In 1996, whale biologist Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research played an audio recording of Lolita’s pod next to her pool at the Miami Seaquarium, where she has been held captive since being kidnapped in 1970. When Lolita heard the vocalizations, she rose out of the water to get closer to the sounds that she appeared to recognize.
Lolita listens to vocalizations of her pod.
Like Lolita, all animals communicate with each other, but they can’t speak human languages. If they could, what would they say to the people have robbed them of everything that makes life worth living?
“I’m a wild animal. Please send me home to Africa.”
“Don’t grind me. I’m just a baby.”
“Have mercy on me. I am innocent”
“What are you doing to my friend?”
“I am in agony. Somebody help me.”
“Take these blinders off of me and look into my eyes.”
“We can’t breathe in here.” (photo: Animals Australia)
“Please take me home to my family. I don’t belong in a pool.”
Humans are the most powerful of all animals species. No one will debate that. But are we superior to all the others? The vast majority of people probably think that we are. After all, we’re the only animals who can travel into outer space, communicate across oceans and keep ourselves alive long past our expiration dates. Our accomplishments are impressive.
On the flip side, we are also the only species that is destroying the planet and its other inhabitants. Other animals take from the earth only what they need to survive and leave it just the way they found it. We, on the other hand, consume far more than we need; permanently pollute the land, water and sky; wipe out other species; and leave the planet in far worse shape than the way we found it. Doesn’t that make us the most inferior species?
This extraordinary video called “Man” viewed by over 12 million people attempts to answer that question.
Your Turn
The demise of the planet from man-made climate change, pollution and mass extinction is a problem that seems too big to fix, but that shouldn’t give us license to act with disregard or give up. Each of us has the power to dramatically reduce our own impact on the earth and its inhabitants. We can consume less; recycle more; and, most importantly, adopt a cruelty-free vegan lifestyle, which is not only good for the environment but also for our health and, of course, the animals.
Once an animal rights campaign is embraced by the mainstream public, the corporation that is targeted would be wise to stop defending, and start fixing, the issue in question. But all too often, companies fight to maintain the status quo, prioritizing short-term profits over their reputations and even the long-term viability of their organizations. This week, two companies foolishly dug in their heels by defending practices that have been rejected by the public and, in many cases, by their own customers.
NATIONAL PORK PRODUCERS COUNCIL
In a letter to the editor of the NY Times in response to an opinion piece criticizing gestation crates, the President of the National Pork Producers Council, Howard Hill, writes that the crates are humane and “allow farmers to provide individual care to sows, monitor their feed intake and eliminate aggression among sows.”
Is Mr. Hill living on the same planet as the rest of us? Surely he knows that even meat eaters reject the most intensive forms of farm animal confinement. In a recent poll taken in New Jersey, for example, 93% of respondents said they oppose pig gestation crates. The ship has sailed, Mr. Hill. If you want members of the public to take “pig producers” seriously, then you need to eliminate, not justify, the metal cages that drive pigs (and activists) insane. Individualized care? Really?
SEAWORLD
On December 9th, activists in San Diego hand-delivered a petition to the Mayor asking him to help retire Corky (aka Shamu), an orca who has been performing tricks in a barren pool since she was plucked out of the ocean in 1969 — 45 years ago!
Delivering petition to retire Corky
In response to the “Retire Corky” petition, SeaWorld issued a statement describing the activists as “a handful of extremists” who are “out of touch with reality” and stated that Corky is “happy and healthy.”
Corky gave birth 7 times in captivity. All of her babies died in a matter of days.
Those words might have resonated with the public before Blackfish created an anti-captivity revolution. Now, they make SeaWorld sound delusional. Does their stock price have to drop to $0 before they accept the fact that the whales who once earned them billions are now poised to sink the entire company?
UPDATE: July 28th, 2015 – Advocacy works. The Gadhimai Temple Trust has responded to the global outcry to ban the ritual slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals that takes place every four years: “For generations, pilgrims have sacrificed animals to the Goddess Gadhimai, in the hope of a better life. The time has come to replace killing and violence with peaceful worship and celebration.”
————————————————————————————————————
Every five years, Hindus from India and Nepal participate in Gadhimai, a ritual slaughter that takes place in Nepal. During the two day ritual, which took place in late November, practitioners chopped off the heads of approximately 300,000 thousand buffalo calves, goats and other animals as a sacrifice to the goddess of power, Gadhimai.
Global efforts to prevent the 2014 Gadhimai failed, but the media and activists shined an international spotlight on the massacre before it began. And, once it started, the 12,000 police officers hired to protect the killers were unable to block the cameras, raising even more public awareness. Pressure is mounting on Nepal to outlaw the ritual.
Actress Joanna Lumley at Gadhimai Protest at Nepal Embassy in London (photo: CIWF)
Because Gadhimai is so violent, one would think that just a small number of people would participate, but, in 2014, the animal holocaust attracted 5 million Hindus.
We can, and should, point a finger at the Nepalese and Indians who participate and expose their crimes, but we should also acknowledge that they are no worse than the millions of people who torture and kill animals in other countries around the world.
Annual Pilot Whale Hunt in the Faroe Islands (Photo: Sea Shepherd)
We could, and should, point a finger at Hindus, but we must also acknowledge that people from other religions torture and kill animals in the name of God.
Observant Jews swing and sacrifice hundreds of thousands of chickens before Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement
What is it about the human species that makes us kill gratuitously – for reasons that have nothing to do with our survival? How is it possible that the most intelligent species is the one that is destroying the planet? How did we become so violent?
In a recent press interview, SeaWorld’s CEO, Jim Atchison, said the park’s orcas have “great lives, full lives” and “enriching and socially well-adjusted lives.” One month earlier, SeaWorld’s senior veterinarian, Christopher Dodd, said, “I can unequivocally state that our whales are thriving, both mentally and physically.”
SeaWorld San Diego (photo: Mike Blake/Reuters)
By defending killer whale captivity, Atchison and Dodd, who are cementing shameful legacies for themselves, have chosen to dig in their heels instead of creating coastal sanctuaries where the orcas can be rehabilitated before potentially being released. Their focus on short-term profits is bad not only for the whales but also for the long-term prospects of SeaWorld, which could go out of business if it doesn’t adapt:
Happy ThanksKilling, SeaWorld. As you continue to mentally and physically kill your whale prisoners, members of the thinking public will continue to kill your extraordinarily cruel business.
Follow Their Turn