It is well known that animals are a powerful tourism catalyst throughout the world. However, after the tragic death of Dawn Brancheau at Orlando SeaWorld
on February 22nd, many questions have again been raised about the exploitation of whales and dolphins as entertainment. SeaWorld, owned by Blackstone, is a profitable business that fills its stadiums day after day with thousands of viewers eager to watch animals do circus tricks. The animals live and perform in pools the conditions of which have been likened to a human spending the rest of his or her life in a bathtub.
The spinner dolphin is common to the waters of Fernando de Noronha, Brazil, and most famous for its acrobatic displays. Some have been seen completing 14 spinning jumps one after another.
And where do these animals come from? Tilikum, the orca responsible for the death of Brancheau, was taken from the wild off the coast of Iceland to live out the rest of his life in captivity. And as revealed in Louie Psihoyos’ heart-wrenching Oscar-nominated documentary, The Cove, many dolphins are also removed from their families in the wild – separating mother and calf – and then distributed to marine parks throughout the world. What happens to those who don’t get picked for marine-park training is yet another story altogether.
A Better Alternative
Many people argue that the current awareness and love for orcas and dolphins wouldn’t exist without parks like SeaWorld. Do I agree? Yes. But do I think there are better alternatives? Most decisively.
The most obvious problem with SeaWorld and other voyeuristic venues is that cash seems to come before conservation. Tilikum fathered 17 calves; those that survived were not set free, but kept in confinement. It is certainly true that the wild is not what it used to be; there are many more threats to wildlife survival. But is it in Ringling Bros. cages that we propose to preserve the future of the animals of this planet?
No. There are better options and better places to put your dollar. Brazil has led the way in promoting marine conservation by creating coastal sanctuaries that allow these animals to return to the wild, where they can swim up to 100 miles a day, as intended. Supporting local efforts like this result in conservation and awareness that create win-win situations for whales, dolphins and other sea animals, and those who admire them.
The grey wolf can now live protected from hunters in Estonia's Soomaa National Park (photo by Jarek Joepara)
Of course careful conservation efforts aren’t limited to targeting marine life. For land animals, numerous sanctuaries have been developed that offer a better alternative to stressful and limited life in a zoo. Addo National Park of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, is refuge to massive herds of elephants that can live peacefully in a protected environment. In Sandakan of Malaysian Borneo, the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre saves orphaned orangutans and eventually releases them back into the open forest reserve, where they can roam safely free. Soomaa National Park of Estonia is a protected area where wolves, bears, lynx and beavers can live without fearing the crosshairs of hunters.
These are just a few examples of the efforts taken around the world to protect local wildlife. With so many better alternatives, why not support endeavours that primarily promote conservation and education, rather than shameless profit at the expense of animals?
Animals can’t speak for themselves. We must speak for them. Use your dollar positively. Think before you spend.
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Great article Ashley! I agree wholeheartedly. Considering that I majored in Animal Science in my university…I clearly love animals and I have never understood the appeal of gawking at them behind bars.
Well said Ashley. It’s so true. Growing up on the Gold Coast, Australia, a trip to Sea World was a regular occurrence growing up.
What completely baffles me is the giant Polar Bears they have living in a small enclosure, in a place that is better known for sun, surf and sand. I appreciate the efforts of Sea World when they help dolphins, whales and turtles caught up in fishing and shark nets off the coast, though they drop the ball seriously when it comes to the rest of their business.
The Polar Bears at Sea World (Australia)are, and this if from their own website, fed a combination of Kangaroo, Horse, Caramel, with treats such as marshmallows and ice cream. How is this conserving a species for future generations? Or trying to at least replicate an environment what they’d naturally be used to? Kangaroos… really?! It’s such a shame.
Its’ great to know though that there are people in Brazil, Estonia and other countries around the world taking a more active approach to conservation – whilst at the same time building a responsible tourism product.
An important topic. There was also recently an interview on BBC with the Prime Minister of the Maldives, who along with heading towards being a carbon neutral destination, also sees the importance of restricting what he called mass whale shark watching…where it literally looks like a school of human fish swimming what is much too close to these endangered creatures.
Real wildlife and nature experiences are great…but the people running them need to have this passion for conservation, otherwise not only does it pose a danger to wildlife, but also their livelihood.
This opinion piece is very well done. Thank you Ashley for giving us examples of real conservation efforts – I would love to check out those places one day.
Thank you for posting such an important topic. I just went to a discussion last week regarding this exact subject. I’m a member of the Born Free Foundation and I feel that they carry out invaluable work throughout the world. I think its tragic that animals in this day and age are still locked up in tiny cages. It breaks my heart to see such magnificent beasts as Rhino and Elephant in small concrete enclosures. I understand that in some circumstances, when an animal is on the verge of extinction it is important to protect them but surely breed from these animals and release their offspring into the wild. Human beings seem to be way too busy playing “god” with animals when they really should just let them be or at least conserve them in a way that is not detrimental to the animals wellbeing. I’m really glad that there are so many projects around the world, set up by passionate and hard working individuals that carry out important and as far as I’m concerned essential work with these endangered creatures. We need to respect the animals and help them in a world that seems to be very much against their survival. Long may conservation continue and hats off to everyone involed!
I think the real tradgedy here is that thanks to the population growth of mankind we are forced to create wildlife parks to educate the public on what is happening to many species and by doing so we only encourage more people to get out there and chase dolphins and whales and tigers etc so they can get a glimpse when really they should just be left alone but that wont bring in tourist dollars to poor countries so conservation would not be nearly so important to those governments. Its a hideous catch 22 in which the animals, as always, lose. Progress is being made in granting rights to animals and we can only hope mankind will continue to become more enlightened in this area.
Interesting point. However, no matter which way you look at it, we are in a day in age that conservation efforts like these are imperative to the future existence of many animals. It’s true that it is a sad factor that some governments support of conservation efforts are money-driven, however, I also believe that in many cases it was the pressure of passionate people that resulted in the positive protection of animals. Education essentially is the most powerful means of spreading awareness and I believe that the more people know, the better the decisions people will make for animals in the future. I believe choosing a wildlife park that was created to protect animals, not harm them, is one of those better alternatives.