POSTED BY HEATONTHESTREET1 POSTED ON MAY 26, 2014 POSTED UNDER UNCATEGORIZED COMMENTS 41 COMMENTS
(http://heatonthestreet1.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/dsc01643.jpg) Finally after what seems an eternity the metal shutters open up and park guests are allowed into the killer whale stadium to watch Lolita perform her twice daily show. A brief background for readers who do not know much about Lolita’s plight. Lolita was captured in August 1970 in Puget Sound. Her original name is Tokitae. She was purchased for about $6,000 and has been at Miami Seaquarium in a tiny whale bowl ever since. Another orca called Hugo had been at Miami Seaquarium for two years prior. Hugo and Lolita shared the same tank which is 60‐foot by 80‐foot by 20 feet deep for about 10 years before Hugo died in 1980. Since then Lolita has only had a few dolphins to keep her company. Howard Garrett who is the president of the Orca Network has Lolita’s retirement plan written up and desperately wants to get Lolita to a sea pen. Here is details of the plan: http://www.orcanetwork.org/Main/index.php?categories_file=Retirement (http://www.orcanetwork.org /Main/index.php?categories_file=Retirement) With my cellphone on record I enter the stadium and when I spot Lolita I get very emotional. My voice breaks and say ‘Hello girl. This is hard.’ I immediately think of a lady whom I met at this years Whalefest – the biggest whale festival in the world which is held in the UK. Her name is Rita who is also from the UK. Rita adores Lolita – the same way I adore Tilikum. Neither whale has had it worse than any of the other captives but sometimes one captive whale will capture your heart. Words cannot explain why one particular whale is your favourite. They just are. Through the tears I say that I wish that Rita was with me. I walk round the tiny tank to get a better look at Lolita. She is beautiful. She is being fed dead fish by her trainers at the small ‘island’ of the pool. I immediately spot her teeth and they are magnificent. I have never seen a captive orca with all their teeth before. Because of boredom captive whales usually bite on the metal gates that separate the pools. Their teeth then have to be drilled down to the pulp. With no anesthetic. Maybe Lolita still has her teeth as there are no metal gates here. There is no need with just this one tiny pool. The music is blaring and I see that there is no shade for her in the 90 degree heat. I tell Lolita that she has lawyers and thousands of people working for her (this is probably an exaggeration in hindsight – probably hundreds). I say that we got to get her to that seapen and back to her Mum. (There is a seapen area waiting for Lolita in Washington State). I notice that Lolita goes between almost lying motionlessly still – sometimes near the bottom of the tank then switches to chasing one of the dolphins that are also in the tank. Is this what years of captivity have done to her?
6/23/2014 2:23 PM
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(http://heatonthestreet1.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/dsc01646.jpg) Lolita laying almost motionless I only spend five minutes filming – I want to find someone whom I can ask a few questions to and express my disgust that this is not okay at keeping this 20 foot long, 7,000 pound beautiful creature in this tiny barren tank with no shade. Below is the short five minutes of footage I filmed of Lolita:
I dont have much time to try and find someone as the show will be starting any minute. I am not staying as I dont want to watch young men and women riding on Lolita. I walk towards the other side of the stadium where I see the trainers and a female worker wearing the blue Miami Seaquarium staff t‐shirt. I call the worker over. The worker is polite enough. I go straight in for the kill: ‘I just want to say I have never seen a tank so small in my life. How does she get exercise? How does she get mental stimulation?’ She replies: ‘You will see in the show that she gets plenty of exercise she actually moves very well and is able to swim and jump… this is definitely not the largest pool in America.’ I am surprised that the worker is agreeing with me but what can she say? I know that I am not the first person who must have said this to the staff here. I ask ‘Can they not build a bigger pool for her?’ Then worker looks at my cellphone suspiciously so I have to put the phone down by my leg. Because of the awful loud voice that is booming over the speakers the rest of the conversation is inaudible. She replies in broken sentences that dont make sense. ‘She has been here since 1970, so um.. that was when the pool was built’. I say that there is a sea pen waiting for her and she says to me ‘No there isnt’. I dont think that the worker is aware there is aa seapen area waiting for Lolita in Washington State. I say to her ‘Yes there is.’ She replies ‘We will never release her.’ Ugh. Us whale warriors will see about that. I also say that I am concerned as there is no shade for Lolita and am worried that her skin can get burnt. The worker tells me that Lolita’s skin cannot get burnt… I thank her for talking to me and leave. I say goodbye to Lolita and am glad that I am leaving the unbearable loud music behind. Then I feel guilty: Lolita has to listen to it everytime she performs a show. I am lucky: I can leave. Lolita and the other captives have to stay.
