SeaWorld Orlando (SWO) Discussion Thread

[coasterkyle]

This is just outrageous, how could Sea World do this!!!!!

New Documentary Reveals SeaWorld Forced Orca Whales To Perform Nude WASHINGTON—Shedding new light on widespread abuses faced by orcas in captivity, a new documentary titled Under the Surface revealed that killer whales at SeaWorld and other marine theme parks are forced by trainers to perform—sometimes as often as seven times per day—completely in the nude. “These majestic creatures are required, time and again, to swim naked out in front of crowds of thousands, perform humiliating tricks entirely in the buff, and then expose their bare bodies to men, women, and children by repeatedly breaching their tanks,” animal rights activist Marissa Abelson told reporters at a screening of the film, adding that even when the whales are not performing they aren’t permitted to cover up and are left in solitary confinement, often forced to spend all night floating nude in undersized tanks. “And what’s most humiliating is how, during the shows, the trainers make them lie there unclothed and beg for food. It’s sick.” When reached for comment, a spokesman representing SeaWorld said the film completely misrepresents their orca programs, namely due to the fact that trainers work tirelessly to promote a positive body image for the whales and occasionally allow shyer orcas to perform in jeans.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-documentary-reveals-seaworld-forced-orca-whale,34449/

(I know this is an Onion article )

[Moose]

Gotta love The Onion.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

That's so much better a story than the real controversy.

[coasterbill]

CNN is posting about this again on Facebook and has really stirred up some anger in their fans. These animal rights activists (and by activists I mean people who sit at their computer and complain all day about things that don't matter without knowing all of the facts so they can feel important) are up in arms.

[Woodie Warrior]

I can't stand it when people respond to Blackfish by saying "How would you feel if you lived in a bathtub for the rest of your life?!"

 

I'm sorry, but when most people lay in a bathtub they take up most of the space. The tanks the whales are kept in are not small. The whales have plenty of room to swim, they aren't squished in and given no wiggle room like humans are when in a bathtub.

 

I can't stand to read the comments on the articles because the people are complete and utter morons.

[robbalvey]

CNN is posting about this again on Facebook and has really stirred up some anger in their fans.

Yeah, they had to do something because once the Duck Dynasty story broke everyone stopped talking about Blackfish!

 

--Robb "Society is about as fickle as they come!" Alvey

[Jalek]

Actually, the story was broken yesterday by the Orlando Business Journal, but CNN makes money by making SeaWorld look corrupt and promoting their own film and what they've accomplished with it. They're still promoting the usual CNN crap about bands canceling performances at SeaWorld, but they've got nothing about the announcement today that Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo have joined the lineup for Bands, Beer & BBQ at SeaWorld's Busch Gardens Tampa park. CNN really needs to examine themselves on their Reliable Sources show, where they rip out the anuses of their competitors for violating journalistic ethics.

 

I'm done with my rant.

[Philrad71]

Kudos to Pat Benatar (although I have never heard of Neil Giraldo) for having the guts to stand up to this CNN nonsense and play at the festival!

 

My partner and I have been contemplating a winter getaway to either Orlando/Tampa, Key West or Las Vegas in February. If we choose Orlando, we certainly will not miss this event to show our support for the park...and it has nothing to do with the fact that I also love beer, BBQ and food. It's all about Shamu, baby!

[cfc]

Kudos to Pat Benatar (although I have never heard of Neil Giraldo) for having the guts to stand up to this CNN nonsense and play at the festival!

 

 

Neil Giraldo is a guitarist and Pat Benatar's husband.

Edited January 4, 2014 by cfc

[bert425]

Kudos to Pat Benatar (although I have never heard of Neil Giraldo) for having the guts to stand up to this CNN nonsense and play at the festival!

 

 

Neil Giraldo is a guitarist and Pat Benatar's husband.

 

to clarify -- he's HER guitarist (since way back in the 80's), and her Husband (for almost as long).

 

he co-wrote many of her big hits, and is the only band member still with her since she first broke big (for reasons that make sense -- marriage. . LOL).

 

he's also a pretty damn good guitarist.

[Philrad71]

Ahhh...guess I should have just Googled it, but you guys came through for me!

 

Taking down Christmas decorations today and had the radio on and Pat came out blasting 'Love is a Battlefield'. Gotta admit that I kind of always liked that song!

