Matter of Trust

(Image credit:  Oceanic Defense)

Are we going to see another rich corporation get away from 100% liability?  It seems that it may happen with BP and the Deep Horizon oil spill.

U.S. Law Limits Oil Company Liability

While there is a push to amend this law, BP will only be liable for up to $75 million, not including costs of the clean up. Remember, the costs are always passed on to us consumers.  It's never the corporation who has to make sacrifices, it's us.

Where will that leave the people along the gulf states who rely on tourism, etc. for their livelihood?

I'm truly baffled that with all the so-called state of the art and ever improving & changing technology out there, and given that there are thousands of oil spills taking place every year of varying sizes, that there is yet to be anything anywhere that either prevents these spills from happening or to not have a way to immediately clean things up with as little eco-damage as is possible.  If they have the technology to drill deep into the ocean, why don't they have the technology to prevent such a disaster? Maybe I'm being judgmental, but it just seems to me that they should be smart enough to have contingencies in place that have been tested and to have back ups for all their back ups.  The environment is such a fragile thing.  Are people really that blind to not consider all the variables before proceeding with something that has such potential to cause not just local damage, but global?

Skimming over safety protocols in the interest of short term profits will always come to bite one in the ass.  It never ever fails.

We are deeply mired in our dependency on oil.  So many areas of our lives are touched or impacted, in big and small ways, by oil.  70% of our oil dependency goes to transportation methods.  According to this article: Do Americans Make the Connection Between Transportation, Oil Use, and Environmental Impact, there are three ways we can dramatically reduce our dependency on this resource.  (1) More efficient vehicles, (2) renewable or diversified fuel sources, and (3) spending less time driving around.

Obviously #3 is not feasible for some people for a variety of legitimate reasons.

On the flip side, according to this article:  With Hybrids & Electric Vehicles, U.S. Risks Switching Dependency from One Foreign Commodity - Crude Oil - to Another - the Rare Earths  going green is not necessarily really going green.

Obviously, there are no easy answers.  But obviously, there IS technology out there to REDUCE our dependency.  There are also alternatives and choices and sacrifices and and and etc etc etc that we can each make that can and does make an environmental impact.

Here's one place that has gotten creative about cleaning up oil spills:  Matter of Trust

They collect human and animal hair from people all over and then they turn around and make materials and booms out of them to help with oil spill clean ups. I wonder what would happen if everyone shaved their heads, groomed their dogs, got their dog groomers and local hair salons involved, and gave all of that hairy stuff to this organization?

Check out their YouTube video on this and how they are making a difference:  Hair Boom

Check out the 7 Stupidest Statements Made About the BP Gulf Oil Spill

Another link:  Track the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Movement

Marine mammals being held in captivity is still being debated.  DC lawmakers are currently welcoming public comments on the captive mammal industry until this Friday, May 7th.  Please go to the following link and take a couple of minutes to send a comment to your representatives.   Oceanic Preservation Society Needs Your Voices TODAY

Want some inspiration on making a difference?

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.  ~Anne Frank

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.  ~Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy

Live simply that others might simply live.  ~Elizabeth Seaton

It seems to me that any full grown, mature adult would have a desire to be responsible, to help where he can in a world that needs so very much, that threatens us so very much.  ~Norman Lear

I am only one, but I am one.  I cannot do everything, but I can do something.  And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.  ~Edward Everett Hale

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope... and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.  ~Robert F. Kennedy

Never doubt that a small group of individuals can change the world, indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. ~ Margaret Mead

Be the change you wish to see in the world. ~ Gandhi

 :-)
      

Saving Our Seas Together

(Artist credit:  Jim Warren)

There's some good news, or at least news that puts us a step in the right direction, regarding marine mammal captivity.  Congress has scheduled a hearing slated for April 27th on this very issue.

For anyone out there who truly believes that parks like Sea World are a great, magical, inspirational, and educational way to witness and to learn about these mammals, please read the Facts of Dolphin Captivity.  I cannot speak to its current accuracy as there is no date given on this page, but I personally do not doubt the heart of it.

I can only repeat what I've said before:  please do NOT support parks such as Sea World, Marine land, or any other related business that holds orcas, dolphins, etc. in captivity by calling it entertainment and education while getting rich doing it.  Parks like this do NOT care about anything but the bottom line, no matter what they say.  If they truly do not care about profits, they wouldn't be doing this in the first place.  If they do care, then they should change from being a for-profit business to a non-profit one with the aim to release these mammals to approved and sanctioned marine sanctuaries for either re-training to be released back into the wild or for retirement while being taken care of.

