Bob
8th November 2015, 19:44
Orcinus Orcas, "Orcas", "the blackfish" or Killer Whales may be getting some hope of freedom..
California lawmaker plans to introduce bill to phase out killer whale shows (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bill-to-end-killer-whale-shows-20151106-story.html)
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) said Friday that he plans to introduce a bill to prohibit the breeding of captive orcas, end the capture of wild orcas and stop the import and export of the killer whales.
The bill, if approved, would put an end to shows across the country featuring the marine mammals once the existing whales in captivity die.
Last year, Schiff tried to add an amendment to a funding bill to update the federal Animal Welfare Act to "reflect the growing scientific and public concern about the effect of captivity on these animals." The amendment was not added to the final funding bill.
Who is doing the captivity, captive breeding, and 'shows' ?
SeaWorld.
Naomi Rose, a marine mammal scientist for the Animal Welfare Institute, said the fact that captive whales are breeding with close family members shows that captivity is harmful to the orcas.
She also said that the legislation would create an incentive for SeaWorld to develop a long-term contraceptive for whales.
"Right now, they (SeaWorld) have no interest in developing a long-term contraceptive," she said.
SeaWorld responds by fighting back saying it's good for the public (and the whales) to have them remain in captivity where they can be 'researched'... (hmmm)
SeaWorld is currently poised to unleash a plan to reverse declining attendance numbers and fight back against animal rights groups who criticize the treatment of killer whales at the company's parks.
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. Chief Executive Joel Manby told analysts during a Thursday conference call that the company will invest in a new attraction at the SeaWorld park in San Diego and continue to spend heavily on a multimedia campaign to respond to its critics.
"We can do a very effective attendance-driving, return-generating attraction, and I'm actually very excited about the alternatives we're already coming up with," Manby said. He declined to offer details on the new attraction, saying that he will disclose the plan Monday.
The new attraction will be built partly with funding the company had set aside for a $100-million expansion plan for its 11 killer whales, he said.
They (SeaWorld corporate executives) are really upset that their "prime attraction" is being challenged..
No whale has been caught off U.S. waters since 1976, and no wild-caught orcas have been transferred to the U.S. from other countries since 2001, according to Schiff.
The 11 whales at SeaWorld San Diego range in age from 10 months to 50 years, which could allow the park to display animals for decades, depending on the longevity of the whales.
Animal rights activists have demanded that SeaWorld release the orcas to seaside sanctuaries, although none currently exist to hold the 11 whales.
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., the parent company of SeaWorld San Diego, has 24 orcas in three parks across the country. Miami Seaquarium has one killer whale.
The evidence is very strong that the psychological and physical harm done to these magnificent animals far outweighs any benefits reaped from their display.
- Rep. Adam Schiff
Schiff's Bill will prohibit the breeding of captive orcas, end the capture of wild orcas and stop the import and export of the killer whales.
Orcinus Orcas
Scientific name: Orcinus orca
Lifespan: 50 years (Female)
Mass: 12,000 lbs (Adult)
Trophic level: Carnivorous
Body length: 28 ft. (Adult)
Gestation period: 15 months
SeaWorld desires to keep these beings who can live up to 50 years IN-CAPTIVITY, incarcerated, in "jail", and being forced to "PERFORM" to public for their amusement..
Classification:
The orca is the apex predators of the sea and the largest member of the dolphin family. It is highly intelligent, highly adaptable and able to communicate and coordinate hunting tactics. Not typically a migratory species, orca ‘migrations' are principally in response to changes in favoured prey abundance and can sometimes be long, e.g between Alaska and California.
Depending on the type of social group and location, orcas will hunt fish, squid, seals, sea lions, seabirds and even whales much larger than themselves.
There has never been a documented attack on a human in the wild, and there are some stories of orcas actually protecting humans at sea from sharks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7bftWJrOU8
Distribution:
Orcas are found throughout the world's seas, typically in extended pods, or family groups, that share a common dialect. Relationships with other pods can be deduced by determining the number of calls they share indicating degree of relatedness. Pods that share no calls are in different clans or communities.
Though cosmopolitan in distribution they are most abundant in cold, temperate, coastal areas.
In general, orca populations have probably been affected by human activities to a relatively small degree when compared with other marine mammal species. However, habitat degradation, prey depletion and pollution now threaten certain populations.
Orcas also continue to be an attraction at marine parks; orca populations in the US and Canadian Pacific Northwest, Iceland and Japan were negatively impacted from the 1960s to the 1980s by the live capture industry.
The ‘southern resident' orcas of the American Pacific Northwest were particularly affected and this, together with other environmental factors, has resulted in this declining population being classified as ‘Endangered'. Although the IUCN classifies the species as Data Deficient worldwide, a regularly encountered population of only 32 individuals in the Strait of Gibraltar, each one known and identified by researchers, is listed as Critically Endangered (IUCN).
ref:
http://us.whales.org/species-guide/orca-killer-whale
http://us.whales.org/wdc-in-action/orcas-held-in-canadian-marine-parks - orcas held captive in Canadian Marine Exhibits
http://cdn1.arkive.org/media/53/5314733E-3CD6-4B5D-A70F-EA81A67A93C7/Presentation.Large/Captive-orca-being-fed-by-handler.jpg
California lawmaker plans to introduce bill to phase out killer whale shows (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bill-to-end-killer-whale-shows-20151106-story.html)
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) said Friday that he plans to introduce a bill to prohibit the breeding of captive orcas, end the capture of wild orcas and stop the import and export of the killer whales.
