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SeaWorld Orlando: General Discussion

What we need here is a Bird of Prey, transparent aluminium, and a "slingshot-round-the-sun" manouver....
 
@RicketyCricket Whilst Blackfish is never a reliable source (it isn't independent), I absolutely agree with you that capturing Killer Whales was and remains completely wrong. SeaWorld has not taken from the wild in 40 years. Times have changed, SeaWorld has also changed and the current staff & management are totally opposed to wild capture.
 
RicketyCricket said:
The bottom line is, no matter how well they're looked after - they shouldn't be there in the first place.

Stealing the animals from their families and open ocean homes in the first place is inexcusable. I watched Blackfish with an open mind, and can see the good that SeaWorld do, but that scene was heartbreaking.

And no - I'm not an expert, and I couldn't give a toss how said industry experts can justify the above.
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What about discovering ill/injured animals from the wild?

Zoo theme parks are always going to be iffy from the viewpoint of the animals because there's a distinct difference in pure conservation (like most standard zoos) and animals for entertainment...

Now, any information from PETA should never be taken at face value (after all, they put down a lot of animals themselves), but zoos and places like SeaWorld do have a role to play in the future... Unfortunately it boils down to the question of how big an animal is too big to keep in a cage/tank that will never be able to recreate their real life habitat?

Every zoo can do more to help their own animals, the difference between London Zoo or Chessie back in the 90s to now is an astounding difference in terms of the sizes and qualities of the enclosures... But it's up to these places to keep up with the latest ideas and trends to ensure that they keep a relevancy that is pretty important for the future of a lot of animals...

I mean Giant Pandas are no longer considered endangered! That couldn't be done without a lot of zoos (and China's general support) assistance...

However, Mako, you do need to stop being so incredibly defensive about people's views of SeaWorld... They were caught out in their practices, which were not good, and still require improvement in a lot of cases... I'm not too shocked by the death of an animal younger than it's general lifespan because it could well be that it contracted something or had a defect since birth... Unless that information is released we can only speculate, but SeaWorld's history (and Blackfish) will mean that anything will be analysed quite closely...

It's up to SeaWorld to change the image themselves, they don't need rabid fanboys clutching at research straws for them...
 
@Benzin - A good example is the wonderful work they do with Manatees. They're rescued, rehabilitated, and eventually released.

@MakoMania - Regarding the Orcas, it's clear to see the current team at SeaWorld genuinrly do care for the animals. I visited twice in my 14 day visit to Orlando last year, with an open mind and willing to learn and understand their side of the story. I was very impressed.

*But* it's like saying Josef Fritzl is a great guy because he bought breakfast down to the dungeon every morning.
 
RicketyCricket said:
*But* it's like saying Josef Fritzl is a great guy because he bought breakfast down to the dungeon every morning.
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Or, that Jimmy Saville was great for all the hospital and charity work he did!

You can't sugar coat the fact that keeping animals in captivity is wrong. There can be benefits yes, but overall I think it does more harm than good, when looking at the big picture.
 
RicketyCricket said:
@Benzin - A good example is the wonderful work they do with Manatees. They're rescued, rehabilitated, and eventually released.
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I think though it's not that entirely simple, what works for one animal might not work for another... A rehabilitated animal is not always suitable for release into the wild...

DistortAMG said:
You can't sugar coat the fact that keeping animals in captivity is wrong.
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Why is it wrong? Is it wrong to keep animals in captivity that are slowly becoming extinct and we wish to prevent that? Or is it wrong to keep animals in captivity so they can jump up and down and cause a big sploosh in a pool?
 
Benzin said:
Why is it wrong? Is it wrong to keep animals in captivity that are slowly becoming extinct and we wish to prevent that? Or is it wrong to keep animals in captivity so they can jump up and down and cause a big sploosh in a pool?
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It's wrong to keep them in captivity for our own personal enjoyment. However, it is also wrong to keep them in captivity to preserve them if the extinction process is part of the natural selection process of the earth and its species. Just like how, over millions of years, the Earth has naturally removed and added millions of different species as part of the natural evolution of this planet. Keeping animal species alive that the earth is naturally removing *could* have wider and more far reaching consequences than we realise or even fully understand.

If the animals are being kept in captivity, due to extinction from the consequences of human activity (far more likely) then some sort of captivity is more justified.
 
I hope you've never had a pet in your life then...

Do you really think conserving the likes of the Giant Panda, Tiger or Asian Elephant will cause any further damage to the Earth than humans have done already?
 
I said could, did not say they would indefinitely. The three species you listed are endangered and have almost certainly been caused by human interactions / poaching ect, so are totally exempt from the point I clearly made.
 
Benzin said:
It's up to SeaWorld to change the image themselves, they don't need rabid fanboys clutching at research straws for them...
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I don't consider myself a fanboy (Okay I may show some symptoms but it goes much deeper than fanboyism). I've done lots of work experience working with and around the animals and staff at the parks (admittedly mostly at the Texas park with only a little bit in Florida). The animals at SeaWorld are extremely important to me and just feel the need to defend their welfare which is best served by maintaing the independently verified high standards of care currently in place at SeaWorld parks.
 
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Infinity Falls is now closed until early March for maintenance.

Journey to Atlantis has reopened this weekend from its annual maintenance period.
 
It's an Intamin built in Florida.... I think early maintenance is a given :p
 
I just typed this out in the 'Airtime at AT' thread but I'll put it in here to avoid going completely off topic...

@Altonadvocate1

Altonadvocate1 said:
Would love to give Mako a go, but as a skint, tight, yorkshireman, I don't see me getting to Florida :(
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It can definitely be done on a budget with a bit of planning, so don't let that stop you!

https://www.avantiresort.com/

This hotel for example came in at around £975 for 2 weeks including flights, booked as a package with Thomas Cook. The key thing is this hotel offers a shuttle bus to and from all the parks every day, so you're not having to pay for a hire car and $20 per day parking. Bring supermarket snacks to the parks to cut down food costs.

You can get really good value package deals, especially if you avoid June/July/August.

Look into it and it may be more realistic than you think:)
 
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