How much do you believe?
There are a lot of anti-captivity messages/propagandas floating about the media and internet regarding whales and dolphins, but what do you believe?
Well to make an educated decision, start by looking at both sides of the coin....
I won't go into any of their arguements, because a simple google will give you enough of that, but here are some questions you should ask yourself when you read such articles:
> Are captive-born cetaceans able to survive well in the wild? -Take Keiko (Free Willy) for example, a huge campaign began after the films to release him which resulted in him being released into the wild and shortly after this he died. Captive animals do not know how to hunt.
> Why are they not protesting about Monkeys and other intelligent mammals? There is far less objection to keeping primates in zoos even though they are far more closely related to humans than dolphins. Many zoos in the UK still exhibit many species of monkey.
> Would you rather they were taught no "tricks" and had no hands on human interaction? Anti-caps often bulk out their arguements with a lot of anti-trick blurb about how the animals are "forced" to perform and are bored by their interactions. Without these things wouldn't they be a lot worse off?
> Can all research be done just in the wild? Lots of information can be obtained from wild cetaceans, but studying them in captivity gives research another level of detail. This of course depends on the nature of the research, but animals can be studied much more closely in captivity.
These are only a few points and there are many more lurking around the internet that will get you thinking (try searching for john dineley's marine animal welfare site -he is an ex-dolphin/sea lion trainer). Whichever side (if any) you take - make sure you've seen both sides of the coin before you judge. In general, more information is never a bad thing!
Well to make an educated decision, start by looking at both sides of the coin....
I won't go into any of their arguements, because a simple google will give you enough of that, but here are some questions you should ask yourself when you read such articles:
> Are captive-born cetaceans able to survive well in the wild? -Take Keiko (Free Willy) for example, a huge campaign began after the films to release him which resulted in him being released into the wild and shortly after this he died. Captive animals do not know how to hunt.
> Why are they not protesting about Monkeys and other intelligent mammals? There is far less objection to keeping primates in zoos even though they are far more closely related to humans than dolphins. Many zoos in the UK still exhibit many species of monkey.
> Would you rather they were taught no "tricks" and had no hands on human interaction? Anti-caps often bulk out their arguements with a lot of anti-trick blurb about how the animals are "forced" to perform and are bored by their interactions. Without these things wouldn't they be a lot worse off?
> Can all research be done just in the wild? Lots of information can be obtained from wild cetaceans, but studying them in captivity gives research another level of detail. This of course depends on the nature of the research, but animals can be studied much more closely in captivity.
These are only a few points and there are many more lurking around the internet that will get you thinking (try searching for john dineley's marine animal welfare site -he is an ex-dolphin/sea lion trainer). Whichever side (if any) you take - make sure you've seen both sides of the coin before you judge. In general, more information is never a bad thing!
