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?