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I am sure you have all heard about the death of seasoned whale trainer, Dawn Brancheau. She was killed by captive orca Tilikum on the 24th February at Seaworld in Orlando. It is terrible that this woman died, but we must now focus our attention on the plight of the captive whales. Seaworld carried on as usual, resuming their whale shows only 3 days after Brancheau’s death.

Will they never learn? Do they have no compassion?

Tilikum was captured from the wild aged 2 in the oceans off of Iceland. After 2 years of freedom living as a whale should, killing for food and swimming miles and miles every day, Tilikum was brought to live in a tank. He has been used for breeding and as a performer. Is there really any question that this huge, intelligent mammal would be full of rage? Tilly is male and is kept in unnaturally close quarters with females in a matriarchal society.

Tilly’s teeth and dorsal fin are so damaged after years in captivity that he could not be released into the wild, but he should be released into a marine sanctuary. In the ocean he could communicate in normal whale fashion with other whales. Can you imagine how wonderful it would be to be back in the ocean (even in a pen) after all those years in a tank?

Amazingly SeaWorld had already been issued a warning about keeping orcas in captivity long before this latest tragedy. This quote from PETA’s blog today,

back in 2007, after a trainer at the San Diego SeaWorld nearly drowned after being dragged underwater by an orca, the California Division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) issued a report concluding that a fatal attack on a SeaWorld trainer was “inevitable” and not a matter of “if” but “when.”

But the Cal/OSHA backpedaled on its warning after SeaWorld whined and moaned and claimed that the report was “full of inaccuracies and speculation” and described the staffer who wrote it as “uninformed and reckless.” Interesting choice of words: Who’s looking reckless now, SeaWorld?

It is not just Seaworld that we should be focusing out attention on. Lolita is a killer whale who has been kept at Miami Seaquarium for the past 37 years. She is the only orca who lives there. If you thought living in captivity at Seaworld was bad, can you imagine what life is like for Lolita? Her tank is one tenth of the size of the ones at Seaworld. In fact she lives in the smallest orca tank in North America. It is illegal by APHIS standards. She has no interaction with other whales.

The only good thing to come out of Dawn Brancheau’s death is that people are becoming aware that these magnificent animals should not be kept in captivity and the ones that are currently captive should be released to the wild (if possible) or to marine sanctuaries.

Please boycott Seaworld and similar marine parks. Take action – if you live near a marine park organize a protest, or distribute leaflets. You can make a difference. Most of all we must keep up the pressure on the parks and keep the media attention going.

Click here to be taken to Seaworld’s contact page, where you can voice your opinion.

Click here to be taken to Miami Seaquarium’s contact page.

As a child I had pet fish. These days I wouldn’t choose to keep fish as pets, as it just doesn’t seem right to keep them in a tank, but I was only young at the time and didn’t know better. I used to love watching the fish swim and play hide and seek in the weeds that we would put in the tank. The large tank was in my room and was a great distraction from homework and chores.

My four goldfish were named Fee, Fi, Fo and Fum and over the years I got to know their different personalities. Fum was the most boisterous, darting to and fro, hiding in the weeds and then jumping out at Fo (who was shy). Fum would like to nibble my fingers and Fum was the one who jumped out of the tank (he survived and we put a sturdy cover on top). These little fish lived to 13 years old!

This week in the Scientist, it was interesting to see that the science world is finally acknowledging that fish have distinct personalities.

Experiments have been conducted at the University of Illinois studying the behavior of 130 sticklebacks. Each fish is filmed investigating their tank (a new environment),

At the 3-minute mark, she [Katie McGhee] drops the fake pike into the water and slides it back and forth along the tank’s back wall. Upon seeing the intruder, the stickleback freezes in the bottom right corner of the tank. But after a few minutes the fish gets positively cheeky, swimming right up to the pike’s head, before seemingly losing interest and meandering off nearby.

The scientists observe each fish for 9 minutes before moving on to the next. During their experiments they have noticed many different fish personalities. Some are shy, some are bolshy, some are very curious. Although some scientists may not approve of the word personality used for fish, McGhee explains that personality is,

nothing more than consistent, individual differences in behavior. And in any species—even surprising ones such as squid, birds, and insects—one can find such variability in spades.

Of course it is a shame they keep these animals in captivity to study them, but if it helps people start to understand that fish are not vegetables then it is a start! Fish are sentient and they feel pain and now, it turns out (as most animal lovers already know) they have personalities. Maybe commercial fishermen and anglers will stop treating them like dirt?

If you want to know a little more about the science of the personalities of fish and other animals you can watch this video from The Scientist:

I think it is time we give fish and other sea animals the respect and compassion they deserve.

Photo Credit: WSPA

Today I received a very disturbing email from WSPA. It informed me that a group of politicians in Brazil are trying to pass a bill to decriminalise cruelty to domestic animals. This would be a huge step backwards and would mean if someone in Brazil abused a domestic animal (such as cats, dogs, horses etc) they would face no consequences.

