SeaWorld – Page 5 – The Earthist Chronicles

Macy’s Caught Off-Guard By Blackfish Backlash?

SeaWorld’s “A Sea Of Surprises” is definitely surprising Macy’s. And not in a good way. But I guess you should never underestimate the power and energy of the orca-defending community. Or the power of television. And Blackfish is doing enough damage to the image of the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade, that we just might have to file a corporate incident report.

Buzzfeed gets in on the action with a sharp story about how Blackfish snuck up on Macy’s:

Blackfish, a damning documentary about SeaWorld’s treatment of animals after one of its whales killed a veteran trainer in 2010, premiered at Sundance in January, about three months before SeaWorld went public. Analysts who cover the company didn’t see it to be an issue. In September, J.P. Morgan analysts said it had “negligible, if any, impact on attendance,” given that it garnered just $1.8 million in the box office from its July 19 release. Goldman Sachs didn’t mention it in September and October notes about SeaWorld. The film didn’t show up in conference calls either, though visits have been falling.

But the documentary stopped being a non-issue when CNN aired it on Oct. 24, sweeping the ratings of every group under 55 during a Thursday night showing. Twitter said it was the most talked-about show on CNN in October, with 67,673 tweets seen by 7.3 million people. (It was the second-most tweeted about non-sports program that night after Scandal.)

Blackfish, SeaWorld, and the issue of whales in captivity have all been far more visible since then — and Macy’s is now catching a lot of the heat.

The company has drawn disparaging commentary for the float on its Facebook page and from celebrities including Alec Baldwin and Jason Biggs. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is leading an online campaign to get rid of the float and has protested at Macy’s New York flagship store.

I guess while we are on the topic, can we just pause for a second to note how utterly vacuous and meaningless Macy’s standard PR line about this controversy is? Here’s what Macy’s told Buzzfeed (and pretty much every other news organization that has sought comment):

“[The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade] has never taken on, promoted or otherwise engaged in social commentary, political debate, or other forms of advocacy, no matter how worthy….Its mission has always been about entertaining millions of families and spectators. While it is understandable that such a widely embraced event can sometimes feature elements or performances that some people may find disagreeable, Macy’s intention is to provide a range of entertaining elements without judgement, endorsement or agenda.”

By that standard, SeaWorld could duck all the heat about Shamu by swapping in a float celebrating the use of slaves to grow the cotton industry. And Macy’s would be okay with that, and let it roll (without “judgment” or “endorsement,” mind you). As long as it was “entertaining.”

PS: Note to Macy’s PR specialists: Since Macy’s actually chooses who and what will be featured in the parade, there is an implicit endorsement no matter how many times you try to say there isn’t.

PPS: When said PR specialists also say that the Macy’s parade “has never taken on, promoted or otherwise engaged in social commentary, political debate, or other forms of advocacy, no matter how worthy” are they saying that the criticisms of SeaWorld raised by Blackfish are, well, worthy? Because that would be awkward.

Anyhow, read the whole Buzzfeed story, for lots more juicy goodness. It includes some of the pointed and clever tweets and comments that Macy’s has been dealing with. Like this one, from Jason Biggs:

Tilikum To Iceland (cont.)

Sigfus: "He caught me from behind!" — Sigfus: “He caught me from behind!”

The chatter about whether someone has filed for a permit to return Tilikum to Icelandic waters continues. I don’t for a minute believe that SeaWorld is in any way involved. And if any sort of permit request was in fact filed (I’m trying to confirm that) then I strongly suspect that someone is spoofing the Ministry Of Fisheries, or it has nothing to do with Tilikum.

More interesting to me is this report about all the rumors (sent to me by Elizabeth Batt). The details of Tilikum’s experience in captivity in Iceland during the many months before he was shipped to SeaLand of the Pacific have always been sparse. So this is worth noting, and adding to our understanding of this early chapter of Tilikum’s story:

Tilikum was captured by the Icelandic coast in 1983 and kept at the Aquarium in Hafnarfjörður to begin with.