There are more and more marine sanctuaries being created and developed around the world.  This is a sign of growing activism and awareness everywhere that decreasing numbers of people are supporting captivity and increasing numbers are saying "Enough!"  You can check out a list of sanctuaries at National Marine Sanctuaries.

Let's say whales and dolphins, etal are the rulers of the world and not mankind.  Imagine for a few moments this role reversal scenario.   Now let's say a moratorium on murdering people was in effect a couple decades ago.  Let's say certain countries exploited a loophole that allowed them to continue murdering people for research purposes.  Let's further say that an international committee was set to meet to discuss compromises that eventually lead to the complete banning of murdering humans while setting a quota for a period of ten years before this complete ban took effect.     Never mind that certain countries took advantage of certain loopholes to cheat the rules and the laws for their own nefarious purposes and cried foul when activist groups would protest or interfere.  Never mind that they've been doing it for centuries and say it is part of their culture, their traditions, and their history.  So it's a matter of national pride that they'd continue to do this.  And instead of currently being punished for already having broken the laws time and time again, they are now going to possibly be given permission, within certain enforced guidelines, to continue murdering a certain quota of humans.  But it's okay because after ten years, if this international committee keeps its word and follows through on strict enforcement, it will become illegal in ten year's time to ever murder another human being.

Would this be acceptable to you?

That is basically what is happening right now, with the United States leading the way in discussions on such a compromise when the Int'l Whaling Commission meets in a few weeks.

If this compromise takes effect, we are, in essence, letting countries like Japan, Norway, and Iceland, etc get away with murder.  They have broken the laws for the last two decades and are not being punished.  Instead, if this compromise is successful, they are actually being rewarded.

Read more:  Save the Whales, not the Whalers

Good Deal for Whalers, Poor Deal for Whales

Tell President Obama: No Backdoor Deal at IWC

Is this good news that may twist a knife in the heart of the commercial whaling proposals?  Forensic DNA Blow to Whaling Proposals

Oh the shame of it, this embarrassing the country of Japan.  After all, they've been lying their asses off for years regarding their so-called scientific researching on whaling.  "Tradition and culture" my ass.

Related article:  Show Us the Science

News on The Cove ... Japanese Protesters Target The Cove

Hayden Panettiere's Dolphin Diary

FYI, Oprah Winfrey will be discussing The Cove movie on her Earth Day special airing April 22nd.  If this interests you, be sure to set your DVR's :-)

Imagine if the world had more kids like this:   Saving Our Seas Together

By the way, I haven't yet discussed the Great Barrier Reef Scandal.  I will say this ... this only lends further weight to my argument that offshore drilling should not take place.  Accidents can and do happen.  And when they do, the damage is often irreversible and the effects are devastatingly long term.  What more do people need to wake up to the fact that drilling for more oil is simply NOT the answer?

Sea World Sucks

 (Artist credit:  Christian Lassen)

Apologies for the lapse in posting.  Life's been busier and my partner just had major surgery.  

Lots has happened since I last posted!

Sea Shepherd had quite the season down there in the Southern Ocean.  Rather than rehash all that went on, I'll just encourage you to check out their website for updates and if you are on Facebook, you can also check them out there.

I'm sure it'll come as no surprise to anyone that I would like to write about the recent events at Sea World Orlando with the trainer being killed by the Orca, Tilly.

I've written not too long ago about my views on marine mammals in captivity.  This latest tragedy only serves to reinforce my views on this issue.  While I am deeply sorry that the trainer was killed and I extend my sympathies to her family and loved ones, it is unfortunate that it takes a tragedy like this for people to start thinking and talking about whether or not it's truly beneficial for these mammals to be held ransom in the manner that they are. 

If you've been keeping up on this story, no doubt you are aware that there is discussion that the trainer is to blame for what happened.  I'm gonna be pissy about this and say this as succinctly as I can ... WTF are they thinking, blaming the trainer??!?!?   It is my ever so humble and passionate opinion that Sea World is to blame for this tragedy, NOT the trainer and more than that, NOT the whale.  Are people truly that thick in the head?    In addition, I find it truly unbelievable that Sea World was considering euthanizing Tilikum for what happened.  Well golly gee whiz, if I had been held captive for 30 years and was living a life of basically forced slavery, I'd be pretty damn frustrated too and likely to snap myself.

