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Upvoting because legit question offers an opportunity to inform. Most whales have a natural range of thousands of miles over the course of a year. Keeping the

Upvoting because legit question offers an opportunity to inform. Most whales have a natural range of thousands of miles over the course of a year. Keeping them in tanks, no matter how generous to our eyes, is the equivalent of keeping a human in a bathroom for their entire life—-with exactly as little stimulation or variety as that implies. Another response observes that whales in captivity always develop at least some neurotic behaviours, and this is generally regarded as directly caused by the incredibly limited environment in which they spend their lives. At one time, the argument was made that having them perform for crowds was necessary to keep them from going crazy.

maxxxxx 7y ago
“At one time, the argument was made that having them perform for crowds was necessary to keep them from going crazy.” I think that’s actually a valid argument if you keep something in captivity. When you put humans in jail it’s also better to give them something to do instead of just having them sit around. Freedom is still the best option though.
- officeplant 7y ago
  Now I almost feel less disturbed about a prison that puts on a rodeo in my state.
  - maxxxxx 7y ago
    Rodeo is animal abuse so I don’t support that. But otherwise it’s good for prisoners to have something to do. I have read about programs where they train dogs. If i was in prison I’d be happy to do that.
- astura 7y ago
  This study seems to show that training by humans to perform in shows had a negative effect on juvenile orcas. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4997274/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4997274/ >From 1979 to 1980, however, we were able to interact with juvenile orcas in an unstructured way at San Diego’s SeaWorld facility. We observed in the animals what appeared to be pranks, tests of trust, limited use of tactical deception, emotional self-control, and empathetic behaviors. Our observations were consistent with those of a former Seaworld trainer, and provide important insights into orca cognition, communication, and social intelligence. However, after being trained as performers within Seaworld’s commercial entertainment program, a number of orcas began to exhibit aggressive behaviors. The orcas who previously established apparent friendships with humans were most affected, although significant aggression also occurred in some of their descendants, and among the orcas they lived with.
  - maxxxxx 7y ago
    Interesting. Sounds like they hate that kind of work. Or maybe it makes them more competitive.

maxxxxx 7y ago

“At one time, the argument was made that having them perform for crowds was necessary to keep them from going crazy.” I think that’s actually a valid argument if you keep something in captivity. When you put humans in jail it’s also better to give them something to do instead of just having them sit around. Freedom is still the best option though.

officeplant 7y ago
Now I almost feel less disturbed about a prison that puts on a rodeo in my state.
- maxxxxx 7y ago
  Rodeo is animal abuse so I don’t support that. But otherwise it’s good for prisoners to have something to do. I have read about programs where they train dogs. If i was in prison I’d be happy to do that.
astura 7y ago
This study seems to show that training by humans to perform in shows had a negative effect on juvenile orcas. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4997274/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4997274/ >From 1979 to 1980, however, we were able to interact with juvenile orcas in an unstructured way at San Diego’s SeaWorld facility. We observed in the animals what appeared to be pranks, tests of trust, limited use of tactical deception, emotional self-control, and empathetic behaviors. Our observations were consistent with those of a former Seaworld trainer, and provide important insights into orca cognition, communication, and social intelligence. However, after being trained as performers within Seaworld’s commercial entertainment program, a number of orcas began to exhibit aggressive behaviors. The orcas who previously established apparent friendships with humans were most affected, although significant aggression also occurred in some of their descendants, and among the orcas they lived with.
- maxxxxx 7y ago
  Interesting. Sounds like they hate that kind of work. Or maybe it makes them more competitive.