[triggernel]

I haven't read anything about this on here and a quick search showed nothing, but has anyone heard about the Polar Plunge event that they're doing at Aquatica next month? Basically they are chilling the wave pool down to near freezing temperatures and having fundraisers run into the icy water to raise money for Special Olympics of Florida. I know TPR is all Gung-Ho about Coasting for Kids so I figured this would be a popular event for the site as well.

 

http://specialolympicsflorida.org/get-involved/fundraise/polar-plunge/

 

If anyone would like to donate, here is my page. It works just like the Coasting for Kids donation system does. Thanks!

 

https://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/trygvenelson/2014-florida-polar-plunge

[Jalek]

Micechat features an interview from a former trainer that contributed to the film and is now speaking against it.

[jynx242]

^It is nice to read that.

 

My partner wanted to watch this movie the other night (even though I said I had absolutely no interest in seeing it.) From what I saw before I went to sleep, they seemed to be blaming Sea World for the poor treatment of Killer Whales in the 70's and 80's. After reading about this movie and getting more detailed information here - I saw it for the very one-sided thing it was.

 

I fell asleep half way through it.

 

What I took from it....I would LOVE to be a Sea World Trainer!!! I'd do that in a second without hesitation.

 

D.

[DBJ]

Thanks for the link! Interesting to read. The title of the film always bothered me, labeling or even suggesting that a whale is a "fish."

[Philrad71]

^It is nice to read that.

 

My partner wanted to watch this movie the other night (even though I said I had absolutely no interest in seeing it.) From what I saw before I went to sleep, they seemed to be blaming Sea World for the poor treatment of Killer Whales in the 70's and 80's. After reading about this movie and getting more detailed information here - I saw it for the very one-sided thing it was.

 

I fell asleep half way through it.

 

What I took from it....I would LOVE to be a Sea World Trainer!!! I'd do that in a second without hesitation.

 

D.

 

 

I thought the same exact thing and then fell asleep about half way through the movie too! My partner watched it with me, but I think he fell asleep as well!

[robbalvey]

Micechat features an interview from a former trainer that contributed to the film and is now speaking against it.

While I personally feel MiceChat is the "Fox News" of theme park sites, and would normally never suggest anyone read their over-sensationalized articles filled with mis-information and made up facts, I do happen to know the author of this legit Blackfish article and feel it needs to be shared: http://micechat.com/53915-blackfish-exposed/

[Moose]

^Interesting read. It's unfortunate that stories like this will get much less attention than the movie.

[robbalvey]

^Interesting read. It's unfortunate that stories like this will get much less attention than the movie.

That's exactly why I felt it should be shared. It deserves attention, so I'll put my distaste for the content provider aside for a moment, and share it with our readers.

[Jalek]

^^^I'm an occasional contributor to MiceChat (even though I found out about the post from its author). Now I feel like Carl Rove. Thanks Robb!

[robbalvey]

^ You're welcome!

[arby]

It's good to hear that every company isn't distancing themselves from SeaWorld. I didn't see this posted so I'm adding it to the thread. This is from Southwest Airlines:

 

Over the past few weeks we’ve observed a number of Customers and community members reach out to Southwest Airlines regarding our partnership with SeaWorld. We want our Customers to know that we’ve heard your concerns and we do not take them lightly. I felt it was necessary to share our position on the partnership and hopefully address any concerns.

 

We have a longstanding relationship with SeaWorld that is based on travel and bringing families together. We are engaged with Sea World related to the recent concerns being raised. We are in a listening and education mode with the goal of upholding our commitments as a good corporate citizen. As a responsible member of the community, we support several organizations and events that are devoted to maintaining the natural world.

 

At this time, our partnership with SeaWorld will continue. If you’d like to know more about Southwest’s commitment to the triple bottom line of Performance, People, and Planet, please read our Southwest Airlines One Report at www.southwestonereport.com

- See more at: http://www.blogsouthwest.com/update-on-seaworld-partnership/#sthash.AwNwVu5d.dpuf

 

Source

[cfc]

And the penguins didn't even have to rent tuxedoes.

[KBrylczyk]

^ Of all the "conveniences" they could have listed were unavailable, they chose mail.

[SharkTums]

That's one smelly wedding!