These creatures weigh well over 10,000 pounds and belong in the ocean with hundreds and thousands of miles at their disposal to explore.  It is not in their nature to be held captive to satisfy the greed of humanity.   "We have them here for research" is one excuse used.  Research?  What research?  Trainers are surfing on the backs of Orcas and having dolphins fly through hoops and do somersaults in the air.  "People come away with a greater appreciation for our marine species."  Sure, as entertainers, not as species in their natural habitats and on their own terms.   What's wrong with appreciating our non-human friends just as they are, where they are, and who they are on their own terms in their own worlds?  What right do we have to yank them out of their worlds and thrust them into ours and basically say "Jump in the air Tilly!  Do a flip for us and splash the audience!"   How happy can these mammals be being stuck in a perverted and tiny version of what places like Sea World assume to be natural and healthy for them?

It's not natural for people to be enslaved.  What makes us think that it's natural for mammals to be? 

I suppose it would be fun for us to be restricted to say a bathtub .. and in order to receive food, we would be trained and required to do tricks. People will buy tickets and come away feeling like they were really educated on what a human being does in a bathtub.  All the while, someone higher up is getting rich and they only look at you as a commodity.  They also look at you to possibly provide offspring to continue further generations of performing in bathtub captivity and they continue to believe you are actually doing a public service, acting out of the goodness of your heart, doing research on humans in captivity, and providing an educational experience.   But one day you snap and bite the finger off of your "trainer."   The trainer will be blamed for doing something wrong but not the owner of the bathtub park. Things will shut down for a few days out of respect for this amputation'al tragedy and then the show must go on!  And the morons out there who love to watch humans doing tricks in bathtubs will line up to buy more tickets to more shows, all the while simply shaking their heads at the "isolated incident" and yet not learning a damn thing from it.  Yup.  That's the kind of life we'd LOVE to have! 

Excellent reading:  Orca Resistance at Sea World  and  When Orcas Strike Back

They show a clear pattern of calculated aggression by confined Orcas toward Humans, whereas, in the wild, you can scuba dive with these predators without ever being in danger of your life. These animals are HIGHLY intelligent. There is no conceivable way that they “mistook” their trainer for a toy, or that they did not comprehend that they were doing her harm. (Source:  A comment left after Killer Whale Tragedy Illustrates Moral Difference Between Humans and Animals article.)

Ric O'Barry wrote this latest posting on Save Japan Dolphins:  Time for a Federal Investigation into Sea World's Negligence 

Animal Activists Call for Changes at Sea World    

One writer shares Tilly's perspective:  Tilikum Speaks About Sea World Attack

This bears repeating:

No aquarium, no tank in a marine land, however spacious it may be, can begin to duplicate the conditions of the sea. And no dolphin who inhabits one of those aquariums or one of those marine lands can be considered normal. ~ Jacques Yves Cousteau ~

Captivity is cruel.  Please do not support the likes of Sea World in any way, shape or form.  Money talks and money is a powerful incentive to corporations like Sea World.  If no one supports them financially in any way, then Sea World will be forced to either change their ways for the betterment of our marine friends, or go bankrupt.

Mahalo,

Dolphin

Rekindling Waters

Artist credit:  Christian Lassen

I think I've made my position regarding animals in captivity pretty clear throughout the duration of my having this blog.  When I lived out in California for almost 18 years, I never once visited Sea World because I could not stomach the fact that they had dolphins and orcas, etal imprisoned there.    I admit I've been to the zoo a few times in my lifetime.  A couple of times in Oregon and once at the San Diego Zoo.  This was before I became more educated on this issue.  And once when I visited Las Vegas, I believe it was the Mirage hotel that had dolphins in captivity there so people could just walk through, see them, and walk out.  Boy was I stupid to let myself be influenced by peer pressure at the time, knowing full well that it did not sit well with me in the least to see these dolphins in that environment.

Some people argue that situations and places like this are invaluable in educating people about our wildlife and marine mammals.  I disagree.  There are far more humane ways to educate people about our animal and mammal friends than to basically enslave them and make them beholden to the almighty buck.