There, Sigfús Halldórsson began the animal’s training. Sigfús is now a computer scientist and lives in England, but remembers Tilikum very well.

Tilikum was being prepped for transport to Canada when Sigfús started training him and was the smallest one of three killer whales kept at the aquarium.

Sigfús fed Tilikum on herring and had failed a few attempts to lure the animal into another pool. Eventually, it was decided upon to move Tilikum with an overhead crane.

“I foolishly jumped into the pool to remove the rail between the two pools and he must have been mad about being separated from the other two killer whales because he caught me from behind and pulled me underwater. He tore a big piece from the back of my wetsuit but I managed somehow to get out of the pool,” Sigfús told Vísir.is

He added that apart from that incident, Tilikum was normally sweet-tempered. “He was my friend, I often put my arm into his mouth to scratch his tongue; he liked that. He was normally very sweet except for that one time he got angry.”

Those were the cowboy days. My guess is that, in retrospect, Sigfus must think he is pretty lucky guy to have emerged from the “one time he got angry” fully intact.

Keiko 2? Tilikum?

“Well, no one asked me, but who wouldn’t want to retire to Iceland?”

Some curious speculation in the Icelandic media about the possibility of another effort to rehab and release a killer whale in Icelandic waters:

American parties have applied for a license to the Ministry of Fisheries [for] dropping killer whales in the ocean around Iceland in the near future according to data from the ministry. [Whale expert] Gisli Víkingsson says that [during] the summer [he] has been invited to participate in the project but he declined it.

Killer believed to be the case called Tilikum and he has played in their arts sædýragörðum Sealand in British Columbia in Canada and Seaworld in Orlando, USA.

More here, if you can decode the English delivered by Google Translate.

It’s (almost) inconceivable to me that Tilikum will ever be taken back to Icelandic waters, and definitely inconceivable that he could ever be released. But someone, somewhere, clearly thinks someone, somewhere has applied for a permit with the Icelandic Fisheries Ministry to do….something. How’s that for a clear and detailed report? If you know more, please share.

(Hat tip to @ShamuWorld)

A New Era Of Wild Orca Captures

Photo: Tatiana Ivkovich (Far East Russia Orca Project/ Whale and Dolphin Conservation)

The Russian Far East has started a new beluga and orca gold rush. I’ve got an update, based on information from Erich Hoyt and his Far East Russia Orca Project, about the wave of captures up on Outside Online. Here’s a key point:

Hoyt says that these new wild captures are being conducted by a conglomerate of companies called White Sphere, which captures marine mammals, and builds and operates aquariums in Russia. One aquarium, the Sochinskiy Delfinariy has been identified as the owner of Narnia. Hoyt believes that two of the recently caught orcas, a 4-year-old female and an 8-year-old male, are being offered for sale abroad, perhaps to a Chinese facility, and that at least two of the remaining group of five (one is a mature female; the sex and ages of the others are not known) will be shipped to Moscow soon to be placed in an Oceanarium that is being built at the All-Russia Exhibition Centre. Hoyt worries that the mature female might be the mother of the two young orcas being offered for sale abroad, which means that the family group would be broken up.

According to Hoyt, two CITES permits have already been issued, presumably to transport the two young orcas to China. You can read the whole thing here.

Vancouver Aquarium’s Internal Response To Blackfish

Here is what I am told was a note sent to staff at the Vancouver Aquarium, to help address the issues raised in Blackfish. It is a lot more reasoned than SeaWorld’s response to Blackfish, but at the same time is an interesting insight into the arguments aquariums make about captive marine mammals.

Vancouver Aquarium has had a long and checkered history, that has included trading in, and keeping captive, killer whales, dolphins and belugas. At the same time, it is a non-profit, and I think is qualitatively different (especially in its current version) than a for-profit entertainment corporation like SeaWorld. That doesn’t mean I think that Vancouver Aquarium should keep cetaceans, or has always acted sincerely or with the best interests of marine mammals in mind. I don’t (and I wish more aquariums would follow the more ethical model of the Monterey Aquarium). But I do think that Vancouver Aquarium is on more solid ground when it comes to trying to make the case for keeping cetaceans captive. So their arguments are worth noting.

