The images in the
following program
are very sensitive
and may be as
disturbing to viewers
as they were to us.
However, we have to
show the truth about
cruelty to animals.
The main thing is space,
for such a large species
as Orca to be in such
a small, confined space.
Even the biggest tank
isn’t that big to them.
They can only go
maybe five full strokes
before they hit the wall,
and have to turn.
This is just nothing compared
to the natural world.
Thoughtful viewers,
this is the Stop
Animal Cruelty series
on Supreme Master
Television.
Following a recent
tragic accident in the
United States involving
an Orca whale
at a marine park,
members of the media,
animal advocates,
marine mammal experts
and concerned individuals
around the world
are renewing their call
for the immediate release
of all captive whales
and dolphins.
These highly intelligent,
social beings experience
extreme stress and
suffering when put on
display in small tanks,
with some being forced
to perform in shows for
the public’s amusement.
Members of
the dolphin family,
Orcas are found
in all the Earth’s oceans,
where they love to
socialize with one another.
The young remain with
their mothers for life in
a family group or “pod”
consisting of the mother,
her adult offspring and
those of her daughters.
Another well-known
dolphin species,
the Bottlenose,
is the most likely
of all dolphins to be
imprisoned in aquariums.
For the sake of so-called
“entertainment,”
Bottlenose dolphins and
Orcas are heartlessly
stolen from their families
and robbed
of their freedom.
Dr. Naomi Rose,
an expert on marine
mammal protection from
the US-based animal
welfare organization
Humane Society
International, shares
her thoughts on this
inhumane practice.
For Orcas, the family
bonds are everything;
they live in very
tight family units,
and there is nothing,
nothing whatsoever
about Orcas in captivity
that’s natural.
They take calves away
from their mothers,
they have whales from
different oceans
in the same tank, which
of course never happens
in the wild.
They separate
the breeding males out
from the group because
they don’t want them to
breed indiscriminately,
and the disruption is
completely unnatural
in the wild.
A male calf would stay
with his mother
for his entire life,
and in captivity he is
isolated a lot of the time.
Capture of gentle
Bottlenose and other
dolphins for captivity
in parks may occur
while their brethren
are being violently
massacred by fisherman.
Dr. Lori Marino,
a senior lecturer in the
Neuroscience and
Behavioral Biology Office
at Emory University,
USA has done
extensive research
on Bottlenose dolphin
intelligence and
now discusses these
bloodbaths and how
they are linked
to dolphin shows.
Dolphins,
believe it or not,
are beloved animals but
are also the most abused
animals around the planet.
And they are being
slaughtered in many
different kinds of activities,
including in Denmark,
in the Solomon Islands,
but most particularly
and most infamously
in Taiji, Japan.
In Taiji, Japan annually
from September to March
tens of thousands of
Bottlenose dolphins and
Pilot whales and other
small whales are herded
into the killing cove
and literally
are just slaughtered.
They’re just
hacked to death.
The water turns red
with their blood.
And this kind of activity
was depicted in the movie
“The Cove,”
and I urge anyone who
really wants to know
what’s going on around
the world with dolphins
to see that movie.
It’ll be a real eye opener
because you begin to
realize that we’re doing
some pretty awful things
to these animals.
Now the important point,
too, about the Taiji drives
is that they are
financially underwritten
by the captivity industry.
And that’s something
that people don’t know.
Now in this country (USA),
there’s a moratorium
on taking animals
from the wild, but outside
of the United States,
many countries use
the Taiji drive hunts
to take animals
out of that and
put them into captivity.
So what you will see
in the killing cove is
while animals
are being slaughtered.
Mothers, children and
whole social groups are
literally being slaughtered,
their throats
are being cut,
in the foreground,
there are marine
mammal trainers from
marine parks all over
the world knee-deep
in blood, picking out
the attractive dolphins
and taking them away
from their social group
to be brought into
their marine parks
to entertain you.
Once people
get that connection,
I think they will start
to see the entertainment
shows that marine parks
put on as a very, very
different enterprise than
what they want you to think.
It is absolutely
the most traumatic,
desperate situation
for these animals.
In the movie, "The Cove,"
you’ll actually see
a point where a young calf
jumps out of the water
and hits the rocks.