Following is an excellent article by a writer that shares my view on this: Get Dolphins Out of Aquariums

Excerpt:

One thing that the profitable marine entertainment industry doesn't want the public to know is that buying a ticket to a marine theme park helps support the slaughter of dolphins in the wild. Every year, thousands of dolphins are killed in bloody "drive fisheries" in Japan. While most end up as meat in Japanese supermarkets, each year, approximately two dozen captured dolphins are sold to marine parks and "swim-with" programs around the world. The considerable profit from those sales perpetuates the slaughter. 

 I couldn't have said it better.   If you buy a ticket to a place like Sea World, you are supporting the slaughter of these marine mammals.   It's just that simple.

 I don't care how well the park owners or trainers or whoever states that the mammals are treated well.  It is NOT a natural environment for them.

Here's another excerpt from that article:

The mortality rate for dolphins and other captive marine life is high. Animals have become sick and have died from contaminated water and stress-related ulcers and from ingesting key chains, sunglasses and rocks that were tossed into their tanks. They've died while being treated for common ear and tooth infections. Former dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry quit the business after the death of Flipper, his favorite "student," believing that stress and depression contributed to the dolphin's death.

Because official records are sketchy at best, there is no way of knowing for sure how many animals die in captivity. But since many gate-drawing animals such as orcas and bottlenose dolphins are covered by million-dollar insurance policies, even dead they bring in bucks.

I will repeat:  If you buy a ticket to a place like Sea World or any other related park or setting, YOU are supporting the slaughter and enslavement of these mammals.  That makes YOU an accessory to murder.

Extreme of me to say that?  Maybe.  But that's how I see it.  We wouldn't stand for this sort of thing happening to humans, so why do we stand for it with dolphins and/or orcas?   The fact that this continues to occur and people rake in millions of dollars in profit by doing this, and people support this,  is a prime example of our failure as human beings.

A friend recommended this book to me.  I've yet to read it myself but it's on my list.  Rekindling Waters The Truth About Swimming With Dolphins


Another article on the subject of treating dolphins as "non human persons."   Dolphins Second Brightest on Planet

This gives even more weight to the controversial issue of keeping our marine friends in captivity.

Excerpt:

The researchers argue that their work shows it is morally unacceptable to keep such intelligent animals in amusement parks or to kill them for food or by accident when fishing. Some 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die in this way each year. "Many dolphin brains are larger than our own and second in mass only to the human brain when corrected for body size," said Lori Marino, a zoologist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who has used magnetic resonance imaging scans to map the brains of dolphin species and compare them with those of primates.

On the Sea Shepherd front, there are a few updates on their site:

Sea Shepherd is a Fundamentalist Darwinist Anti-God Organization

In Pursuit of Lives Not Lost

Cyber Wars


In Australia:  Locals Rally to Save Whales

Great site:  Save the Earth Virtual Conference

Wonderful video:  Imagine by John Lennon (shown in American Sign Language and singing)

Mahalo,

Dolphin

Polar Bears Fall out of the Sky

Artist credit: Eva M. Sakmar

I've previously stated a few times that I am against our marine mammals being held in captivity. This story out of Turkey reinforces my view.

Excerpts:

“Confined in an unnatural environment, these wide-ranging, social animals are forced to live a life of severe deprivation, suffering lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality than in the wild,”

and

In the wild, whale and dolphin habitats range very long distances. For example, bottlenose dolphins off the coast of Cornwall, U.K., have been recorded to range up to 1,076 kilometers in 20 days. The animals are almost always in motion, even when resting and spend less than 20 percent of their time at the water’s surface.

But once confined, dolphins are separated from their natural habitat and enclosed in a totally alien environment. They have to put up with an artificial diet, unusual noise, strange odors and the proximity of people and other unfamiliar captive animals.

and

“No aquarium, no tank in a marine land, however spacious it may be, can begin to duplicate the conditions of the sea. And no dolphin that inhabits one of those aquariums or one of those marine lands can be considered normal,” said Jacques Yves Cousteau, the world’s most famous sea explorer.

The article also states that 12 of the bottlenose dolphins at this marine park were imported directly from the Japanese "drive hunts." Isn't that special?

