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Free World or Sea World?
| by joey racano With that far-away feeling you get during a sudden emergency, I sat transfixed before the television. Kandu the Orca created a scarlet tornado, spiraling to her death at the bottom of a Sea World swimming pool. Baby Shamu -her baby- circled helplessly at the surface. Some images haunt you for the rest of your life. "She did it to herself", was the official word from Sea World. How a magnificent creature like that captures and holds herself hostage in a swimming pool is certainly beyond me, but who am I to argue with Sea World? After all, Sea World is a registered trademark of Anhauser Busch, the people who bring you Budweiser beer. And they know Killer Whales. Well they should; in the 1970's, so many Orcas were captured for amusement parks it resulted in an entire generation being removed from the wild. Despite rosy pictures painted by Sea World, up to 60% of Orcas don't survive their first month of captivity, survivors have to suddenly switch to eating dead fish, and the pods from which they are taken can spend months searching in confusion for their missing. Also, there are many instances of Orcas and Pilot Whales attempting suicide by repeatedly ramming the walls of their enclosures, some succeeding. There is another image that will last me a lifetime. A yellowing newspaper photo on my wall shows several hundred kids lining a rocky cliff in Iceland watching the approach of a U.S. Air Force cargo plane. It carried Keiko, an Orca rescued from captivity, flown to Iceland, and eventually released. Keiko starred as the Orca in the 'Free Willy' movie and eventually died a free Whale, all paid for by pennies collected during a successful global effort by children. Brad Andrews, then vice president of zoological operations for Sea World theme parks said predictably, "This is just another step in the fantasy. I hope it doesn't affect him adversely". As a civilization newly awakened to our role in changing the planet, we must bring the practice of capturing, holding and tormenting these intelligent creatures to an end. Enforcing the Marine Mammal Protection Act at Casa Beach in San Diego would be a good place to start. Joey Racano, Director Ocean Outfal Group www.stopthewaiver.com Joey Racano PO Box 1260 Morro Bay Ca 93443 |
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