It is so desperate to get
away from the carnage
that it actually leaves the
ocean and hits the shore.
And it is just the most
unbelievable blood bath
that I’ve ever seen
in my life.
This multi-billion dollar
“dolphin abusement
park industry,” I call it,
is really based on
an illusion.
The dolphin’s smile
is nature’s
greatest deception.
It creates the illusion;
“They actually
like doing this job,
because
they’re always smiling.”
And you go there and
the music is playing,
you have your family
with you and the sun
is out.
And what could be
wrong with this?
And they’re smiling
back at you.
So it’s hard to define
the problem.
It’s not apparent like it
is in the cove.
Unless you are actually
hitting the dolphin
with a baseball bat,
you don’t see the abuse.
When I go there I see it,
because I can read
their body language.
We’ll return after these
brief messages.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
In captivity, all of this
is taken away, (life)
becomes very sterile,
very monotone,
very boring.
And I don’t think
that’s just a minor thing,
I think it is actually
a very major,
stressful thing to have
all of that variety,
all of that texture, and
all of the complexities
taken away from him.
This is the Stop
Animal Cruelty series
on Supreme Master
Television, where we’re
focusing on the trauma
endured by marine
mammals in captivity.
The Orcas are very,
very large.
And they’re probably the
largest species currently
held in captivity.
The large males
are probably larger
than elephants.
Their confinement
and imprisonment
in obscenely small tanks
is simply too much
for them to bear.
Since many countries
have laws banning
the importation
of wild Orcas, some
animal entertainment
companies resort
to hiding Orcas stolen
from the open seas
in even smaller than
normal tanks until they
have a need for them.
…Junior.
Barely an adolescent
at about 12 years of age,
he was alone, lethargic,
his spirit broken.
It’s clear people
are hiding stuff. I mean
they were hiding Junior,
the other poor whale
that was caught when,
in 1989 or something,
he ended up
in Marine Land Ontario,
and for five years was
kept in a warehouse
in a kiddy pool,
and he just died
a couple of months ago.
He was never on any record.
He’s a hidden whale,
he’s another one,
but he’s dead.
In the wild,
Orcas normally spend
a large part of their day
underwater.
In captivity, however,
their tanks are so shallow
that they’re often forced
to spend as much as
50% of their time
on the surface.
This can cause sunburn
and even the collapse
of their massive dorsal
fins because gravity
continuously pulls
on the fins when they’re
not supported by water.
Know that they live
in an extremely varied,
textured,
complex environment.
The ocean is always moving,
the ocean is
always changing.
And in captivity, they’re
living in a concrete
swimming pool.
I mean no matter
how you dress it up,
it’s a concrete
swimming pool.
It never changes.
It’s always the same.
So it’s the same four walls,
and there is nothing new
inside them,
day after day after day.
And so I think that
it must be, as I said,
terribly, terribly
boring for them, and,
boredom is stressful.
It can in fact kill you,
it’s so stressful.
It can lead to depression,
it can lead to
high blood pressure, and
it can lead to all sorts of
physiological changes.
Dolphins also lead
tortured lives and suffer
enormously in tiny pools.
These highly intelligent
animals become so bored
and frustrated in captivity
that they often end up
swimming in endless circles,
with tremendous
psychological and mental
anguish being the result.
In addition,
the water in their tanks
may contain chemicals
such as chlorine,
which can cause
serious health problems.
Constant exposure
to these harsh substances
results in illnesses
such as skin problems,
eye infections
and sometimes
even blindness.
The putrid,
stagnant water in the
tanks may also contribute
to premature death.
On the issue of whether
dolphins, for instance,
can thrive and lead
happy, healthy lives
in marine parks, all of
that evidence points to
the answer being “no.”
When you look at
mortality rates, when you
look at stress levels,
when you look at
what happens to them,
where they come from
when they go into
marine parks and so forth,
you see that this is
no place
for a large social
mammal like a dolphin.
So, there is no way
that a marine park could
ever mimic the natural
lifestyle for a dolphin,
a beluga whale,
an Orca and so forth.
And they don’t belong
in captivity for these reasons.
Dolphins always look like
they are happy.
