Turn the whale loose.

 ""We have every intention of continuing to interact with this animal, though the procedures for working with him will change," SeaWorld wrote in its blog Thursday.

SeaWorld, which opened as usual Thursday, did not specify how it would change its killer whale performances and did not return calls for comment. It suspended Dine with Shamuand other killer whale shows at its three parks — in San Antonio, Orlando and San Diego — indefinitely."  USATODAY

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A 12,000 pound Orca kept in a fishpond.  He has been kept there and used in an artificial insemination program in which someone has gotten into the fishpond and masturbated him to produce Orca love juice.for the corporate program.

This lady was petting him and kissing him before he turned back, grabbed her by the hair and dragged her under water.  How was he supposed to know how long she could hold her breath?

Put this guy back in the ocean where he belongs.  pl

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-02-25-killer-whale-seaworld_N.htm

Comments

[optimax]

They tried that with the whale from FREE WILLIE. After he became a movie star Willie made it across the border where he was the main atytraction at the Newport, Or., aquerium. Eventually he was sent to the Atlantic, trained in survival school and set free, or escaped from his ocean pen, and ended up hanging around a fishing dock looking for handouts and drinking Mad Dog. The typical sad ending of a child star.

[Patrick Lang]

optimax

Ok. Just shoot him. pl

[rjj]

consider adopting him [and his story] as the official national symbol.

[William R. Cumming]

Hey let's not condemn an intelligent animal. Let them go and see what happens. Hey the dead handler looked like a tasty tidbit to me when alive.

[Ken Roberts]

"Nuke the Gay Whales"

The ultimate redneck bumper sticker.

[YT]

"Hey the dead handler looked like a tasty tidbit to me when alive."

William R. Cumming:

That's terrible. Have some respect for the deceased, man. But I just saw her sis on TV, & she sure is fine-lookin'.

[eakens]

if somebody stood on my back, I'd be pretty upset

[optimax]

Whales and dolphins are intelligent and social animals and freeing all of them would make sense if there was an iota of a chance they could survive in the wild. I think dolphins have a chance but don't think Orcas raised in captivity can make it. At the least they should stop breeding them. Not sure about this but think it's illegal to capture a wild Orca for captivity in U.S. Vegas-style fishponds. But it's all about money and as long as the public pays the admission it will continue.

[Jose]

The Keiko , Free Willie, story did not have a happy ending.

So does three kills makes Tilikum the first known Serial Killer Orca?

I agree, he should be humanely be taken out, maybe outsourced to Kidon operatives in need of a vacation.

[Grimgrin]

I know that whale. He used to live in an even smaller fishpond in my home town. Tilikum was involved in killing a trainer there as well. As such, I'd guess this whale actually does know how long a human can stay underwater.

The incident was part of what caused the place to close down. Set him free, for better or worse.

[Cloned Poster]

Make an aqua park in Kabul for the "killer whale", ho hum

[arbogast]

How can anyone claim that something named "killer whale" is unpredictable?

The only even faintly moral thing we can do is put ourselves in the whale's position as best we can and decide what is best for it.

Set it free? One hopes it can survive in the open sea. But perhaps that is the only option.

[U.S. Common Sense]

After 30 years in captivaty, the orca has lost his hunting skills and does not have a pod to live with. Odds are, he won't be adopted by another pod given his age and gender. In the end, the orca will probably die from starvation.

That doesn't mean keeping orca's in amusement parks is the right thing to do, but we can't just release them to the wild and expect them to survive. Sea World is the best organization to care for captured orcas, so maybe we should have them create a sanctuary with a HUGE natural or man-made bay, and let them live out their lives. It can still be a tourist attraction, since people can see them living in a more natural environment, so the company can still make money without having to have the orcas do tricks.

[Paul Escobar]

It doesn't matter if "Free Willy" can "survive in the wild".
He's going to die sooner or later, that's nature.

What matters is how we behave.

Hunting out of necessity is one thing...as it's noble & natural.

But investing massive resources to tame a beast for entertainment?
I don't think any other species does something so pathetic & cruel.

[ISL]

Some of the reports noted that his purchase was with the agreement he would not be shown. Seems if SeaWorld had kept their agreement another orca would have performed and the trainer would be alive.

Set him free with a collar (to know what happens in such cases), and let him take his chances in the oeean (as other orcas).

[optimax]

PL,
I laughed my butt of when I read your response. Some thought you were serious and that surprises me. He's already serving a life sentence.

[curious]

some animal really should be left alone. They are too complex and have extensive social habit for confinement.

octopus, all high primate, most large marine mammals.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218173112.htm

A leading expert in the neuroanatomy of dolphins and whales, Marino will appear as part of a panel discussing these findings and their ethical and policy implications.

Some dolphin brains exhibit features correlated with complex intelligence, she says, including a large expanse of neocortical volume that is more convoluted than our own, extensive insular and cingulated regions, and highly differentiated cellular regions.

"Dolphins are sophisticated, self-aware, highly intelligent beings with individual personalities, autonomy and an inner life. They are vulnerable to tremendous suffering and psychological trauma," Marino says.

The growing industry of capturing and confining dolphins to perform in marine parks or to swim with tourists at resorts needs to be reconsidered, she says.

[John Minnerath]

All the whales are cool critters. They're social animals and smart, probably a lot more than we think they are. I've watched a lot of different types, especially in Arctic waters and swam with a lot of Dolphins in warm waters. We always liked to see them around because we all believed that would keep the sharks away from us, whether that was true or not I don't know.But, they did seem interested in us and at least tolerated us.
Keeping them caged up in a pool for the tourists to giggle at and the keepers to practice their hubris on is BS.
They should be turned loose, all of them.