On Friday, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will open a National Wildlife Refuge to nighttime alligator hunting. The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida  (ARFF) which will protest the hunt at the park entrance, said “Refuges should be places where animals are protected from harm and not hunted for fun or profit.” Because guns are prohibited, hunters will be required to “hook or ensnare the alligators” and then kill them with a “pole that shoots a shotgun shell or bullet into the alligator’s brain.” This method, ARFF says, “often leaves them conscious and suffering for a long time before they die.”

Their prehistoric looks and reputation for being dangerous make alligators a target not only for trophy hunters who want to kill them but also for TV personalities who want to wrestle them. But alligators don’t want to die, and they don’t want to wrestle; they just want to be left alone, like every other wild animal. Do people who watch alligator wrestling believe that the animals are willing participants? Learn more about sport hunting and see what you can do.

SeaWorld justifies keeping killer whales in captivity by claiming their research studies, which cannot be conducted on wild populations, benefit the species. However, according to an article in Slate, an investigation of SeaWorld’s 52 research papers by Ingrid Visser, a marine biologist with New Zealand’s Orca Research Trust, shows that “SeaWorld may have systematically misrepresented the research resulting from work with captive orcas.” The article lists many examples of SeaWorld’s duplicity, but what stands out the most is their inclusion vitamin supplement and artificial insemination studies, which are “unlikely to be useful to wild populations.”

Photo: CTV News

Companies like SeaWorld and Ringling Bros not only confine and abuse the earth’s largest and most intelligent mammals (whales & elephants), they also portray themselves as advocates and conservationists for the same animals. Their duplicity is maddening. Thankfully, undercover investigations and documentaries like Blackfish are blowing their cover. To see how you can help orcas kept in tanks, please visit Blackfish’ Take Action page.

With shares of SeaWorld crashing as a result of the documentary film Blackfish, will the movie’s producer, CNN, be charged with terrorism? Under the 2006 Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), anyone who causes the loss of property or profits to institutions that use or sell animals can be prosecuted and face up to 20 years in prison, depending on the amount of profit loss.  This overly broad law has not only compromised our constitutional right to free speech and free assembly but has also changed the public discourse, giving people permission to describe animal advocates as “terrorists.”  The irony is that the real terrorists here are the companies (or institutions) that the activists are targeting.  These companies employ terror when they kidnap, deprive, mutilate, confine, neglect, torture, slaughter and skin animals alive in factory and fur farms, behind circus tents, in laboratories and, of course, in the tanks of Sea World. Of course, the federal government would never file terrorism charges against CNN because it would be a PR disaster, but I wish they would because a spotlight on AETA would force Congress to change or eliminate the law. In early August, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review AETA, claiming it violates the First Amendment.

Photo: NBC News

In a letter to NYC Council Members, the Working Families Party (WPF) has taken sides in the heated battle between opponents and supporters of NYC’s infamous horse-drawn carriage trade: “We stand in solidarity with horse carriage workers who play a pivotal role in generating millions of dollars in revenue as one of the top three tourist attractions in the city.”  NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio continues to support a ban on horse-drawn carriages for humane and safety reasons, but he has not yet taken any steps to do so since taking office in January.

First of all, horse-drawn carriages are not “one of the top three tourist attractions” in the city. Not even close. Is the Working Families Party familiar with Broadway, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center, the Statue of Liberty, the Highline, the Empire State Building and the 911 Memorial — all of which attract far more tourists than the rickety horse-drawn carriages on 59th St? That is the first of many inaccuracies about the horse-drawn carriage trade in their uninformed letter to the City Council. The WFP members who are advocating to keep horse-drawn carriages in NYC, which doesn’t even have a pasture, will one day come to the realization that they are on the wrong side of history. In the meantime, someone should inform them that horses are not inanimate objects, as suggested in their letter: it is “horses WHO are an important part…” not horses THAT are an important part…” If you or anyone else still questions the rationale for banning horse-drawn carriages from Manhattan, please see the award-winning documentary film BLINDERS.

In July, I had the good fortune of traveling with friends to the jungle in the Republic of Congo to observe gorillas in the wild. We watched these intelligent and majestic animals travel through the trees, search for food, play with their young, and look for a site to build their sleeping nests. As I wiped myself off after a gorilla in the rainforest canopy dropped a piece of half-eaten fruit on my shoulder, the group’s silverback charged us while beating his chest. Because we were told not to move if a gorilla charges, I closed my eyes and said a prayer to Oprah. Of course, the silverback veered off, as they always do after a display. When I returned home in late July, I came across the now viral video of Robin Williams interacting with a gorilla in what appeared to be an office. I cringed because it was such a stark contrast to the gorillas living freely in the jungle with members of their own species. I quickly learned that Koko had been rescued from a zoo where she was born and was now living at the Gorilla Foundation in Northern California — where she was no longer an exhibit. Koko should not have been born in captivity because we shouldn’t hold wild animals captive in the first place. But at least she’s in good hands.

While watching the video, I was struck by Robin Williams’ genuine affection for Koko.  I hope this viral video, in which Robin and Koko enjoy each other’s company, doesn’t send a message to the general public that captivity is fun. For the victims, being stripped of the chance to live naturally in their own habitat with members of their own species is stressful and depressing, as it would be for us. Because Robin Williams died, this video is going to be seen by tens of thousands of people, if not more. If this video teaches people nothing about cruelty of captivity, then I hope that viewers look beyond the gorilla tickling and learn more about the conservation work of the Gorilla Foundation.