Blackfish Backlash

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I fear PETA will still regurgitate the same info again in hopes of making it look like they are arguing Seaworld's response.

It's great to see Seaworld finally making a head-on place that faces the issue and doesn't just dance around it. There's practically a whole mini-site put together about it.

They certainly put a lot of thought, time, and effort into making that response. I just fear it won't get out to enough people, or it will be ignored/slashed entirely.

We just can't take PETA too seriously. Remember, these are the people who fought against Nintendo for selling video games (Mario, Pokemon) which perpetrated violence towards turtles.
 
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The thing that really bothers me about this whole thing is why did the government make SeaWorld take the trainers out of the pool with the whales?

It bothers me because, most of the accidents you hear about aren't from the trainer being in the water at the time of the accident. The accidents were caused either 1) when the trainer accidently falls in the water, an a whale gets startled and doesn't react well, or 2) when the whale pulls the trainer into the water for whatever reasons. I've never heard about an incident that happened when the trainers were in the water with the whales, not even the Tilikum accident. So I again ask why the Government made SeaWorld stop letting the trainers in the water?

Not only does keeping the trainers out of the water decrease the quality of the shows, it also gives the whales less time to interact with people. So keeping the trainers out of the water really hurts the whales more than helps them. It really just doesn't make any sense why the Government did this.
 
OSHA's job is to prevent workplace injuries, I can see why they would want that, objectivly.

However, it seems like an OSHA has been hanging around the Blackfish people at film premiers and whatnot, certainly a conflict of interest now.

http://micechat.com/54871-seaworld-orlando-wild-days/
 
Matthew said:
It really just doesn't make any sense why the Government did this.
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Do you have any idea how many replies that can get? Hell, I don't think anyone even knows an accurate answer. But if they pull them from the water then why not stop crab fisherman? Soldiers? Any kind of driving? It is very redundant pulling them out of the water.

Understood risk is something the trainers and those who are in a job with any risk acknowledge.
 
mjm1ahoney3 said:
Sea World has finally written a response to the false claims and disconnectedness of the documentary.
http://seaworld.com/en/truth/truth-about-blackfish/
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Everyone needs to read this! Oh my goodness, they have put forth so much evidence and laid everything out on the table. Animal Training Standard Operating Procedures, legal documents, newspapers, confidential company documents. It is really quite astonishing for them to release all of this.

What they should do now is use the news media to get people to check out their site and read the information. The info is there, you just got to get people to read it. I'm sure they could get some time on other news networks besides CNN. Even local news channels, maybe even have national TV ads airing frequently and often to urge people to go check out the facts and read.

Also, I've been seeing a lot more people commenting about dolphins being killed right now. Honestly, I think these mislead Blackfish supporters are now blaming SeaWorld for something that has nothing to do with SeaWorld. It is extremely ridiculous and sad.
 
The whole Blackfish fad is crumbling down It was built on a foundation of lies. Thats like trying to build a skyscraper with no pilings.
 
Below is a letter from Jim Atchison which was sent out to SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment's employees today regarding Blackfish and SeaWorld.com/Truth:

Jim Atchison said:
I want to begin by thanking you all for the passion that you bring to work every day. As we reported last week, we've seen record attendance at our SeaWorld parks and revenue for 2013 is expected to represent a full-year record for the company. None of this is possible without the hard work and dedication of our entire team. The news was a great way to close 2013, and to begin our 50th year of operation.

Despite the good news, of course, we continue to see significant social media attention and news coverage about SeaWorld. Fueled by animal rights activists including PETA, this criticism is misinformed and inaccurate. That's why we placed the open letter, "The Truth is in our Parks and People," in several major newspapers before the holidays. It's also why we will continue to defend our company, our people and the incredible work we do every day.

We've recently introduced a new website, seaworld.com/truth, that will showcase the truth about SeaWorld, our care of killer whales and how we are making a positive difference for killer whales—and all marine life—in the wild.

In fact, we just posted our most substantial response to the film Blackfish to date, along with videos from current and former trainers about their work at SeaWorld and with killer whales. In one, former trainer Mark Simmons, who appears in the movie, discusses his positive experiences working at SeaWorld, and how that material never made it into the film. In another, one of our current trainers, Holly Byrd, talks about how it felt to watch the film and see her first water work session used by the filmmakers in a way that completely diminished the hard work, preparation and long hours she put into that special moment.

In addition to sharing these materials on seaworld.com/truth, we will also post them on our social media channels, and encourage you to share them with family and friends as you see fit.

As always, if you have any questions – even after looking at the website – please don't hesitate to contact your human resources department. They can help put you in contact with the right team member to address any thoughts you might have.

I hope you'll agree that all this material reinforces this important fact: SeaWorld places the welfare of its animals and the safety of its guests and team members above all.

Or simply put, the truth is in our parks and people.

Thank you.
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I think part of the problem is that most people don't understand reinforcement theory.  I'm not going to go into detail here, because honestly it is an entire field of psychology and distilling it down for this forum would not really work.  But there is much much more to behavioral modification than simple reward and punishment schedules.  Two quick examples:

1. An effective positive reinforcement schedule (eg rewarding a desired behavior) does not reward the behavior every time it is displayed.  While that is necessary while shaping the behavior, for long term sustainment, the schedule of rewards must be randomized.

2. There are both positive and negative reinforcement and punishment.  For example, withholding a reward that has been administered so regularly that is pretty much baselined as normal (ie no longer an extra treat) is negative reinforcement.

I would also add that there is debate about whether cognition even plays a role in behavioral modification.

On another note, in general Sea World Parks trains behaviors in its animals to assist in medical exams and procedures, not to teach them to do cute tricks.  Obviously, the animals in the shows are exceptions, but on my last behind the scenes tour at SWO, they told us that only the animals who show a proclivity for performing are selected for the shows.
 
It doesn't matter what SeaWorld does, it won't convince these people. I've been arguing with PETA and all the people who support them for weeks. These peoples minds will never change, they have hopped on the bandwagon and have no idea what they're talking about. PETA is a joke, they're a bunch of lying hypocrites. In the last 11 years, PETA has killed 29,426 dogs, cats, rabbits, and other domestic animals, but I can't eat a cheeseburger without sinning? They drive me nuts!
 
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I run into the same problem with my podcast!  We speak on a lot of topics, with no filter, but using logic and facts.  If it is against someone's beliefs, you know we hear about it, no matter how true our facts are.
 
Emotion trumps everything, even life sometimes. Romeo & Juliet is a classic example. 

But something I remembered from a little while ago is that it is far more easier to get people to hate something than to get them to love it.
 
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As concerts were dropping out down in Florida, what is the situation now? From my understanding they have acts booked, but are not announcing until a week or so before the actual concert date? If so, do you think BGW will be following suit, just in case. The general public is starting to get really curious about the concert line up.
 
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