The bill, if approved, would put an end to shows across the country featuring the marine mammals once the existing whales in captivity die.
Last year, Schiff tried to add an amendment to a funding bill to update the federal Animal Welfare Act to "reflect the growing scientific and public concern about the effect of captivity on these animals." The amendment was not added to the final funding bill.
Who is doing the captivity, captive breeding, and 'shows' ?
SeaWorld.
Naomi Rose, a marine mammal scientist for the Animal Welfare Institute, said the fact that captive whales are breeding with close family members shows that captivity is harmful to the orcas.
She also said that the legislation would create an incentive for SeaWorld to develop a long-term contraceptive for whales.
"Right now, they (SeaWorld) have no interest in developing a long-term contraceptive," she said.
SeaWorld responds by fighting back saying it's good for the public (and the whales) to have them remain in captivity where they can be 'researched'... (hmmm)
SeaWorld is currently poised to unleash a plan to reverse declining attendance numbers and fight back against animal rights groups who criticize the treatment of killer whales at the company's parks.
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. Chief Executive Joel Manby told analysts during a Thursday conference call that the company will invest in a new attraction at the SeaWorld park in San Diego and continue to spend heavily on a multimedia campaign to respond to its critics.
"We can do a very effective attendance-driving, return-generating attraction, and I'm actually very excited about the alternatives we're already coming up with," Manby said. He declined to offer details on the new attraction, saying that he will disclose the plan Monday.
The new attraction will be built partly with funding the company had set aside for a $100-million expansion plan for its 11 killer whales, he said.
They (SeaWorld corporate executives) are really upset that their "prime attraction" is being challenged..
No whale has been caught off U.S. waters since 1976, and no wild-caught orcas have been transferred to the U.S. from other countries since 2001, according to Schiff.
The 11 whales at SeaWorld San Diego range in age from 10 months to 50 years, which could allow the park to display animals for decades, depending on the longevity of the whales.
Animal rights activists have demanded that SeaWorld release the orcas to seaside sanctuaries, although none currently exist to hold the 11 whales.
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., the parent company of SeaWorld San Diego, has 24 orcas in three parks across the country. Miami Seaquarium has one killer whale.
The evidence is very strong that the psychological and physical harm done to these magnificent animals far outweighs any benefits reaped from their display.
- Rep. Adam Schiff
Schiff's Bill will prohibit the breeding of captive orcas, end the capture of wild orcas and stop the import and export of the killer whales.
Orcinus Orcas
Scientific name: Orcinus orca
Lifespan: 50 years (Female)
Mass: 12,000 lbs (Adult)
Trophic level: Carnivorous
Body length: 28 ft. (Adult)
Gestation period: 15 months
SeaWorld desires to keep these beings who can live up to 50 years IN-CAPTIVITY, incarcerated, in "jail", and being forced to "PERFORM" to public for their amusement..
Classification:
The orca is the apex predators of the sea and the largest member of the dolphin family. It is highly intelligent, highly adaptable and able to communicate and coordinate hunting tactics. Not typically a migratory species, orca ‘migrations' are principally in response to changes in favoured prey abundance and can sometimes be long, e.g between Alaska and California.
Depending on the type of social group and location, orcas will hunt fish, squid, seals, sea lions, seabirds and even whales much larger than themselves.
There has never been a documented attack on a human in the wild, and there are some stories of orcas actually protecting humans at sea from sharks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7bftWJrOU8
Distribution:
Orcas are found throughout the world's seas, typically in extended pods, or family groups, that share a common dialect. Relationships with other pods can be deduced by determining the number of calls they share indicating degree of relatedness. Pods that share no calls are in different clans or communities.
Though cosmopolitan in distribution they are most abundant in cold, temperate, coastal areas.
In general, orca populations have probably been affected by human activities to a relatively small degree when compared with other marine mammal species. However, habitat degradation, prey depletion and pollution now threaten certain populations.
Orcas also continue to be an attraction at marine parks; orca populations in the US and Canadian Pacific Northwest, Iceland and Japan were negatively impacted from the 1960s to the 1980s by the live capture industry.
The ‘southern resident' orcas of the American Pacific Northwest were particularly affected and this, together with other environmental factors, has resulted in this declining population being classified as ‘Endangered'. Although the IUCN classifies the species as Data Deficient worldwide, a regularly encountered population of only 32 individuals in the Strait of Gibraltar, each one known and identified by researchers, is listed as Critically Endangered (IUCN).
ref:
http://us.whales.org/species-guide/orca-killer-whale
http://us.whales.org/wdc-in-action/orcas-held-in-canadian-marine-parks - orcas held captive in Canadian Marine Exhibits
http://cdn1.arkive.org/media/53/5314733E-3CD6-4B5D-A70F-EA81A67A93C7/Presentation.Large/Captive-orca-being-fed-by-handler.jpg