6/23/2014 2:23 PM
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I have got my footage so now I can get the hell out of this awful depressing place. As I am walking out I see a young guy near the dolphin tank towards the front of the park who was there when I arrived a couple of hours ago. I ask him if he has seen Blackfish. I see him step a couple of paces back from me. It makes me smile. He says he hasnt. Then I say that I cant believe how small that tank is. He tells me that alot of people have also said that to him. I tell him that people are trying to get Lolita to a seapen. He just looks at me. I really do think the average worker here has no idea what a seapen is. I wish him a good day and walk towards the exit and where guest services is. Before I go I want the staff at Miami Seaquarium to know that this visitor is not okay with killer whale captivity. Obviously I understand that they dont care. I am a realist. But I cant leave here and not let them know how I feel. I appoach guest services and ask one of the workers behind the counter if I can speak to a manager. The young man picks up the phone when another worker in his fifties approaches me and asks me if he can help. The young man puts the phone down and I speak to this older man. I ask him very politely and calmly if they can build Lolita a bigger tank. He stares at me for what feels about five seconds then says to me: ‘I am going to have to ask you to leave Ma’am.’ Bingo. It hits me that Miami Seaquarium must get people asking this all the time. It doesnt matter that I am polite and at only 5 foot 3 inches tall and on my own, I do not pose much of a threat – they must have a zero tolerance rule here for guests asking this question. I reply ‘Am I not allowed to ask a question?’ He replies flatly: ‘No.’ Then he says to me: ‘You are not allowed to film in here.’ Which is a strange thing to say as my camera and cellphone are in my bag which is zipped up. I put my bag and bottle of water on the counter to show him that I am not filming. But I know it is just an excuse. I start crying again and ask if there is an email contact whom I can write to. He writes down the managing directors contact then rips it up then writes down the public relation email address. Through the tears I start saying to him over and over again ‘Its very sad.’ I feel vulnerable and upset. He replies that the tank is within government regulations. I know that this is rubbish but I dont want to start arguing with him. Lolita’s tank is only 35 feet wide from the slideout area. The animal welfare act say it should be a minimum of 48 feet wide. More information about this: http://www.miamiseaprison.com/tank.htm (http://www.miamiseaprison.com/tank.htm) The worker is polite with me despite telling me that I had to leave. Despite crying, I make sure that I am polite and thank him for the email contact he has given me. I am just so relieved when I walk through the exit gate. It feels that it has been the longest three hours of my life. It was announced on 7th May 2014 that Miami Seaquarium was sold to Palace Entertainment Holdings. Arthur Hertz who was the owner prior said that between 2000‐2013 about $20 million of renovations were carried out at Miami Seaquarium. I think he may be tellng porkys because I sure as hell am not seeing it. Please see my previous blogs about rust on one of the dolphin tanks, a sea lion with cataracts and a cafe that looks something out of the 1970′s. The news article that gives details of the sale: http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2014/05/07/seaquarium‐deal‐flows‐swimmingly/ (http://www.miamitodaynews.com/2014/05/07/seaquarium‐deal‐flows‐swimmingly/) I was hoping that Arthur Hertz would cut all ties with Miami Seaquarium but sadly the same on site management will remain. Us Lolita fans can only hope that the new owners, Palace Entertainment holdings, will listen to our concerns and get Lolita returned to the sea where she could either be reunited with her family after 44 years or live out her remaining life in a seapen. People could still care for her but she would have so much space, feel the ocean currents again and learn to hunt and feed for herself without having to do circus tricks. We must keep fighting the good fight to spread the word about Lolita’s plight. This blog is dedicated to Rita Evans Barnes.
