If we lose places like Sea World/Zoo/Public Aquarium etc, I think a vast number of population would lose the only interactions with these creatures...and in the long run, harm instead of help the long term prospects of those animals.
I think this is a valid argument, but it misses the point. The general population doesn't care about these creatures at all. All they see is a 'happy' (but how would they know?, are they animal behaviorists?) whale doing tricks for their amusement. They don't even think about the treat/well-being of the creature
outside of the performance. That the animal must remain in relatively tiny quarters, without proper stimulation, and that the creature was most likely caught in a manner what cause psychologically traumatizing. The the real matter is that the well-being of the WHALES themselves should be investigated. If the whales had a choice, they would leave and never return. They would probably
rejoice when they left. [SEE youtube film:
Peaceable Kingdom. If Sheeps, cows, etc, can do so, surely whales can too]. Most people would scoff at the idea of considering the overall well-being of the animal. And when confronted with the overwhelmingly sad fact that many of these animal become so psychologically traumatized and bored, that they literally loose their sanity, the people would say "oh, I can't watch/hear/talk about it, it's just too sad" The way everyone does when confronted with the same about farm animals at slaughter.
Here is a few facts that I think are analogous:
We have a mental image of slaughter, but it is most likely incomplete or wholly wrong. We do not consider [that is, filter out, ignore, remove from our mental picture] the details of the slaughter which might be offensive and horrifying. The very real and detectable look of terror in the eyes of these animals. The screams of agony and the gasping, twitching, trembling, choking as they are killed. The horrifying forms of abuse many endure. We don't see picture dairy cows crying out when her calves are taken away. We don't see the dairy cow collapse from exhaustion, then kicked, electrocuted, or stabbed with a poking implement to get her moving. These things we ignore, but they go on. This is called cognitive dissonance. It is part of a greater circumstance, called moral schizophrenia. We know if we ever saw someone string up a dog or cat, we would immediately stop them. But we support and encourage this behavior when it involves chickens, cows, pigs, etc.
What makes them different? Do they not feel pain, terror, sadness, agony, or joy? Do they not form bonds? Are they any less self-aware? I am repeatedly asked about my vegan lifestyle. My answers are always ignored.
When I ask people why they eat meat, the answer is always the same; 1. I need the protein. [this is utterly erroneous. Try to argue with me. I'm a Biological Anthropologist.) Or 2. It tastes good.
Neither of them are genuine reasons in the same sense that I am required to provide for my lifestyle. And the notion of purpose-bred animals is invalid. They are sentient and feel the same.
My point is that the whales
deserve to have their well-being taken into account. We have no ethical right to forcefully pull these animals from their natural habitat in order to entertain ourselves. IF someone did this to a human being, we would be appalled. Why?
There is a tribe of people in African, called the !Kung people, [the ! symbol represents a type of glottal sound which we do not have in english] who live in the Kalahari desert where meat is sparse. They track giraffes and they must hunt them by jabbing them with a poisoned arrow, then following them for days until the poison finally overtakes the giraffe. [they are common known as the bushmen, the pygmy tribe, and they are unable to overtake the giraffe quickly as a consequence of their smaller stature]
Then the giraffe is killed, the members of the tribe
weep for the soul of the giraffe. They apologize, they give thought to the sentience of the creature. They throw themselves to the desert floor in woe over the void in the universe. They believe the void left by this loss of life is one which may not ever be filled.
When westerners kill an animal, they typically celebrate, document the kill with photographs, they do not pity the creature, who unwillingly lost his or her life. They often pose with the dead and bloodied creature in displays of dominance and superiority. [See anyone's picture that includes a 'big fish' they caught.]
The lack of reverence we have for our animals is appalling. Egalitarian societies have different views. The lives of the animals
matter.