That said, what I think is most interesting about Vancouver Aquarium’s response to Blackfish is that it doesn’t really try to make the case that marine mammals are suitable for captivity, and don’t suffer in captivity. Instead, it makes the tried and truthy argument that keeping marine mammals captive helps humans connect with them and care about how they are doing in the wild. In other words, there is a trade-off, and the ends justify the means. I disagree with that calculus, and think that the more people understand the reality of what killer whales and dolphins experience in captivity, the less they will be willing to buy that argument.

Here’s the memo:

Some of you may have seen the documentary “Blackfish” which has been playing in theatres across North America and aired on CNN several times last week. The film is a documentary that focuses on SeaWorld, their display of killer whales and the tragic death of one of their trainers in 2010. SeaWorld chose not to participate in the making of the documentary.

Blackfish attempts to “expose” SeaWorld’s supposed negligence in areas from employee safety to animal welfare largely through personal opinion and allegations made by a handful of former trainers depicted in the film. Some of the footage and testimony is disturbing and there are staff here that can tell you from first-hand experience that caring for killer whales is a demanding occupation, requiring concentration at all times and a comprehensive understanding of killer whale behaviour.

A member of the Senior Staff has spent a great deal of time working with the professional and dedicated team at SeaWorld and has also spent time at all their facilities and with many of their animals. He comments that their facilities are amazing, their animal care expertise is outstanding, the safety training that he has witnessed is first class and, without a doubt, their research has directly and positively impacted the lives of thousands of marine mammals around the world.

SeaWorld, like all U.S. facilities caring for marine mammals, is licensed to do so by the U.S. federal government and regularly inspected. SeaWorld adheres to the strict standards of all federal and state laws, including the Animal Welfare Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, as well as the professional Standards and Guidelines of the international Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, which surpass government standards for the care of the animals.

Although the film is not about Vancouver Aquarium, it is important to share some of our messaging on killer whales so that you may respond to inquiries as needed.

What happened to the killer whales at Vancouver Aquarium?

Bjossa, the Vancouver Aquarium’s last killer whale, was transferred to SeaWorld in San Diego in April 2001 to provide her with the companionship of other killer whales. Sadly, Bjossa succumbed to a chronic lung infection that she had been battling for two years and passed away on October 8, 2001.

What is the Aquarium’s policy on capturing whales and dolphins?

On September 16, 1996, Vancouver Aquarium became the first aquarium in the world to make a commitment to no longer capture cetaceans from the wild for display and to only care for:

• Cetaceans that were captured before 1996

• Cetaceans that were already being kept in a zoo or aquarium before 1996

• Cetaceans that were born in a zoo or aquarium

• Cetaceans that were rescued from the wild and rehabilitated, but deemed un-releasable by the appropriate government authorities

Why have animals in aquariums?

Aquariums perform a vital role in educating people about aquatic conservation and contribute to critical research to conserve aquatic life. Seeing animals in aquariums has helped change public perception and increased support for conserving wild populations. There is no real substitute for connecting with our oceans and animals first-hand to generate a feeling of interest and engagement that leads to positive behavioral changes.

More information: http://www.vanaqua.org/learn/aquafacts/the-aquarium/whales-in-aquariums

The Power Of Art: Who Is Shamu?

One of the themes of Blackfish is that orcas are highly intelligent, self-aware, social beings. In short, they are individuals.

However, SeaWorld’s marketing and presentation of killer whales–through its promotion of every whale as a single whale, Shamu–works to erase the idea that each killer whale in SeaWorld’s “collection” is a distinctive, unique, killer whale, with its own individual experience and history, and its own identity.

That doesn’t sit well with Lee Harrison and James Wolf, and they have created this powerful and moving graphic to drive home the fact that there is no Shamu, that instead there are multiple killer whales with multiple fates.

Here is how Harrison (you can see more of his work here) explains the project:

“This idea came to me when I recalled some of the orcas that have died and have been forgotten based on SeaWorld’s ‘sweeping it under the rug’ ways.