6/23/2014 2:23 PM
http://heatonthestreet1.wordpress.com/ POSTED BY HEATONTHESTREET1 POSTED ON MAY 25, 2014 POSTED UNDER UNCATEGORIZED COMMENTS 7 COMMENTS
I still have got far too much time to wait before I can get the hell out of Miami Seaquarium – time always slows down when you are not having fun. I decide to go back to the entrance of the park and film because I want the reader of this blog to see what I am seeing. At the entrance people can have their picture taken with a parrot – how original. There are also posters celebrating the 50th year anniversary of the television show Flipper. Miami Seaquarum is where some of the scenes were filmed. That show has got alot to answer for – perhaps thats why we have so many captive dolphins today. It also seems that Miami Seaquarium probably last had a lick of paint 50 years ago. Even the floor seems cracked. I wonder for the 100th time – how has Miami Seaquarium been allowed to get away with keeping the park in this dilapidated state for so long? Where is the outrage at all of this? I carry on walking and arrive at one of the dolphin tanks ‐ just outside are two dolphin statues. They depress the hell out of me – they look so old and people still continue to have their picture taken in front of them. I say ‘We need to up the fight fellow whale and dolphin warriors. This is not acceptable. Not in 2014. This is not okay.’ I film some machines that look like something out of the 1980′s – big ugly square boxes where for a couple of dollars people can make their very own whale or dolphin souvenir. I also want to document on film how quiet it is for a Sunday – if there arent very many people here today what must it be like on a weekday? A ghost town. Earlier on in the morning I met a young girl who was looking after the parrots and I am going to sound controversial but out of all the animals here they seem to be the best looked after. Their wings are clipped which I agree isnt good, but they seem to be content sitting on their perches and being given treats of apple. I walk towards the Manatee Bay Cafe – I have to go back in to film for the readers of this blog. Seeing is believing. If you want depression then this is it. It is an awful, awful colour of green and brown. I say ‘What year are we in?’ I say ‘This is depression. If you wanna get depressed come here… would you eat here? I wouldnt eat here!’ It sounds comical when I listen to it back. This cafe has to be from the 1970′s. It could be retro if it wasnt a real, open for food and drink cafe. Just looking at the brown booths – I want to slit my wrists. No joke: It is that bad. One of the workers told me that people complain about the standard of the food in here – no shit Sherlock. Shame on the owner and shame on Miami Seaquarium. Here is the footage:
6/23/2014 2:23 PM
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After that I head over to the killer whale stadium. I want to get footage of the outside of it – we only ever seen footage from inside – I want to show people what guests see when they come here. On film I say ‘This place is a f**cking nightmare. It is something out of the 1950′s. Nothing seems to have changed since they filmed Flipper back in the 1960s.’ There are boards of ‘information’ about wild whales. I cant be the only person who understands the irony here? Miami Seaquarium have pictures and info about wild whales yet they keep a beautiful orca just a few feet away in a whale bowl that is no more than 20 feet deep. I read some of the text out loud: ‘The whale and dolphin programmes at Miami Seaquarium have given millions of people from around the world the rare opportunity to see these animals exhibit their natural behaviours.’ I retort: ‘Natural? Messing with their food supply so they do tricks like circus monkeys. Yeah thats natural all right.’ I carry on reading this nonsense and rubbish – who writes this? ‘Our whale and dolphin programmes include a sophisticated preventive care programme, daily observations, interactions and the training programme are designed to enhance our animals physical strength and mental well being.’ I am going to break down some of these points:Training programmes? Orca are already ‘trained’ to be an orca when they are born. ‘Physical Strength’ – What riding on Lolitas rostrum? ‘Daily observations’ – What happens when the last show of the day ends? Does Lolita have someone with her? Or is she on her own with a couple of those dolphins until the next day, when it starts all over again? Groundhog day everyday for Lolita and those other captives. I say on camera: How long has she (Lolita) been on her own for? 30 years in a barren tank. In the smallest tank ever.’ (When I say on her own I mean without the company of another orca. Hugo another captive orca died in 1980) A good feature about Hugo is here: http://www.freewebs.com /let_toki_go_free/hugotheorca.htm (http://www.freewebs.com/let_toki_go_free/hugotheorca.htm) Miami Seaquarium is a million, zillion, trillion times worse than Seaworld. I am not a fan of SeaWorld but at least the park is well kept. Then I spot the ‘no public filming’ camera sign again. This is so telling. Miami Seaquarium must know how bad this park looks. They cant defend it. I get angry and swear a bit then I say to Lolita who I cant see but is only feet away ‘We gonna get you to that seapen girl. We got to get her to that seapen.’
Educating people about killer whale captivity _ The end of killer ...
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Educating people about killer whale captivity _ The end of killer whale captivity has begun.pdf. Educating people about killer whale captivity _ The end of killer ...
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