This is about Blackfish, it’s also about Marineland.
Allow me to introduce myself…
I’m that guy who is more than just a hardcore sports fan.
I’m as vocal about animals and their rights to not be treated inhumanely.
If you know me in real life, or if you know me in social media circles…
You know that I’m a pretty passionate person, I tend to where my heart on my sleeve…
And I’m ok with that…
Through the power of social media, I’ve done some amazing things and met some amazing people.
When I first moved to Ontario, I’d heard stories about Marineland, and it made me sad,
It made me think back to the late 80’s and early 90’s when I lived in Victoria..and a young woman who worked at Sealand lost her life…
I remember visting Sealand, and I remember the Orcas, I especially remember Tilikum, Tilikum was massive…
Growing up in Nova Scotia, I was well aware of the dangers of marine creatures…
I just assumed trainers were well trained, and I bought the press at the time…
“Trainer Error”
I remember how sad the whales looked, and I knew in my heart, they didn’t belong at Sealand.
Moving to Ontario, I read everything I could about MarineLand & I learned everything I could about the owner John Holer.
As a matter of public record, John Holer has been charged with over 50 offences by Law Enforcement agencies…
Mass graves of hundred of marine & non-marine animals have been discovered on his property as well…
Being active in social media, I got wind of a person named Dylan Powell, who is an animal activist.
I volunteered to come down, take photos, write blog pieces or anything else I could do to help.
In no uncertain terms Dylan Powell, rudely and viciously refused to help.
That’s his loss.
I still knew I wanted to know more and so I eventually connected online with Phil Demers a former trainer at Marineland, he was a trainer there for over 12 years. I also was able to connect with Mike Garrett, another animal activist.
Mike and Phil have done so much to educate people about the horrific death camp that is Marineland. In fact, they’ve been so successful, John Holer of Marineland has sued Mike…
However, a countersuit is in action.
They have done nothing other than to educate people to the fact that these marvelous marine animals do not belong in captivity.
Animals that are going blind, animals with chunks of skin missing, animals that spend most of their life in a little concrete box, except to enterain us “Intelligent Species”
It got me to thinking…
A lot of people think that criminals should not be forced into solitary confinement, because criminal or not, it’s inhumane.
If you institutionalize a human for years and years and years…if he’s ever released, he’s not the same as he was before he went in.
How do you think Kiska feels being all alone….
I wouldn’t like to be alone…and I suspect neither would most of my readers…so if it’s not ok for us..why is it ok for them…
And don’t say, it’s just a fish, or just an animal..that would show nothing but ignorance.
Scientists, biologists will tell you, that orcas are one of the most social and intelligent creatures on this planet.
They feel happiness, joy, they also feel the pain of sorrow, sadness and death of their calves, their children.
We would never let someone go in and take away a child from a parent just for the heck of it.
But in the world of Marine parks, this is perfectly acceptable. There’s not one single marine park to my knowledge that has an actual family of Killer whales.
What I’ve learned is that it’s a mish mash of orcas from all sorts of different pods and from all over the world.
It’s not surprise that orcas in captivity tend to attack and kill other orcas in the tank from time to time.
Getting back to Marineland, it’s not a place for an Orca to be…
The following is a list of deceased killer whales who were at MarineLand:
An unnamed whale died at the park in October 1992 from drowning.
Junior, a wild Icelandic male Orca, died in June 1994.
Kanuck, separated from mother, Kiska, and stored in a warehouse. Died at age 4 in 1998.
An unnamed whale born at Marineland died in June 1998.
Nova died in August 2001.
Algonquin died in August 2002 due to a twisted intestine.
April died in April 2004.
Neocia died in August 2004 at Marineland.
Hudson died in 2004 with the cause of death being meningitis.
Kandu 7 was a wild whale from Iceland that died in 2005.
Katak/Splash was born at Marineland and was moved to Sea World in 1992 for health treatment. He died in April 2005.
Athena died sometime in spring 2009. The cause of death was by infection.
Malik, a three-year-old orca, died due to a deficient immune system.
An unnamed wild died while being moved from Marineland to Japan.
Did you know Keiko, from “Free Willy” was at Marineland decades ago?
Taking into account, these are just the orcas that the public knows about, there could be more..add the mass graves and you see there is a serious problem.