I wanted to create awareness by drawing attention to some of the more shocking and upsetting stories we know of in a simple way to get people more interested to discover more.

The simple and pleasing visuals seem to draw people in, while the stories shock them and they tend to ask more.”

And here is what he and Wolf (who in encyclopedic when it comes to SeaWorld’s killer whales and their histories) produced (click image for a version you can enlarge):

For more a more detailed presentation of this art, and the life histories of the killer whales featured, go to OrcaAware.

Chart Of The Day: Blackfish And SeaWorld’s Stock Price

The little whales indicate the dates of the Blackfish premiere in movie theaters in July, and the CNN broadcast in late October.

The chart comes from this colorful analysis of how investors should think about SeaWorld, its stock price, and the potential impact of Blackfish on public opinion:

Do you $SEAS this opportunity or let it pass? That question should lie with your ethics and whether or not you think it will affect paying customer’s ethics. Like the headlines state, “Judgment Day has arrived for SeaWorld—well, at least in the court of public opinion.” In a publicly held company that depends on customer opinion and customer dollars, this stock seems to be dead in the water for now. Of all the growth factors and instruments in your portfolio, I think I’d leave this one out of your orca-stra.

Blackfish Fallout: Debunking A Slander

It’s a classic PR technique. When you don’t like the message, and the facts are not on your side, distract and confuse the debate by attacking the messengers.

Since I first started reporting on Tilikum, SeaWorld and orcas in captivity, there have been efforts to delegitimize the former SeaWorld trainers who had the courage to step forward and talk openly about the reality at SeaWorld. They were disgruntled, they were fired, they weren’t experienced and knowledgeable, they were simply seeking 15 minutes of fame. Every possible charge was leveled against them in response to their criticisms of SeaWorld’s practices, in the hopes that the public would not listen to what they were saying about the lives of killer whales in captivity, which is, after all, the core issue. Here is an early rebuttal to those attacks.

Now a new and even more explosive charge has been thrown into the debate swirling around Blackfish, the documentary which has brought the issue of killer whale captivity before a global audience: that one of the trainers in the film was fired from SeaWorld for intentionally abusing an animal.

As far as I can tell, the charge was first aired at the recent International Marine Animal Trainers’ Association (IMATA) conference in Las Vegas (at a session critiquing Blackfish). The below, for example, comes from one account of the IMATA conference (love the session on penguin media training):

Abusing an animal is the worst charge that could be leveled against anyone who cares about animals, and since that casual and sly slander has been happily bounced around on social media without much scrutiny, how about we look at the, you know, facts.

The accusation involves Dean Gomersall, who worked at SeaWorld from 1987 to 1994. In 1994 Gomersall was working at the Sea Lion and Otter Stadium (after running the Whale and Dolphin stadium). One day he was doing a training session with two small-clawed river otters, called Trixie and Bubba. The session involved sending the two otters to a target, and then calling one to the exit gate (the other was supposed to remain on the target). No big deal, except Trixie was in heat. Gomersall could call Bubba to the gate without any problem, while Trixie remained in the enclosure, on the target. But if he called Trixie to the gate, Bubba would not stay on the target, and would not let her go. With the session going poorly, Gomersall took a break, and left to go work with some other animals. Before he did, he slid down the plastic slider on the exit gate, which was used to keep the otters from messing with any other otters on the other side of the gate.

Fifteen minutes later he returned, opened the gate, and saw blood all over the floor of the enclosure. As best Gomersall could figure, Bubba must have stuck his nose under the gate as Gomersall was dropping the slider down, and the slider cut Bubba’s nose (Gomersall hadn’t noticed anything because you can’t see through the slider). He immediately called for help and Bubba was treated. The next day, Gomersall was called in by management and told he was being fired for injuring an animal and waiting 15 minutes before telling anyone.