And that’s because of
the configuration
of their jaw.
So even when you look at
the most horrific
circumstances that
dolphins go through,
which is capture
or slaughter,
they still have that grin
on their face, and that
tells you that
that’s not signaling
that they are happy, it’s
just their facial structure.
So when people go to
marine parks and they
see dolphins jumping
around and doing tricks
and looking like
they are smiling,
that’s a deception.
What can we as
individuals do to end
the appalling treatment
of these kind beings?
The bottom line is
the one thing
that people can do
to help animals who are
held captive in zoos
and aquaria is just stop
patronizing them.
Because every time
you buy a ticket
to a place like this,
you really are
supporting confinement
of these animals,
and in many cases,
particularly outside
the United States,
you are supporting
capture from the wild.
We applaud all those
who are speaking out
on behalf of these
abused animals, who
should be immediately
freed and once again
allowed to roam
and play in the oceans.
Next Tuesday on Part 2
of our program we’ll
have more on the capture
and imprisonment
of our innocent marine
mammal friends.
For more information on
captive marine mammals,
please visit:
Human Society
International
www.HSUS.org/hsi
Save Japan Dolphins
SavetheJapanDolphins.org
Thank you for joining us
on today’s Stop
Animal Cruelty program.
Coming up next is
Enlightening Entertainment
after Noteworthy News
here on
Supreme Master Television.
May all your days be
filled with Heaven's grace.
In the world of printing,
Amerikal stands firm in
creating environmentally
safe and green solutions.
We’re trying
to demonstrate that
maybe there’s a better
way of doing things,
that not only is more
cost-effective, safer and
cleaner, but healthier.
Join us on Friday,
March 19th on
Golden Age Technology
for the second and
final part of our program
introducing Amerikal,
an innovative company
providing sustainable
and clean pressroom
solutions.
The images
in the following program
are very sensitive
and may be
as disturbing to viewers
as they were to us.
However,
we have to show the truth
about cruelty to animals.
It's total panic and
chaos as the dolphins
are driven ashore
to the trainers.
Some of the dolphins die
of heart attack.
The trainers are
grabbing at them,
some are dying
in the nets,
some are drowning,
we see broken ribs, and
some of the babies are
actually beaten to death.
That's a baby right there,
there’s a baby
caught right in the net.
And the mother,
looks like the mother,
or an adult I should say,
is trying to get to it
to help it, but can't,
of course.
Caring viewers, this is
the Stop Animal Cruelty
series on
Supreme Master Television.
Following a recent
tragic accident in the
United States involving
an Orca whale
at a marine park,
members of the media,
animal advocates,
marine mammal experts
and concerned individuals
around the world
are renewing their call
for the immediate release
of all captive whales
and dolphins.
These highly intelligent,
social beings experience
extreme stress and
suffering when put on
display in small tanks,
with some being forced
to perform in shows for
the public’s amusement.
On our program today,
we continue featuring
marine mammal experts
who share their insights
about the lives
of these animals who are
literally being imprisoned
in pools around the world.
Orcas and dolphins
are violently captured
in the wild
and the experience
is so traumatic only a few
survive afterwards.
For those that do live,
it is only the beginning
of a long, miserable life
of confinement.
Days of relentless training
are followed
by a grueling schedule
of performances.
An Orca or dolphin
must be ready to
perform 365 days a year,
sometimes doing as many
as eight shows in a day.
Dr. Naomi Rose,
an expert on marine
mammal protection
from the US-based
animal welfare organization
Humane Society
International
shares her thoughts
on this tremendously
abusive treatment
of the gentle beings.
They have to
come out on cue
and do a show, and then
they go into the training
all during the day,
and then they have to sleep
at night, because
everybody leaves the park.
You know, in nature,
Orca are not
diurnal animals.
They are not active
in the day
and sleep at night.
They sleep
when they need to
and they are active
when they need to be.
So the fact
they are forced to conform
to a human schedule
is stressful for them.
The constant pressure
of having to perform
show after show
is deadly.
Richard or “Ric” O’Barry
is a former dolphin trainer
and is the current director
of the US-based
non-profit group
SaveJapanDolphins.org
which seeks
an immediate end to the
annual dolphin slaughter
in Taiji, Japan.