Bill Number 4548 would also mean that if a local was to report an incident of animal cruelty that they had personally witnessed, such as the beating of a dog or horse (even with video evidence) no action would be taken.

Understandably many Brazilians are totally outraged by the proposed change in the only law protecting animals and already over 65,000 have contacted congress to protest the bill. However, it is also important that people from other countries voice our protest. Head over to this link to fill in your details and have an email sent on your behalf to the Brazilian government voicing your concerns.

I find it sickening that some politicians are pushing for this huge step backwards (as if animals don’t have enough cruelty to contend with already), but if enough people voice their opinion it is unlikely the government will pass this bill.

Click here to make your voice heard today.

Anglers - Would you like this through Your lips?

I love fish. I think they are amazing animals who, although different from us in many ways, are sentient, fascinating beings who are so much more interesting in the oceans and rivers than on our plates!

So today’s rant is dedicated to anglers. Of course commercial fishing is a huge problem and don’t you worry, I am sick of that as well, but right now anglers are getting on my goat.

Every day I walk my gorgeous rescued dog Charlie on the beach and every day we choose which way we will walk depending on how many fishermen are lined up along each side of the beach. We always choose the way with less fishermen, as I have no desire to see suffering on my daily walk. The only good thing is that Charlie loves to pee on their tackle and that makes me happy.

Yesterday it was windy and cold, which makes a lovely change from the too hot weather we are used to here in NSW of late and the beach was empty of anglers. It was wonderful. We could run along the edge of the surf not worrying about tripping over a fishing line or standing on a stray hook. Charlie was extra happy because the wind made him feel frisky and energetic.

Half way along the beach I saw a sad and familiar site. There were 2 large dead fish left on the beach with obvious holes in their lips where they had been hooked. With no one else in sight it was obvious that a fisherman had left them there. I have seen this so many times. Sometimes I have found fish who are still alive and after wetting my hands in the sea, to avoid burning their scales, I wade in up to my knees and put them in the water again, hoping they will survive.

I have also seen anglers leave fish they are planning to take home for dinner gasping for air on the sand, whilst they stand there trying to catch more. When I see this I stride over and put the fish back in the water before the fisherman can protest. If they must eat the fish, why wouldn’t they knock him on the head straight away to put him out of his misery? Why the need for extra suffering?

Some prefer to place their caught fish in a small bucket of water and deal with them at home. The large fish swim around and around in the tiny bucket until the fisherman decides it is home time and they meet their fate. What must this feel like to a fish who used to enjoy the space of a whole ocean?

I like this idea from PETA of changing the dictionary definition of a fisherman:

F is for “fisherman”:
noun 1 a person who catches fish for a living or for sport.

or

noun 1 a person ignorant of, oblivious to, or indifferent to the fact that he or she is inflicting pain by catching, suffocating, stabbing, and gutting fish; someone who is hooked on cruelty.

Anglers  – I can understand you need to be outside and enjoy nature, but why must you cause suffering whilst you do it?

Photo Source: The Courier-Mail

Some sicko in Brisbane threw this severely malnourished staffordshire-boxer cross out of their car (an early-’80s model white Commodore, Magna or Falcon) early in the morning, last Thursday (25th Feb). The female dog was thrown out at the corner of Thompson Rd and Alma Rd, Dakabin. The RSPCA in QLD are seeking any assistance they can find in locating the dog’s owners.

Apart from the appalling state of this dog she was also still lactating milk, so she must have recently had puppies. To think that these puppies are still in the hands of her old owners is sickening. Who knows what kind of condition they must be in? Plus they will still need their mother’s milk.

Although this picture is truly appalling and a terrible case of neglect and cruelty, at least this girl is now out of the hands of her old owner. I just hope that due to the media attention the RSPCA will give her the chance of life that she deserves. To be honest, I am amazed, looking at this picture, that she has survived. She was understandably lethargic when she came in, which would be due to the horrific emaciation.

The RSPCA in Queensland are trying to drum home the message that if people are struggling to care for their animals they should surrender them/contact the RSPCA for help. They should never let them get into this condition. This statement was given by the RSPCA,

“In light of recent abandonments in the local area, RSPCA Queensland wants to send a strong message that if animal owners are having difficulty providing the required care for their animals, they can contact RSPCA for advice and assistance, before the health and welfare of the animal is jeopardised. Just as people have a responsibility to their children, they also have a responsibility to their pets.”

However people should not use this as a cop out. The fact is that most dogs and cats that are brought to the RSPCA will be euthanized. If there is any doubt you will not be able to look after an animal or afford it’s veterinary care and food, you should not adopt an animal!

Please, if you have any details that could help locate the previous owner of this dog and the puppies, contact the RSPCA Animal Cruelty Hotline on:

1300 852 188

This may be one of the rare times that the RSPCA will take action and make these people pay for what they have done.