You can read more here: Tour Operator Cancels Trips to Captive Dolphin Aquarium


"The Cove" documentary has yet to to gain a commercial release in Japan. Shocking, isn't it? It's amazing to me that many people from Japan still claim to not be aware of the dolphin drives. Fortunately, this important film is gaining more of a toe-hold in the public and some fishermen who spent years killing dolphins, have now become tour operators to take people to see dolphins in the wild. Interesting article for more information on this: U.S. Film Puts Spotlight on Dolphin Hunt in Japan


Our greed for oil continues unabated. There are now surveys being done off of Florida's east coast to establish oil wells. Given how deep they may have to drill:

The airguns shoot compressed air bubbles creating sound at up to 260 decibels, blasting 60 or more impulses per mile. They can penetrate several thousand feet into the Earth. Hydrophones on streamer cables towed behind the survey vessel at about 20 feet deep receive the sound reflected back to create the images.

Marine mammal advocates worry those early surveys could harm whales and dolphins.

Federal law requires surveying companies to take steps to avoid affecting whales and other marine life, such as having whale spotters aboard during seismic surveys.

It does not comfort nor inspire me one iota that they will claim to take steps to minimize the impact on the local marine life. You can read more here: Offshore Oil Drillers Now Looking at Florida's East Coast

Good article about the Blue Whales (Don't let the title fool you LOL) How Long is a Blue Whale's Penis

Awesome! -->> Seven Canoes to Fight Ocean Pollution

Yes, drilling for oil is good for us. Disasters never happen and oil spills are a fluke - really! Australian Oil Spill Leaks for Over Two Months

This is, in my humble opinion, an advertisement in very, very poor taste. It's manipulative, insulting, and only serves, in my eyes, to further discount the Global Warming Movement. Not to mention it brings up unpleasant visual memories of 9/11.

While no polar bears were actually killed or harmed in the video, it's still disturbing and quite the sick piece of propaganda. Check out the comments after the video. I'm amazed that some people actually found this video funny, and then there are other comments that do not exactly inspire faith for me towards certain human beings. I guess my sense of humor is out of whack.

If the likes of Al Gore want us to believe their Global Warming alarmist messages, I would first suggest they stop using private jets. But that's just me.

See video here -> Polar Bear

Interesting blog post: Show Me the Money

"A SUNSHINE Coast company is believed to hold the key to stop whales being caught in shark nets." Read more here: Pingers to Save the Whales

Organization spotlight: WDCS (Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society)

Another organization spotlight not related to Marine Mammals ... please check out the Joyful Heart Foundation.

"The mission of the Joyful Heart Foundation is to heal, educate, and empower survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse and shed light into the darkness that surrounds these issues."

As always, thank you for being here and for allowing me to share my views with you :-)

Dolphin

Who Killed Flipper?

(Artist credit: Christian Lassen)

What's been happening with Sea Shepherd since my last update? I can summarize it in just a few sentences.

(1) Japan's Yushin Maru #2 got chased into some thick ice floes while running from the SS ship. Seems they were more afraid of SS than the ice. Which leads to #2 ...

(2) Yushin Maru #2 sustained propeller damage caused by the icebergs and had to limp to Indonesia, seeking repairs. It took them a little over two weeks to get there.

(3) While docked in Indonesia, they were refused service and repairs. The officials in Indonesia, after confirming with Australia and others that the Yushin Maru was, indeed, a whaling ship, told them to leave. Turns out Japan lied to Indonesia about who and what they were about.

== Go Indonesia! :: wild applause :: ==

(4) So the Yushin Maru limps away from Indonesian waters after being ordered to leave and Sea Shepherd had no idea for awhile where they were and what was going on .. until a few days ago. They find out that the Yushin Maru was repaired in another place unbeknowest to them and according to Greenpeace, is heading back to Japan.

(5) What's good about the YM having been down for the count for so long is that it's hindered further, the whale culling. What's also good is the fact that Indonesia took a stand against the whaling and Captain Watson is calling that a major political victory.

You can read about that here: Where in the World is the Yushin Maru?

Sea Shepherd was recently docked in Hobart to refuel and is now back out there pursuing the Japanese fleet.

It does appear, by Captain Watson's reports, that approximately a third of the quota Japan had hoped to achieve in their whale kills, will not be met. So that's very good news. Hopefully that number will only improve and we can see similiar, if not better, numbers as last year. Obviously the Sea Shepherds are doing a bang up job of distrupting this so-called "research" Japan continues to do.