He appeared
in the documentary
“The Cove”
which recently garnered
an Academy Award
and is about this
sickening mass killing.
He now shares
the following tragic story
about what these
entertainment shows
can do to dolphins.
During the show,
the dolphin,
Sinbad was his name,
leaped up on the stage,
smiling and people were
applauding and he had
a heart attack and died.
Now,
the audience didn't know
that he was dead.
And at the end
of the show, they were
applauding what they
thought was a happy,
smiling dolphin,
when in fact,
it was a dead body and
they walked out of there
thinking,
“That's a happy dolphin.”
Captivity for dolphins
is much more stressful
than for the other
animals in the zoo.
Dr. Lori Marino,
a senior lecturer
in the Neuroscience and
Behavioral Biology Office
at Emory University, USA
has extensively studied
the intelligence
of Bottlenose dolphins.
She now provides her
perspective on the cruelty
of dolphin captivity.
We really know enough
about other animals to
know that (they) deserve
respect and compassion.
What we know
about dolphins,
their intelligence,
their social lives,
their needs,
how they live their lives,
is that some of the ways
in which we treat them
are just in violation
of their natural needs
and what they need
to be happy and healthy
and thrive.
The exhausting, relentless,
merciless life of captivity
takes its toll on
the dolphins and Orcas.
Many develop ulcers and
other stress-related illnesses.
Most of them
die prematurely.
Of the 136 Orcas
taken into captivity
from the wild since 1961,
123 of those have died,
with an average lifespan
in captivity
of only four years.
In captivity, they very
rarely get older than 20.
You know, male orca very,
very rarely get to 30.
In fact, I think only three
have ever made it to 30.
That’s versus in the wild,
where 30 in the male is
the average life expectancy.
The maximum is 50 or 60.
Females can live to be 70
or 80 years of age.
And there is just
no captive female
that even comes close.
Dr. Thomas White,
director of the Center
of Ethics and Business
at Loyola Marymount
University, USA
and author of
“In Defense of Dolphins,”
believes that
dolphins are very similar
to human beings.
He states that when
we place them in captivity,
a part of this noble animal
seems to die.
When you look
in the eyes of a dolphin
you know
there's somebody there.
Particularly when you
do this in the wild.
You have
a very strong sense
that they are masters
of their own domain
and very intelligent,
very capable.
You'll never
get that experience
by seeing them
in a captive situation.
Given all that
we have heard thus far,
why do we continue
to have marine parks?
How can we end
these ruthless operations?
When we return
we will focus on
these important issues.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
So people pay admission
and enjoy the dolphin shows
but not realizing that
they’re actually sponsoring
the slaughtering
of thousands of
these gentle creatures.
For me the dolphin is
a very special creature.
I found that
one of the main messages
of your film was
it was an investigation of
the most dangerous animal
on Earth – which is us.
Just ourselves.
That’s absolutely true.
It’s like
one of the tragic ironies
of this movie
is that the dolphin is
the only wild animal
throughout history to save
the life of a human being.
This is
the Stop Animal Cruelty
series on
Supreme Master Television.
Why do we continue
to keep majestic marine
mammals captive?
Some say
their performances
in marine parks help
people better understand
and appreciate
these beautiful animals.
Ric O'Barry who
is the current director of
SaveJapanDolphins.org
and appeared
in the Academy Award
winning documentary
“The Cove”
says this is
a false conception.
It is in fact
a form of bad education
and that’s what
this issue is all about.
It’s not just about the
1000 dolphins in captivity;
it’s as much about
the hundreds of millions
of people
who go through there,
who come out of there
thinking,
“They belong here.”
Another justification
frequently cited
for making cetaceans
serve as entertainment
is that the dolphins
and Orcas seem
to enjoy performing.
However the reality
couldn’t be more different.
They’re cooperating
with training commands
or whatever, because
it’s something to do.
I think one of
their biggest problems
is that they’re dreadfully
bored most of the time.
These are
intelligent social animals
who live in a very sterile
environment, and I think
that they actually are
extraordinarily bored
a lot of the time.
And so they cooperate
with their trainers
and they cooperate with
a lot of things in captivity.
