Blackfish

[Ewell]

Well this may have slipped under a lot of people's radar because it was on BBC4 so I thought I would bring it to

the forum's attention in the hope that it may change the mind of at least one person in deciding not to visit Sea World.

 

It is quite upsetting and fairly shocking in how a huge American corporation are willing to cover up fatalities and point the blame at the innocent trainers that work for them.

 

Documentary which unravels the story of notorious performing whale Tilikum, who - unlike any orca in the wild - has taken the lives of several people while in captivity. So what exactly went wrong?

 

Shocking, never-before-seen footage and interviews with trainers and experts manifest the orca's extraordinary nature, the species' cruel treatment in captivity over the last four decades and the growing disillusionment of workers who were misled and endangered by the highly profitable sea-park industry.

 

This emotionally-wrenching, tautly-structured story challenges us to consider our relationship to nature and reveals how little we humans have learned from these highly intelligent and enormously sentient fellow mammals.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03j49l6/Storyville_20132014_Blackfish_The_Whale_that_Killed/

[warsash saint]

"Blackfish is billed as a documentary, but instead of a fair and balanced treatment of a complex subject, the film is inaccurate and misleading and, regrettably, exploits a tragedy that remains a source of deep pain for Dawn Brancheau's family, friends and colleagues. To promote its bias that killer whales should not be maintained in a zoological setting, the film paints a distorted picture that withholds from viewers key facts about SeaWorld -- among them, that SeaWorld is one of the world's most respected zoological institutions, that SeaWorld rescues, rehabilitates and returns to the wild hundreds of wild animals every year, and that SeaWorld commits millions of dollars annually to conservation and scientific research. Perhaps most important, the film fails to mention SeaWorld's commitment to the safety of its team members and guests and to the care and welfare of its animals, as demonstrated by the company's continual refinement and improvement to its killer whale facilities, equipment and procedures both before and after the death of Dawn Brancheau."

[CB Saint]

So I'm guessing that the truth is somewhere in the middle then.

[Sheaf Saint]

"Blackfish is billed as a documentary, but instead of a fair and balanced treatment of a complex subject, the film is inaccurate and misleading and, regrettably, exploits a tragedy that remains a source of deep pain for Dawn Brancheau's family, friends and colleagues. To promote its bias that killer whales should not be maintained in a zoological setting, the film paints a distorted picture that withholds from viewers key facts about SeaWorld -- among them, that SeaWorld is one of the world's most respected zoological institutions, that SeaWorld rescues, rehabilitates and returns to the wild hundreds of wild animals every year, and that SeaWorld commits millions of dollars annually to conservation and scientific research. Perhaps most important, the film fails to mention SeaWorld's commitment to the safety of its team members and guests and to the care and welfare of its animals, as demonstrated by the company's continual refinement and improvement to its killer whale facilities, equipment and procedures both before and after the death of Dawn Brancheau."

 

That's all well and good, but it doesn't detract from the fact that they tried to shirk all responsibility for her death by blaming it on her. Whatever good deeds they may have done, that is simply inexcusable.

[CylonKing]

I rented this out a couple of weeks ago after Empire gave it a rave review. Have to say that anyone thinking of going to a park that has captive Whales and Dolphins should really watch this before going. It is a very distressing film and I'm not talking about the employee deaths either. These are obviously highly intelligent and emotive creatures that are basically in prison and they get extremely fristrated being in captivity. The separating of mother and calves is deeply upsetting when you see the impact this has on both of the creatures, these animals normally live to be up to 100 (only 25-30 in captivity) and live in complex family units that stick together through thick and thin. I'm sure the film makers had an agenda when they put this together, much like every Michael Moore film, but this does not detract from what is an exceptional film that is both informative about Killer Whales in general and the impact being in captivity has on them.

 

I would also recommend The Cove, a similar film about Dolphin capture in Japan. This is also a deeply shocking film about humans treatment of animals.

[CylonKing]

Also worth pointing out that SeaWorld were asked to be involved and put forward all of the points raised in post #2. They could've mentioned all the good they do, but they refused to speak to the film makers.

[warsash saint]

I rented this out a couple of weeks ago after Empire gave it a rave review. Have to say that anyone thinking of going to a park that has captive Whales and Dolphins should really watch this before going. It is a very distressing film and I'm not talking about the employee deaths either. These are obviously highly intelligent and emotive creatures that are basically in prison and they get extremely fristrated being in captivity. The separating of mother and calves is deeply upsetting when you see the impact this has on both of the creatures, these animals normally live to be up to 100 (only 25-30 in captivity) and live in complex family units that stick together through thick and thin. I'm sure the film makers had an agenda when they put this together, much like every Michael Moore film, but this does not detract from what is an exceptional film that is both informative about Killer Whales in general and the impact being in captivity has on them.

 

I would also recommend The Cove, a similar film about Dolphin capture in Japan. This is also a deeply shocking film about humans treatment of animals.

 

I have been to Seaworld on a number of occassions & this film would NOT stop me going again. I'd prefer to see these whales in the wild of course but near all of them were bred in captivity & could never be released. I've seen the work that the trainers do with the whales - they are not mistreated ( as born out by the trainers in the film) & they are stimulated more than zoo kept animals ever are.

 

Two points in your post above. The seperation of mother & calf - in this case the mother had rejected it's baby so Seaworld had no choice into move it.

Secondly, whales do not live to 100 in the wild.

 

The work that Seaworld do in educating kids on conservation & the rescue work they do with manatees etc etc should not be overlooked

[benjii]

This was shown on BBC4 as part of the Storyville series.