Marineland should not be allowed to operate…it’s a blight on Ontario, Canada, the globe & those who care…
Education people is the only way to start change,
Think about documentaries like “An Inconvenient Truth” or “Sharkwater” or “Revolution” or “The Cove”
They’ve done a lot to educate people on the environment & sharks and the finning of live sharks and the slaughter of dolphins…
Because of Mike Garrett & Phil Demers & other concerned people, I learned of a new documentary on the horizon
“Blackfish”
When I researched what Blackfish was all about, It gave me a weird, sad, feeling, because the star of this movie is really Tilikum…
Tilikum, the same orca that had played a role in the death of the young woman back in the early 90’s in Victoria.
Tilikum has been busy – he killed a transient person who broke into SeaWorld & he also killed another trainer…
3 deaths…were they all preventable? Yes, I believe so.
Here’s the thing though, and it’s going back to the earlier train of thought, institutionalize a human, he will lash out when he gets the chance…
Put a 12000 pound Orca in a bathtub, it’s not a matter of if he will attack/kill but a matter of when.
Orcas do not belong in captivity. Humans are responsible for every death, and every accident, and do you know over 70 incidents have been documented in North America and human trainers since the 70’s.
These are the ones reported, how many others have gone unreported.
I don’t want to give away all the details of this amazing movie. I implore everyone to watch it on October 24th when it debuts on CNN.
I want you to think about this. In the wild, an orca can live between 35 to 80 years…
In captivity, it is usually 30 or less years.
In the wild orcase reproduce for the first time when they are 10 years or older…
BUT, hey, because we use all kinds of fancy equipment, as soon as they start to ovulate, they are artificially inseminated, usually starting at 4 years of age until they cannot reproduce.
Tilikum has already killed 3 humans.
54% of the Orcas at SeaWorld have his genes…
Humans have a long memory,
So do killer whales, they remember how they were captured, they remember the births of their offspring, the deaths of their offspring or mates and they remember the taste of everything they eat.
I don’t think any of the orcas in capitivity for decades can ever just be let go – but much like Keiko, I think they can be partially integrated back in the wild.
A male healthy killer whale can be worth up to 5 million dollars, guess we know why these parks don’t want to let their orcas go.
Watching Blackfish, already confirmed what I knew, that Captivity Kills…but I also learned a lot more things that disturbed me.
Blackfish was screened because people like Phil Demers & Mike Garrett really care.
It wasn’t just a screening that Friday night in St.Catharines,
The world famous Dr.Naomi Rose was also there… and so was an actual FORMER trainer from SeaWorld, Samantha Berg.
After the screening, they both fielded many questions from a jammed packed audience.
They were gracious, on point, eloquent, and passionate.
They added a real sense of humanity to what we had just watched.
Having a former trainer from SeaWorld also made the movie a lot more powerful,
Because Samantha, she was there at SeaWorld, she was speaking for Tilikum and for all the orcas in captivity.
I won’t forget her words, the words of Dr.Naomi Rose & what I learned watching Blackfish.
I hope that I can be a small part of the changes needed to end captivity of these beautiful marine creatures.
Blackfish should be watched by everyone.
There is no excuse for ingorance and Blackfish very skillfully shows you the ignorance that exists in this world today when it comes to the mighty orca.
I was very happy to be able to attend the screening, it was a packed auditorium, the people were receptive to what they had watched…and I salute Mike Garrett & Phil Demers & Dr Naomi Rose & Samantha Berg for making this event what it was….
My only question to you is..are you for captivity or against captivity..
If you’re against it, don’t you think you need to start talking to the people that make the laws,
Should Marineland be allowed to operate? Of course not, but hey as long as John Holer continues to make shady deals with ex mayors & current mayors, will anything change?
It’s time to speak out demand change, continue to educate the masses…
Maybe one day this will all just be a dark footnote of our evolution…
If it’s not ok, to mistreat humans & cage them…
It’s not ok to do the same to animals…
We must be the voice of the voiceless…
Will you be watching Blackfish on CNN on October 24th?
For more information feel free to follow:
@walruswhisperer
@TheMikeGarrett
@Sam10K
@jeffrey_ventre
@Voice_OT_Orcas
and of course myself,
@OaksApproved
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