Gomersall says he was not surprised when management twisted the facts (accusing him of knowing the otter was injured and waiting before telling anyone; “Why would I do that?” Gomersall says) to create a firing offense. He knew he was already under scrutiny because had been complaining persistently about the misuse and living conditions of a Pacific Walrus called Garfield, a troubled (and potentially dangerous) animal who would cooperate with almost no one other than Gomersall, and as a result was treated harshly. In addition, Gomersall had refused a request to work at Shamu Stadium, because he had become uncomfortable with the idea of killer whale captivity and did not want to work with captive killer whales.

After being fired, Gomersall was escorted out of SeaWord’s Orlando park by Robin Friday, who had a long and successful career as a trainer and manager with SeaWorld. He knew something was off. “Dean you are getting really screwed here,” he said, according to Gomersall. “I don’t know what the hell happened. But if I ever go somewhere else I would hire you in a heartbeat.”

Gomersall was angry at the way in which SeaWorld had misconstrued what happened to drum up a firing charge. But when he looks back now he is glad that SeaWorld forced him to walk a different path. “It ended up being the greatest day in my life because it changed the way I think about everything,” he says. “Lots of trainers walk away on their own. I wish i had done that.”

Since SeaWorld Gomersall has gone on to work in marine mammal rescue in southern California. Does that sort of commitment to helping animals seem consistent with the charge of animal abuser?

Blackfish On CNN

Last night, CNN Films aired Blackfish, and gave the issue of killer whales in captivity extraordinary exposure. (If you missed it, CNN will re-broadcast Blackfish this Sunday at 9 pm EST).

As part of the lead-up I appeared on Crossfire, with hosts Van Jones and Newt Gingrich. Across the table, taking the opposing view of killer whales in captivity, was Grey Stafford, Director of Conservation at the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium.

You can watch part of the discussion here (it was a tough night for Stafford, I think; not even Newt Gingrich believes SeaWorld’s killer whale program is on the right track):

During the CNN broadcast, CNN assembled a great team to tweet live during the broadcast. Sadly, due to some sort of technical glitch my prolific effort to add background details to the film somehow never made it onto the Live Blog. But it’s worth checking out anyhow! And I think they will do it again during the re-broadcast of Blackfish on Sunday.

Overall, I was amazed and impressed by how many people CNN managed to engage in the issues and in the film. Yet another humbling lesson for a writer in the power of the visual medium!

Blackfish And Its Impact On SeaWorld (SEAS)

I guess this sort of analysis (by a Motley Fool writer) in Daily Finance is why SeaWorld identified films and books following incidents as a potential risk for investors in the SEC filings for their IPO:

As this “PR battle on the high seas” continues to unfold, important questions should be raised. Who will win this PR battle? Should this be cause for concern with SeaWorld investors? Are there more attractive investment options in the amusement park industry? We will be diving into the answers to these questions and see how even if SeaWorld “wins the argument,” the damage Blackfish is currently wreaking will outweigh, and there are better options for investors to look into.

Why SeaWorld will be harmed

To approach the question by pitting Blackfish against SeaWorld and asking who will win or lose is erroneous. Even if SeaWorld successfully disproves Blackfish’s claims, the company will most likely have already lost in the court of public opinion. Consider the example of the “Gasland” documentary, and how public debate has erupted and actual policy change has been enacted over hydraulic fracturing. Even though the claims of Gasland are hotly disputed, and a counter-production to Gasland was created, Gasland’s bad PR effect on hydraulic fracturing is still influencing people and policy-making today. Blackfish will most likely have the same negative affect on SeaWorld at a time when SeaWorld badly needs revenue.

In the beginning of 2013, I wrote a blog post about SeaWorld going public entitled “Shamu Makes a Splash on Wall Street: The New SeaWorld IPO.” In that post, I outlined why SeaWorld’s stock price might have some potential to rise, but overall the company is a very risky investment to stay away from. Many of the talking points I raised in that post are still legitimate almost eight months later. SeaWorld does have a fairly nice dividend payout, but I would stay away from SeaWorld stock for now, especially in light of the growing Blackfish scandal. The fallout from Blackfish shouldn’t be overestimated and will most likely last only a few months to a year at most. SeaWorld still needs to grapple with other looming issues first, though, and that is why SeaWorld stock is a risky gamble at best.

Wonder if it is right.

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