 

I strongly recommend the series to anyone who wants to watch well made programmes which embody a gravitas seldom found on television these days. Even if the subject matter is not of interest to you in a particular programme, I bet you end up engrossed. Far better than Panaroma or suchlike guff.

[Minty]

I have been to Seaworld on a number of occassions & this film would NOT stop me going again. I'd prefer to see these whales in the wild of course but near all of them were bred in captivity & could never be released. I've seen the work that the trainers do with the whales - they are not mistreated ( as born out by the trainers in the film) & they are stimulated more than zoo kept animals ever are.

IMO, that's a bit like saying 'well, yes, this human may well be in a cell that is 3m x 3m all his life, but he's got a 40" HD tv to watch, gourmet meals to eat everyday and a wide range of books to choose from'. They shouldn't be bred in captivity at all IMO. It is not their natural environment.

 

The work that Seaworld do in educating kids on conservation & the rescue work they do with manatees etc etc should not be overlooked

Absolutely right it should not be - but that doesn't mean they can be excused for the things that they are, IMO certainly, doing wrong.

[CylonKing]

The seperation of mother & calf - in this case the mother had rejected it's baby so Seaworld had no choice into move it.

Secondly, whales do not live to 100 in the wild.

 

I will admit that the life span is slightly off (though that is what was quoted from the film), but is much longer in the wild than in captivity. This from Wiki, everyone's favourite source:

 

Females breed until age 40, meaning on average they raise five offspring. The lifespans of wild females average 50 years, with a maximum of 80–90 years.[75] Males sexually mature at the age of 15, but do not typically reproduce until age 21. Wild males live around 29 years on average, with a maximum of 50–60 years.[75] One male, known as Old Tom, was reportedly spotted every winter between the 1840s and 1930 off New South Wales, Australia. This would have made him up to 90 years old.

 

The separation that was highlighted in the film was due to the Killer Whale becoming disruptive in shows and training, which Seaworld believed to be due to the calf. The footage of the Killer Whale not swimming around and essentially 'screaming' (using long range calls to search for it's offspring) does not sound like a parent that has rejected it's baby.

[warsash saint]

IMO, that's a bit like saying 'well, yes, this human may well be in a cell that is 3m x 3m all his life, but he's got a 40" HD tv to watch, gourmet meals to eat everyday and a wide range of books to choose from'. They shouldn't be bred in captivity at all IMO. It is not their natural environment.

.

 

The pool these whales stay in (at the back of the display pool) is huge - admittidly never gonna be big enough to replicate the water they cover n the wild. But surely that can be said off all animals kept in zoos? & where do you draw the line ...... rabbits, mice, hamsters kept in small cages / fish kept in aquaruims / dogs kept indoors whilst owners at work - all being kept in their un-natural environment.

[Minty]

The pool these whales stay in (at the back of the display pool) is huge - admittidly never gonna be big enough to replicate the water they cover n the wild. But surely that can be said off all animals kept in zoos? & where do you draw the line ...... rabbits, mice, hamsters kept in small cages / fish kept in aquaruims / dogs kept indoors whilst owners at work - all being kept in their un-natural environment.

I'm not drawing any line... I agree.

[buctootim]

Oddly enough there is a massive difference between keeping hamsters in captivity and trapping 9m metre whales which normally roam thousands of miles a year in featureless tanks - the biggest in the world of which is only 30m x 30m x 15m. It is untrue to imply there are much bigger and better holding tanks elsewhere - what you see is what they get. In the wild they live 70 years plus, in captivity an average of 8. These animals have brains around 7 times bigger than an average human, much more than 7 for the kind of people who go and see them forced to leap through hoops.

[warsash saint]

Oddly enough there is a massive difference between keeping hamsters in captivity and trapping 9m metre whales which normally roam thousands of miles a year in featureless tanks - the biggest in the world of which is only 30m x 30m x 15m. It is untrue to imply there are much bigger and better holding tanks elsewhere - what you see is what they get. In the wild they live 70 years plus, in captivity an average of 8. These animals have brains around 7 times bigger than an average human, much more than 7 for the kind of people who go and see them forced to leap through hoops.

 

i spot at least 4 errors.

[Sheaf Saint]

The strangest thing for me was the fact that in the wild only 1% of orcas suffer from the collapsed dorsal fin issue that manifests in just about all the animals that are kept in captivity. Whether that's to do with their diet or it's caused by psychological trauma appears to be unclear, but it is firm evidence that keeping them in captivity clearly has a physical effect on them that is not present in the wild.

[Whitey Grandad]

The strangest thing for me was the fact that in the wild only 1% of orcas suffer from the collapsed dorsal fin issue that manifests in just about all the animals that are kept in captivity. Whether that's to do with their diet or it's caused by psychological trauma appears to be unclear, but it is firm evidence that keeping them in captivity clearly has a physical effect on them that is not present in the wild.

 

Lack of exercise perhaps?

[aintforever]

I'm just surprised this sort of thing doesn't happen more often, it's a killer whale FFS, the clue is in the name.

 

People forget that these creatures, like humans, all have different personalities. Just because humans are not their natural diet doesn't mean it is safe to go swimming around with them. I expect Tilikum was having a really sh!t morning, which is fair enough considering he was basically being tortured by being locked up in a tiny area of water for years. Then having some annoying Yank slapper try and stand on his head or something is enough to make anyone flip.

 

It's the same with these idiots who own big dogs and let their kids play with them, should be done for manslaughter.