I was less than impressed with this so-called "documentary". I think they could have had a better film if they'd told the truth, instead of exaggerating and lying, and if they'd used better quality scientific opinion than animal-rights activists.
During the course of the film they claim that "Tilikum" became a killer because of mistreatment, thereby arguing that whales shouldn't be kept in captivity, then they claim that because he's a killer he shouldn't be used for breeding - arguing that it's his genes that make him dangerous, and then to top it off they claim that all whales are unpredictable and potentially dangerous, thereby claiming that no trainer should have contact with any whale in captivity. On that last point they are in fact correct, a 2010 US court ruing against SeaWorld found that their workplace safety practises were inadequate, that they had failed to provide a safe workplace by exposing employees to recognised hazards, and (perhaps most damning of all) that safer practises would not jeopardise their ability to perform (and profit from) shows.
So SeaWorld was at fault, and was to blame for not providing a safe workplace and specifically to exposing employees to "recognised hazards". It should be noted that SeaWorld appealed this decision in 2014, and lost. So that one argument is fair, and it's true.
The other arguments in the film don't stack up. First they claim that killer whales in captivity live for 25-30 years on average, but their average lifespan in the wild is 50-80 years. Perhaps if they'd consulted respected scientists instead of asking animal rights activists, they'd know that the average life expectancy for males is 29 years, and for females it's 50 years. Tilikum was 31 in 2013, that makes him as old as the life expectancy in the wild.
They spurt a lot of conjecture with little to no evidence. They claim the whales are not happy in captivity and should be returned to the wild. They could claim that keeping whales in captivity causes attacks - because that's what the court found in 2010. That much is true. But claiming that they suffer unduly requires evidence that they do not provide.
Some of the trainers that were interviewed for the film now regret, one who doesn't is John Hargrove, who says in this video:
http://youtu.be/io8-QJpY6xY
That he has been pulled under by whales on several occasions, and that management withheld information from the staff when people were injured or killed.
One of the better parts of the film is their interview with John Crowe, a former fisherman who was involved with catching some of the whale calves in the 70's. For the record I am not anti-whaling I believe in sustainable hunting full stop. Regardless of the species. With that said, I do not agree with hunting the and catching the young.
Seaworld of course claims they've never hunted baby whales, but the reality of course is that all of their whales can be traced back to whales that were hunted and caught as babies and separated from their mothers. This includes Tilikum, who is in their possession. All of their whales either were hunted in this way or were bread from ones that were. They bought whales that had been hunted in that way; had they been hunted in a different way they could have said so.
Ultimately the documentary blames everyone including Dawn Brancheau herself for her death, other than Tilikum (the whale). The whole victim-blaming mythology of it is disgusting, not to mention none of their claims are substantiated: "By the end of the session he wasn't on his game any more", "he was probably frustrated", "he wasn't getting reinforced for his good behaviour", "it escalated to very violent behaviour" etc. Nothing about those statements reflected the facts, the only facts were that the whale grabbed her arm, pulled her under, and drowned her. And that SeaWorld could have foreseen the risk and should have had safer workplace policies. The reasons why the whale acted the way he did are unclear, but it was a dangerous whale that was responsible for the deaths of two people previously.
But on that the film does not correctly reveal the circumstances surrounding the first two deaths. The first death, in 1991, occurred when a trainer fell into a tank containing Tilikum and two other female whales. The female killer whales were pregnant, a fact that wasn't known until later. At least one of the females participated with Tilikum in drowning her, and it's unclear which whale instigated the incident. The film speculates on the circumstances of the death of the second victim, Daniel P. Dukes, whilst claiming that SeaWorld must have video footage of the incident, etc. the fact is he was killed, probably by the whale, but whether by malicious intent or because he panicked and couldn't swim when the whale engaged him is unclear.
During the course of the film they claim that "Tilikum" became a killer because of mistreatment, thereby arguing that whales shouldn't be kept in captivity, then they claim that because he's a killer he shouldn't be used for breeding - arguing that it's his genes that make him dangerous, and then to top it off they claim that all whales are unpredictable and potentially dangerous, thereby claiming that no trainer should have contact with any whale in captivity. On that last point they are in fact correct, a 2010 US court ruing against SeaWorld found that their workplace safety practises were inadequate, that they had failed to provide a safe workplace by exposing employees to recognised hazards, and (perhaps most damning of all) that safer practises would not jeopardise their ability to perform (and profit from) shows.
So SeaWorld was at fault, and was to blame for not providing a safe workplace and specifically to exposing employees to "recognised hazards". It should be noted that SeaWorld appealed this decision in 2014, and lost. So that one argument is fair, and it's true.
The other arguments in the film don't stack up. First they claim that killer whales in captivity live for 25-30 years on average, but their average lifespan in the wild is 50-80 years. Perhaps if they'd consulted respected scientists instead of asking animal rights activists, they'd know that the average life expectancy for males is 29 years, and for females it's 50 years. Tilikum was 31 in 2013, that makes him as old as the life expectancy in the wild.
They spurt a lot of conjecture with little to no evidence. They claim the whales are not happy in captivity and should be returned to the wild. They could claim that keeping whales in captivity causes attacks - because that's what the court found in 2010. That much is true. But claiming that they suffer unduly requires evidence that they do not provide.
Some of the trainers that were interviewed for the film now regret, one who doesn't is John Hargrove, who says in this video:
http://youtu.be/io8-QJpY6xY
That he has been pulled under by whales on several occasions, and that management withheld information from the staff when people were injured or killed.
One of the better parts of the film is their interview with John Crowe, a former fisherman who was involved with catching some of the whale calves in the 70's. For the record I am not anti-whaling I believe in sustainable hunting full stop. Regardless of the species. With that said, I do not agree with hunting the and catching the young.
Seaworld of course claims they've never hunted baby whales, but the reality of course is that all of their whales can be traced back to whales that were hunted and caught as babies and separated from their mothers. This includes Tilikum, who is in their possession. All of their whales either were hunted in this way or were bread from ones that were. They bought whales that had been hunted in that way; had they been hunted in a different way they could have said so.
Ultimately the documentary blames everyone including Dawn Brancheau herself for her death, other than Tilikum (the whale). The whole victim-blaming mythology of it is disgusting, not to mention none of their claims are substantiated: "By the end of the session he wasn't on his game any more", "he was probably frustrated", "he wasn't getting reinforced for his good behaviour", "it escalated to very violent behaviour" etc. Nothing about those statements reflected the facts, the only facts were that the whale grabbed her arm, pulled her under, and drowned her. And that SeaWorld could have foreseen the risk and should have had safer workplace policies. The reasons why the whale acted the way he did are unclear, but it was a dangerous whale that was responsible for the deaths of two people previously.
But on that the film does not correctly reveal the circumstances surrounding the first two deaths. The first death, in 1991, occurred when a trainer fell into a tank containing Tilikum and two other female whales. The female killer whales were pregnant, a fact that wasn't known until later. At least one of the females participated with Tilikum in drowning her, and it's unclear which whale instigated the incident. The film speculates on the circumstances of the death of the second victim, Daniel P. Dukes, whilst claiming that SeaWorld must have video footage of the incident, etc. the fact is he was killed, probably by the whale, but whether by malicious intent or because he panicked and couldn't swim when the whale engaged him is unclear.
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50. -LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
