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The Cold Hard Truth about Blackfish
Sep. 29th, 2014 09:16 pmRecently I told my mom about my brother saw Blackfish and it upset him. She wanted to know what Blackfish was. I told her it was a film where nearly everyone who watches it hates Sea World and all aquariums and zoos afterwards.
No, I don't belong to this group. Partially, I could say that I've been trained not to be manipulated by documentaries. Even nature documentaries have been cut and edited to support a particular story they wanted to tell.
However, I think the biggest reasons for why I didn't fall for Blackfish and their demands is this:
1. Some people are assholes and we will always have to put up with them.
Assholes go speeding wherever they want regardless of signs warning about wildlife. Assholes refuse to cut up their plastic rings or clean up their trash outdoors. Assholes shoot an animal for sport but are too lazy to track it down. Assholes cut costs because they don't care if people get killed or entire ecosystems suffer from their actions. Assholes kill a whole animal just for one part of their anatomy despite the orphaned babies left behind.
2. People have accidents.
Most people try to be considerate of others, including animals. However, anyone could be distracted for a second while driving whether it's a boat or car. People have trash fly away from them. People have fishing lines break or lose a crab trap.
While I wish all wild animals could live in the wild, if we're realistic...we all have to admit that it's not possible.
Wild animals get injured and hurt, usually at our hand. Should we just leave them to die?
No, they were injured by our actions and should be rehabilitated by our actions, too.
Many wonderful people help to rehabilitate animals BUT it costs money: A LOT OF MONEY.
Be honest...do you really think rehabilitative services can be run off charitable contributions alone? Off government money?
Now that's the fairy tale.Every month brings a new closing for those services that try to do government money and charitable donations alone.
Many animals are saved from death but unable to ever be released into the wild because they would either be picked off by a predator or unable to provide for themselves. The best thing is to provide the best life we can for them, but a lifetime of captivity is also expensive. How can a center pay for both their care and treating new animal patients?
Only places that charge admission for their permanent residents can afford to save and rehabilitate wild animals on a long-term basis.
For every sad case like Tilikum, there is also Winter. Who had the resources to rescue a baby dolphin in December 2005 and travel with her five hours to a facility that could give her their sole attention?
It wasn't the struggling Clearwater Marine Aquarium although they were entrusted to her care as her best chance.
Winter was rescued by Sea World. Then, they safely took her across Florida to Clearwater.
http://www.seaworldparksblog.com/beginning-dolphin-tale-seaworld-s-role-rescuing-winter
Sea World was also there for the BP oil spill and as a Floridian, I can tell you whenever a crisis happens with sea creatures, Sea World is there whether it's a baby dolphin, a stranded pod of whales or an oil spill.
I don't know what Florida would do without their resources. It would put an enormous strain on CMA and everyone else until many would probably have to close under the pressure.
3. People only understand what's in front of them.
People like to help animals they know and they only really know animals they've seen right in front of them. Otherwise, a tiger, elephant or killer whale might as well be a dragon, dinosaur or unicorn to them. Have you noticed how Asian countries without any naturally occurring elephants or rhinos are the biggest buyers of ivory?
They don't associate the ivory with a living being to them. They've never seen these animals.
It's important to make people associate animals with an actual living creature but bringing the people TO the animals in the wild is very improbable; it's very expensive and would cause a lot of strain on their natural environments. Zoos and aquariums are our only alternative.
While I feel that any future kidnapping of healthy and successful animals from natural habitat should be banned and habitats should replicate their proper surroundings as much as possible...I can't support banning aquariums and zoos. They are in some ways, a necessary evil.
No, I don't belong to this group. Partially, I could say that I've been trained not to be manipulated by documentaries. Even nature documentaries have been cut and edited to support a particular story they wanted to tell.
However, I think the biggest reasons for why I didn't fall for Blackfish and their demands is this:
1. Some people are assholes and we will always have to put up with them.
Assholes go speeding wherever they want regardless of signs warning about wildlife. Assholes refuse to cut up their plastic rings or clean up their trash outdoors. Assholes shoot an animal for sport but are too lazy to track it down. Assholes cut costs because they don't care if people get killed or entire ecosystems suffer from their actions. Assholes kill a whole animal just for one part of their anatomy despite the orphaned babies left behind.
2. People have accidents.
Most people try to be considerate of others, including animals. However, anyone could be distracted for a second while driving whether it's a boat or car. People have trash fly away from them. People have fishing lines break or lose a crab trap.
While I wish all wild animals could live in the wild, if we're realistic...we all have to admit that it's not possible.
Wild animals get injured and hurt, usually at our hand. Should we just leave them to die?
No, they were injured by our actions and should be rehabilitated by our actions, too.
Many wonderful people help to rehabilitate animals BUT it costs money: A LOT OF MONEY.
Be honest...do you really think rehabilitative services can be run off charitable contributions alone? Off government money?
Now that's the fairy tale.Every month brings a new closing for those services that try to do government money and charitable donations alone.
Many animals are saved from death but unable to ever be released into the wild because they would either be picked off by a predator or unable to provide for themselves. The best thing is to provide the best life we can for them, but a lifetime of captivity is also expensive. How can a center pay for both their care and treating new animal patients?
Only places that charge admission for their permanent residents can afford to save and rehabilitate wild animals on a long-term basis.
For every sad case like Tilikum, there is also Winter. Who had the resources to rescue a baby dolphin in December 2005 and travel with her five hours to a facility that could give her their sole attention?
It wasn't the struggling Clearwater Marine Aquarium although they were entrusted to her care as her best chance.
Winter was rescued by Sea World. Then, they safely took her across Florida to Clearwater.
http://www.seaworldparksblog.com/beginning-dolphin-tale-seaworld-s-role-rescuing-winter
Sea World was also there for the BP oil spill and as a Floridian, I can tell you whenever a crisis happens with sea creatures, Sea World is there whether it's a baby dolphin, a stranded pod of whales or an oil spill.
I don't know what Florida would do without their resources. It would put an enormous strain on CMA and everyone else until many would probably have to close under the pressure.
3. People only understand what's in front of them.
People like to help animals they know and they only really know animals they've seen right in front of them. Otherwise, a tiger, elephant or killer whale might as well be a dragon, dinosaur or unicorn to them. Have you noticed how Asian countries without any naturally occurring elephants or rhinos are the biggest buyers of ivory?
They don't associate the ivory with a living being to them. They've never seen these animals.
It's important to make people associate animals with an actual living creature but bringing the people TO the animals in the wild is very improbable; it's very expensive and would cause a lot of strain on their natural environments. Zoos and aquariums are our only alternative.
While I feel that any future kidnapping of healthy and successful animals from natural habitat should be banned and habitats should replicate their proper surroundings as much as possible...I can't support banning aquariums and zoos. They are in some ways, a necessary evil.