I think because it gives them
something to do.
Some say that
as marine mammals
in parks are very well fed,
they have an easier life
than their counterparts
in the wild and thus their
confinement is justified.
One of the things
that always fascinates me
is that proponents
of captivity try to portray
that they feed their whales
great food three times a day
as a benefit of captivity.
They say
they live in lots of luxury;
we take care of them when
they are kept in captivity.
But in fact out in the wild
all that foraging, and,
moving around
looking for food
that they do is
how they make their living.
It’s their job, and
it keeps them occupied,
it keeps them healthy,
to be swimming around
like that.
And, as an analogy,
I point to people
who are couch potatoes
Their job
might not require them
to leave the house even.
And they become unhealthy,
they become lethargic,
some of them
become depressed,
they have their groceries
delivered at the door,
and they get ill,
and they die young.
And that is what in fact
is happening to whales
and dolphins in captivity.
Yes, all of these things
are provided for them,
but it takes away
their reason for living.
It takes away their purpose.
And when the curtain falls
and the show is over,
what happens
to the marine mammals
who are no longer needed?
Noted Hollywood film
actor and television star
Billy McNamara, shares
the heart wrenching story
of Flipper
the beloved dolphin
who starred in a 1960’s
US television series
of the same name
and who was trained
by Ric O’Barry.
After the series ended,
Mr. O’Barry thought
Flipper was being
well taken care of
until he went one day
to check on her and
found her in a tiny pool.
And her back
was totally sunburned
because she was left out
in the exposure of the sun
and just burned.
And it’s been three years.
Flipper saw him,
recognized him.
She came up to him
and she nuzzled him
and he nuzzled her.
He realized
what he had done
was terrible
and he was heartbroken
and devastated
and traumatized.
So his whole life changed.
He was on the forefront
of the voice of the dolphins
for the last 40 years.
He’s the real deal.
He’s done all
these incredible things.
He’s amazing.
How can we halt the
cruelty to marine mammals
who are kept in captivity
for entertainment?
One of the most
important things is one of
the simplest things.
"Don't buy a ticket."
Because it's based on
supply and demand.
These captive dolphin
facilities are
just like Coca-Cola
or any other products.
If I'm wearing ivory,
I'm the reason,
me, the consumer,
I'm the reason
the elephant is
becoming extinct,
not the guy out there
with the shotgun.
It's me, the consumer.
So it is true, in the
dolphinarium business,
if you're buying a ticket,
these dolphins
are dying to amuse you.
So don't buy a ticket to
a captive dolphin show.
You have to realize
that as we learn more
about these animals,
the whales and dolphins,
the idea of keeping them
confined in concrete tanks
into the future
makes absolutely
no sense .
We’re also learning
as time goes by
that in fact these animals
aren’t suited to captivity.
So if we are
a moral species and
we’re morally evolved,
we should perhaps draw
the conclusion by now
that what we thought
would be alright
30 years ago,
we know better now.
And it’s not alright.
And we don’t need to
remove animals
from the wild and
put them into captivity
to be ambassadors for
the next human generation.
Many thanks
to Drs. Naomi Rose,
Thomas White,
and Lori Marino
as well as Ric O'Barry
and the countless
other individuals
and organizations who
are working tirelessly
to stop slaughter
of marine mammals
and their inhumane use
as entertainment.
Let us soon
have a more peaceful
and compassionate Earth
where all beings
live in freedom.
For more information on
captive marine mammals,
please visit:
Human Society
International
www.HSUS.org/hsi
Save Japan Dolphins
SavetheJapanDolphins.org
Thank you for joining us
for this edition of the
Stop Animal Cruelty series.
Coming up next is
Enlightening Entertainment
following
Noteworthy News,
here on
Supreme Master Television.
May we always consider
the needs
of our animal friends.
How does one
communicate telepathically
with the animals?
It is all about just
getting quiet inside,
opening your heart,
communicating
with the animal, mentally
and then allowing
their answers or
information to flow in.
Join us on
Friday, March 26 and
Saturday, March 27
for Parts 1 and 2 of
“A Whole New World:
Tapping into Telepathy
with Animal Communicator
Mary Getten”
on Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants.