In Captivity

[Bazile]

Like many people I have visited Sea World in Orlando , and must admit to enjoying the killer whale display .
(Noone told us not to sit near the front of the arena and as a consequence , we got totally soaked with H2O )

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-34773179 .

What's your opinion on keeping animals / mammals etc in captivity ?

Do you visit zoo's , etc ?

[andy-hughes]

I have mixed feelings to be honest.

I have also been to Sea World, and was aware that, as the trainers said, they cannot make animals that size do anything the simply don't feel like doing - so 'cruel' training is futile.

But similarly, orcas are meant to be in social groups in the open sea, not in a tank performing for tourists.

[Retrochic]

Horrible and outdated -if you want to go see whales go to Alaska or North Western Canada and see them where they should be -free.

[Baldric]

We would not go to see it, not a chance!

[bhg481]

Do you mean dogs and cats etc. Shouldn't be alowed.

[Retrochic]

dogs and cats aren't kept prisioner in the equivalent of a bath tub and expected to do tricks twice a day.

[bhg481]

Sit, stay, lie, wait - all tricks really. Many people also make them beg or offer a paw for food/tit-bits. Many are left in a house alone all day.

[naomi24]

Hate it! No animal should be caged.

[jackthehat]

Seaworld have been proven to lie about conditions and training of their 'exhibits'; there have been a couple of fatal attacks on the keepers in recent years, directly as a result of the treatment of the animals.

I would no more go and see a sentient animal 'perform' than I would stick pins in my eyes.

Blackpool Zoo has improved dramatically and now focuses on conservation/breeding programmes and as such I am happy to visit quite frequently.

[Old_Geezer]

When a species is threatened in the wild then a zoo can be useful. It also allows folk to experience the creatures when they otherwise would not be able to. But captive animals should be happy and able to practice normal behavior for the species. I'm unsure that is always the case.

In the case of Sea World, maybe they should open the gates and if the orcas opt to stay, then all well and good.

[tamborine]

Orkas dont have predators but they prey on everything. A few wont be missed from oceans.

As for captive animals, most have some as pets or livestock. So long as theyre properly cared for I dont object.

[ummmm]

I've visited Woburn Safari Park on numerous occasions. I don't think Safari parks are cruel as the animals aren't caged and the majority born in captivity.

The park up the road from me has an aviary. I find that pretty cruel especially for the peacocks.

[Jonathan-Joe]

Dogs and cats aren't captured in the wild and then tamed to become pets. They are domesticated because over many years selective breeding has created species suitable for co-existence with humans in an artificial environment.

[ummmm]

And I doubt cats and dogs would be happier if they were 'free'

They want food, shelter, fuss and love. Realistically cats spend most their time sleeping anyway.

[andy-hughes]

I would agree - you cannot equate domestic pets with wild animals in captivity.

I think now, I would probably avoid the Sea World Show - then I was with my children and in-laws, so they all wanted to go, so we went, but I did feel uncomfortable about the 'tricks' these wonderful animals perform.

[viv41]

Would never go to see wild animals like this in captivity being made to perform for our entertainment. I remember as a tiny child being taken to a circus and seeing elephants performing degrading tricks. I was very young, but I remember a sick feeling inside of me knowing this wasn't right. I think the way we treat wild animals in captivity is vile. Poor creatures.

[Prudie]

Places like Sea World with performing wild animals are just a money making venture and I'd never go. However mainly due to our disrepect and destruction of natural habitats some wild anilmals' only hope for survival is in captivity. It's by no means perfect but the ethos of zoos and wildlife parks, certainly in the civilised world, has vastly changed with every effort made to keep the animals in as natural surroundings as possible to encourage breeding.

[mikey4444]

I haven't seen these performing anywhere but it would seem to me that animals of this size shouldn't be kept in tanks. They are hardly tropical fish are they ?

[Retrochic]

I hate zoos. I was a chaperon while in Canada on a school trip to Calgary zoo which is situated by the side of the river Bow and on an island. There were some hippos who had a comparatively small pool where they were let out to 'play' for the public -it was not nice. Some time later later the river Bow burst its banks and the hippos escaped into the river Bow - I hoped they would swim away but that was a bit stupid as they would have frozen to death but at least they had a small taste of freedom.

[sp1814]

I saw Blackfish last year and whilst I've been to Sea World before (about 20 years ago), I wouldn't ever go back.

My mind is all over the place when it comes to zoos. I understand that they a role to play with conservation...but at the end of the day, it's prison for animals.

Wildlife parks are different - but still...they are not the natural environment for exotic breeds.