kept badly in captivity however I think it is possible to keep them appropriately in captivity but in the case of ceateceans I think it is unfeasible to keep them with appropriate space and mental stimulation.
Sorry to frighten everyone to death or make them look very hard in the mirror...but isn't almost everyone who partakes in this site an "animal captivity enthusiast"? I suppose some here regard zoos as a necessary "evil",not me however,quite apart from the good they can do, I honestly believe that they are part of the development of human civilisation.History proves this to be true to a certain extent.
I don't think many people here view zoos as an "evil" of any sort. More of the view that if the animal is kept properly, one can't really say it's more unethical than keeping a pet cat or dog. Worth pointing out that some zoo enthusiasts, even some here, do believe that certain animals aren't suited for captivity for whatever reason.
Frankly speaking, if you dislike cetaceans in captivity, fine. They do have special requirements just like all so called 'advanced' species. The captivity debate is a complex issue based more on personal morals than concrete, unchangeable facts. Arguing about whether it is absolutely good or absolutely bad to keep them in captivity will never amount to anything. With that said, Sea Shepherd is an animal rights group that, just like PETA, is not above bending the truth and making outright lies. Taiji dolphins generally stay in east Asia, with no dolphins from the drive captures in continental North America, Oceania, or western Europe. Sea Shepherd however, regularly acts as if all captive dolphins are from Taiji, and repeats it as if repetition makes something true. The fact is, nothing Sea Shepherd says could ever be considered educational or helpful to dolphin trainers because dolphin trainers, especially the kind that go out and actively take part in groups like IMATA already know far more about their own animals than anyone from Sea Shepherd ever could.
All that seashepherd will achieve by this is argument and although many of the things it does are in my opinion good (Faroe Islands, Japanese whalers in the southern ocean, stopping shark nets in WA etc.) This is quite unnecessary.
