whaling notes

8/8/2019 Whaling Notes

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In aquariums, dolphins and other sea animals routinely die prematurely of stress and othercaptivity-related causes, and SeaWorld has an abysmal record. But its not just animals whoare dying as a result of this industry: Human injuries and deaths are also common.

The most recent death of yet another trainer at SeaWorld did not have to happen, and this isnot the first time a trainer has been seized, thrown against the walls of the tank, and helddown to drown.

The intelligent, social ocean animals kept in the pitifully small tanks at SeaWorld are deniedeverything that is natural and important to them. In the wild, they swim up to 100 miles a dayin the open ocean, but captured dolphins are confined to small tanks where the reverberationsfrom their own sonar bounce off the walls, driving some of them insane. Some of theseanimals were violently captured from their homes, many are forced to learn circus-style tricks,and according to whistleblower tips from trainers, withholding food and isolating animalswho refuse to perform are common training methods.

The only thing that people learn from visiting a SeaWorld theme park is how miserable life isfor animals held there. Children see mere shadows of animals, defeated beings who are not

behaving as they should and cannot do what nature intended for them. And these parks teachall the wrong lessons: that it is acceptable to imprison animals; to deprive them of freedom ofmovement and thought; to forbid them the chance to establish their natural territory andexplore; to breed and separate them as we, not they, please; and to let them go insane fromloneliness.

Peta.org also has a form attached in this story, where you can write to the BlackstoneGroup, who owns SeaWorld, and protest your thoughts in a personalized letter that will besent to Hamilton James at the Blackstone Group.

Here is the brief letter that I wrote to the Blackstone Group:

It is cruel to hold these killer whales captive to make money! They are too big for these little

bathtub-cages you put them in. They are tired of it! We the people are tired of it!Ive got power of the press and I am using it right now to make people aware of whatSeaworld and other similar organizations are doing wrong.Sea World needs to close its doors now and set the killer whales FREE!

Hollywood producer Raul Julia-Levy's current project involves an impressive castrangingfrom Johnny Depp, Lindsay Lohan, and Harrison Ford to Elton John, 50 Cent, and PlcidoDomingo. He's attracted high-powered producers including Cameron Crowe, Ed Elbert, andRon Howard. It's a veritable A-list role call, and he's still recruiting.

But the brightest star in Julia-Levy's lineup -- and no doubt the biggest, at 7,000 pounds -- isLolita, a 40-year-old killer whale living in a 20-foot-deep tank at the Miami Seaquarium.

Taken from her family while still a juvenile, Lolita has been performing for sunburnt touriststwice a day over the last 37 years. The tank she lives in is just four times her size at its widest;she'd have to circle it more than 600 times to travel the same distance her still-wild familymembers might in an average day. Her only companion -- another killer whale from her pod,
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or family group -- died 20-some years ago after repeatedly bashing his own head against theenclosure walls. In her native Pacific Northwest waters, whales like Lolita have lifespanssimilar to humans; in a tank, that life expectancy is cut in half.

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"The conditions that she lives in are barbaric," Julia-Levy shouts to me over the phone, unableto contain his anger. He decided to get involved in the campaign to free Lolita last year, whenhe learned that it was in need of star power. But as spokesperson for the glittery troops he'samassed, Julia-Levy -- the son of actor Raul Julia -- emphasizes that he and the other Lolita-

loving producers and celebrities are involved as regular citizens, not activists."We are people who have consciences," he says, "and everyone in this campaign fromHollywood has a mind of their own, and we believe that what we're doing is the right thingsimply because animals should live in their normal habitat."

Their fight is not a new one. In fact, activists have been trying for years to convince theSeaquarium to retire Lolita -- at times, offering up to $1 million for her release. She madenational television in 1995 when played a recording of her pod's vocalizations and viewerswatched the whale cozy up to the speaker and listen. In 2003, a documentary about Lolita,Slave to Entertainment, hit film festivals across the country, garnering more attention for thecause. But only in the last few months has the campaign begun to gain momentum again,making news as more and more big names join up.

Julia-Levy's passion for this campaign was evident just a few moments into our conversation-- and his fervor shows no signs of waning. When asked what's next, he hinted at a plan"involving a 'big stick,'" but said he couldn't elaborate just yet. No doubt when he does, he'llhave plenty of star power behind him.