Interesting article in yesterday's Washington Post discusses the criteria for rescuing animals. One of the stories has to do with a pod of dolphins that were stranded for awhile in New Jersey. If you recall, I wrote a little bit about this in a previous post.

In another related post, it seems that the dolphins that were stranded there, have died and some people are quite furious that nothing was done to herd them to warmer and safer waters.


In Mossel Bay, South Africa, there's a fight between environmentalists/marina mammal lovers and PetroSA. PetroSA has plans for a liquid gas mooring facility in this particular bay, which has, thus far, been one of the "last pristine marine areas."

Excerpt:

Noise and light pollution would affect the whales and dolphins that frequent the bay and also subject them to the risk of entanglement in underwater cables. A fire or explosion would have "catastrophic long-term consequences"

You can read the full article here: Cape Whales Face New Threat


So I hear it can and does get cold in Florida lol. How have the dolphins in the gulf coast off of Florida been faring? You can find out here: Bigger is Better


Maybe this kid will one day be President?

Excerpt of message she wrote in a letter to President Obama:

First of all, try to sometimes focus on other things rather than politics. For instance, marine mammals (whales, dolphins, penguins, etc.). They need more help than ever trying to survive in the ocean. You could get a team of people who really care and send them out to watch the whales, dolphins and penguins so hunters won't kill them. That would be extremely helpful to all the animals who need it. As for me, I would be happy as a little kid on their birthday (I love dolphins!).

She's got my vote :-)


Highly recommended reading: Who Killed Flipper?

Information on this documentary can be found here: The Cove

This is one film I'm definitely putting on my "must see" list.

Mahalo,

Dolphin

Victory for Whales, Not So Much for the Dolphins

"The Labor Party of Australia has won the election and they have won by a landslide and this could be wonderful news for the whales of Antarctica."

More to this on Sea Shepherd

Have you ever been to Sea World and seen the dolphins? I haven't and always refused to go when friends would ask. Why? Because I have a problem with dolphins being in captivity. This is a very controversial issue in the marine wildlife world.

People love dolphins, but they often suffer a failure of empathy and imagination. They do not make the connection that to bring a dolphin into these preposterously unnatural circumstances requires that dolphins be ripped from their natural environment, kidnapped from their families and pod mates, held in nets, carried in trucks, hoisted into planes and flown to distant locations. Many die in the process. Those that survive are condemned to a life in a cement tank, listening to the interminable hum of the filtration system and the screams of the audience.

If you'd like to see more on this issue, please check out Dolphins in Captivity - The Harsh Truth

In Osaka, Japan:

As you enter the circular confines of this grotesque arcade you see a circular tank 5-foot deep circling a kind of stage area. It's a bit like a race course only smaller. Closer still you find there are two dolphins in this hallucinatory situation. They press close to the glass, desperate for something - contact? food? entertainment? I stand eye-to-eye with one of them. I cannot penetrate its mind and perhaps that is a good thing. The situation is conducive to madness.

Where did these dolphins come from and what was left behind?

The two dolphins at World Ranch were taken from Taiji. Most of their pod mates were butchered and left to bleed to death on the beach. The rest were shipped to aquaria and swim-with programs around the world.

Also check out: Aquarium Industry Spurs Dolphin Slaughters

Following is the link on a video expose Blue Voice did in Japan on this matter. Please be aware that parts of it are very graphic, documenting the slaughters and how these dolphins are captured, tortured, and killed.

Link to Video Expose

It makes me literally ill to my stomach that these people lack such compassion and support these actions. Even if someone is against dolphin slaughters, how can they then support these aquariums, knowing full well how these dolphins got and what they are being deprived of now.

Greed is the motivating factor obviously.

How would these people feel if they were herded in this manner, randomly selected for torture and slaughter, or picked to live in a small holding pool and be expected to "perform" for an audience?

Seriously. Round up these fishermen, keep 'em flopping about in the water struggling to either breathe or to be free. Hang 'em up in the air with threats to gut 'em open like they do the dolphins. Throw a couple of 'em into a small pool and throw them a fish now and then to eat. Then expect them to leap in and out of the water for a paying audience.

(Note that I am not advocating violence against these fishermen. I'm merely making a point that perhaps they need to be given a slight taste of their own medicine.)

Just sayin',

Dolphin