Deaths, drugs, distress: why marine parks are losing their attraction

[n2doc]

Something disquieting happened at SeaWorld marine parks this year. Numbers attending the group's popular US centres between January and March dropped, from 3.5 million in 2013 to 3.05 million this year, a decline of 13%.

Nor is it hard to guess the cause, say wildlife campaigners. They see a clear link between the attendance slide and the release last year of the documentary Blackfish, which told the story of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau who was killed by Tilikum, a bull orca. The killer whale, it was also revealed, had been involved in the deaths of other individuals while in captivity.

Blackfish focuses on the distress experienced by killer whales who are depicted as complex, highly intelligent creatures which are taken from their families, kept in small pools and given psychotropic drugs to calm them and help them perform tricks that include balancing human trainers on their snouts, rotating in the water to pop music, waving their flippers and tails, and floating on their backs. The film triggered widespread public outrage against marine parks in general and a petition, signed by 1.2 million people, was handed into the California state assembly calling for a ban on killer whale shows. Earlier this month, a bill legalising the ban was put on hold for the next 12 months. Campaigners are still hopeful it will be enacted next year.

It has been an abrupt change in fortune. The cheery family charm of marine parks – institutions that have achieved worldwide popularity and become multimillion dollar industries in recent years – have taken a body blow. For their part, their managers strenuously deny that any of their animals suffer and flatly reject the idea that whales, dolphins and porpoises should no longer be kept captive.

more
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/19/visitors-turn-backs-on-marine-parks

[flvegan]

1. Good! Ringling's Circus of Horrors should be next.

I'll never understand people shelling out their hard earned money to directly support animal abuse for the sake of entertainment.

[StarryNite]

13. And horse racing

Horse racing is a brutal industry. Dog racing too but thankfully many states have already banned dog racing.

[AnalystInParadise]

2. And yet they had their best

4th quarter attendance ever last year. All three of the SeaWorld parks located in Orlando combined to report the annual earnings of 2013. Together the parks had the best fourth quarter in attendance, outnumbering the other five parks owned by SeaWorld Entertainment. Since my wife works there, this pleases me. Blackfish was a black eye, but fortunately for conservation efforts worldwide, the public has a short attention span.

http://www.coaster-net.com/news/2360-seaworld-reports-annual-earnings/

[Beringia]

3. The conservation benefits is a bogus argument

And why would you want the public to have a short attention span?

http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/marine_mammals/case_against_marine_captivity.pdf

Public display facilities with the financial resources, staff capability, and commitment to engage in or support conservation programs for any animal species have always been few in number. The requirements of providing the public with a satisfying recreational experience are often incompatible with those of operating a research or breeding facility (this is the reason for the development of the off-premises breeding facilities associated with a handful of zoos). The claim that conservation is a primary purpose of the public display industry as a whole is highly misleading at best.

[MattBaggins]

4. He said it

bolded it even.

Since his wife works there.

His wife's paycheck takes precedence over animal cruelty and pumping animals full of drugs to control them.

[AnalystInParadise]

8. LOL

IT has nothing to do with her paycheck, but continue to broadbrush her all you want. Her working there has to do with her passion and commitment to conservation, not money. But hey, don't let knowing nothing about her or me stop you from judging.....how tolerant and progressive of you.

[MattBaggins]

11. Don't LoL me then

Look back at your post. You chose not to mention her feelings or commitment. You chose to bold the line that your wife works there right after a sentence talking about increased revenues to the park.

What would you expect a reader to take away from what you wrote?

[AnalystInParadise]

12. I would expect a reader to

not make assumptions. A question rather than a judgement would have been a better course of action.

[LordGlenconner]

15. Here's what I take away

The poster is fine with animal cruelty as long as it helps him buy the shit so many middle American bores feel they need to have to feel good about themselves.

[flvegan]

17. Post of the day, this.

[AnalystInParadise]

10. Cool

you think it is a bogus argument, I don't think so. Guess we are even.

[CreekDog]

6. They'll be even more popular once they stop mistreating whales and dolphins

And stop making them do circus tricks.

[AnalystInParadise]

9. Well

since that doesn't appear to be happening, I guess they will just have to wait for the public to move on to the next false outrage.

[CreekDog]

16. Yes, actually, the mistreatment is the whole point of the shows

and just because your wife works at Sea World, has not a thing to do with whether something is going on or not going on at Sea World.

[Gormy Cuss]

7. There's a powerful lot of weaseling in the press release

starting with the reference only to the combined earnings of the three Orlando properties. It may be that only one did well and the other two were down in earnings, for example. Are the earnings from amusement park rides or animal acts, one wonders.

[LordGlenconner]

14. Must be nice

Hey how about later I come over and kidnap one of your loved ones and put them in a cage. It'll be for conservation purposes only. Wink: wink

[DirkGently]

5. They got fewer people to spend more & declared victory.

In other words, the average guest paid more to get into the park and spent more on food and merchandise while there during the third quarter.

The numbers can't add up that way this time around. If revenue grew by a similar amount in the fourth quarter and attendance was positive, it means that admissions are being discounted or that guests aren't spending at quite the levels that they were earlier in the year.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/on/seaworld-profits-blackfish-documentary

I wouldn't count on any of these parks having Orcas 10 years from now.