How did you first hear about Lolita and get involved in the campaign?I knew about Lolita for a long time, but it was probably about a year ago when I really gotinvolved with the campaign. I was actually a little depressed because my little dog had justdied -- he was 9 years old. It was a very tough time for me, and I was looking at pictures ofmy dog on the internet and then I came across ... [a video] of Lolita and the conditions ofwhere she lives. And I got even more depressed.

Then I did a little bit of research on the situation and I contacted the Keiko Foundation, whichis [under the umbrella of] the Earth Island Institute. They're the ones that have the vastexperience relocating animals to their natural habitat -- like Keiko [the star of Free Willy] andSpringer.

Who all is on board so far?The latest one to join the campaign is Elton John. We have some of the most powerful

producers on board: Jonathan Sanger, Ed Elbert, Richard Donner (who was behind the Keikocampaign and was extremely instrumental in the release of Keiko), David Permut, SteveLongi. We have a wide range of celebrities, too, including Johnny Depp, 50 Cent, [HaydenPanettiere, Lindsay Lohan, Plcido Domingo, Janet Jackson, Ringo Starr], Harrison Ford ...

the list is pretty extensive.

We really just want to send the right message. We want people to educate themselves and to
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learn and know that it is not possible for an animal of that magnitude, that large, that in hernormal habitat is used to traveling long distances -- at least 80 to 150 miles a day -- to beconfined in a small, little tank, day after day, night after night for the past 30-something years.That's not normal. That animal needs to go back to her normal habitat.

What does it say about our culture that it wasn't until these famous faces got attached to

the campaign that people started to pay attention?Unfortunately, in our society nobody listens to your next-door neighbor when he raises hisvoice. ... When celebrities speak loud and stand up, it seems like everybody listens, it seemslike everybody takes it more seriously, and I don't understand why normal people do not dothe same thing ... This is work that we all have to do as citizens. We all have to raise ourvoices when something is not right. Why do we have to wait for celebrities to raise theirvoices first?Is it the responsibility of celebrities then -- because they are influencing the public this way --to research these organizations and get involved?

I think it's everybody's issue ... every citizen in this country has the same responsibility as anycelebrity in Hollywood. Everybody should be responsible for taking care of our environment,

our water, our animals. This responsibility belongs to everyone.

The bed we're gonna be sleeping in tomorrow, we're making it today.

What do you say to the argument that Lolita shouldn't be moved?Those who oppose this are extremely arrogant. Who are they to say that animals cannot berelocated? If you put a person in a cage for 30 years and you ask him to choose -- "Do youwant to get out of that cage or do you want to stay there?" -- what do you think he's going tosay? He's gonna say he wants to get out of that cage. Unfortunately, animals cannot speak.That's why we need to speak for those animals who cannot speak for themselves.For those who say, "Oh, the animal is happy here because we love him," it's completelyerroneous. Animals need to be loved by humans -- but in their normal habitat. Meaning:Respected. We need to respect their habitat; we need to respect their privacy; and we need torespect their freedom.

I don't want to love animals in captivity; I want to let them go. And this animal surelydeserves to go back to her family, to her normal habitat. This animal has paid the highest priceof her life: Being confined to a cage for 37 years. I can tell you 100 percent that animal cannotwait for the day to come that she's going to be free.

Speaking of raising voices -- tell me about the benefit concert. Is that still in the works?It's part of our plans to put on a benefit concert -- absolutely. We want to do it in Miami, acouple of blocks from the Seaquarium. We're planning a series of events.But right now, our team is in the process of negotiations with the Seaquarium. We will try

every single diplomatic road to resolve this situation properly for both parties. This has to be awinning situation for both parties.

I think [Seaquarium owner Arthur] Hertz should really think about this because he's got awhale that's not going to live more than five years in that tank. And he can come out of thisone looking like a hero. It's up to him. But like I said, our team is putting together adiplomatic plan to negotiate the situation, make both parties win, and do the right thing.

So that's the first step ... and if that doesn't work?Then the campaign goes to a whole new level ...

Sarah van Schagen is Grist's assistant editor.

2010, Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved.


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