RE: @Herpetologyguy's Views on SeaWorld
There is one main statement I can subscribe to: whales should not be held in captivity. And that goes for ALL kinds of whales, also dolphins.
Its not that I accuse the keepers of not trying to care for them as best as they can. Its also not the training they exercise with the animals - as you say, thats probably the most positive aspect for the animals.
The problem is, there is no way to provide a environment that comes even close to their needs regarding space. Its a wise move by Sea World to phase out this program, and I can only hope that all other institutions in the world will follow their example.
Of course there are animals, where the situation is completely different. Your Alligator for example would probably move around as much as a oak tree, as long as there is enough food jumping into its mouth on a regular basis.
The decision wether or not to keep animals in captivity, should always be made with this aspect as the top priority. Unless we talk about the last survivors of a dieing species of course.
And yes, education and awareness of the people is important, too. But not on the expense of the animals, in my opinion.
Exactly. I would never say that SeaWorld provides these whales with poor care or bad conditions; I think the level of care is top notch. That being said, I don't think it is possible to recreate the conditions necessary for a whale to thrive in captivity the way other species do. It's not a "animal care problem" as some people put it, it's simply that even with the best care, we cannot create a suitable environment even under the best conditions.
Correct. It would require basins of hundreds, may be thousands of square miles in size. And that even without taking long distance migration into account.
Thats not possible, and even if it would be, it wouldn't make sense, because the visitors would hardly ever get to see the whales. At least not easier than it is now, by going out on the ocean with a ship to observe whales or dolphins.