"Tillikum Won't Be Punished"

[Liberal_in_LA]

weird title for an article. Who thinks of 'punishing' animals?


http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/seaworld-restarts-killer-whale-show-tillikum-wont-punished/story?id=9957179

SeaWorld Restarts Killer Whale Show, Tillikum Won't Be Punished
Orcas Go Back to Work, But Trainers Won't Swim With Them Following Deadly Attack

[gateley]

1. No kidding -- like it is an errant child who should know better. nt

[JuniperLea]

2. I think he's already been punished enough...

Being held in captivity when the oceans of the world are his home.

:cry:

I'm sure there's no going back for him now... no parole... no release... he'd never survive after depending on humans so long.

[hlthe2b]

3. His is a particulalrly sad case, having been raised in the wild..

I find it heart-breaking....

On that topic did anyone hear the story of Lucy the sign language chimp and what ultimately happened to her? There was a radio documentary produced for radiolab.org (http://blogs.wnyc.org/radiolab/2010/02/19/lucy/) that was also played on public radio... This story may well haunt me until I die....

[JuniperLea]

7. Yes, I'm sure he remembers the glory of freedom...

Had he been raised in captivity, it would still be horrid, but the idea of mental anguish for the good old days would be gone at least.

I never heard what happened to Lucy, but often wondered. Last I heard she was teaching her young to sign... I'll go to the link now... I get the feeling sobbing will ensue...

[JuniperLea]

11. Poor Lucy...

Pretty lame to leave her there... even I knew better... hard to read, but thanks. I'd often wondered. Closure is good.

[hlthe2b]

14. Apparently Jane Goodall spoke out against their plans for Lucy

but was ignored. In doing so, she seems to be the only one that doesn't come off looking really bad, albeit the handler who spent years trying to rehab her, obviously had the best intentions (if not the best judgement).

This story had me sobbing last weekend when I heard it on the radio.... RIP, Lucy.

[Last_Stand]

4. +1

[Larkspur]

5. Whales and dolphins in aquariums is a Catch-22

They helped ordinary people, like me, get to know them up close and personal and that helped with getting public support to stop killing their kind in the wild, but the tanks the whales and dolphins live in have got to be boring for them. They are intelligent creatures and need brain stimuli.

My friends and I had a horses for 16+ years. When we rode them, they had to behave, but when we were not riding, grooming or feeding them, they got to go out to beautiful and spacious pastures to be horses. The whales and dolphins in the acquariums get to look at blank sea tank walls. How boring! At least the aquariums could play some music for them or build a sea lake where they can release their stress and just be whales.

[chaplainM]

6. God does!

Who thinks of 'punishing' animals?

Leviticus 20:15-16

15 " 'If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal.

16 " 'If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.


Fluffy and Fido, I guess, should just say "no."

[JuniperLea]

8. Such a nasty book...

I remember being appalled at so much of it... it was cruel to make me read it. Those cute red ribbons I earned would have been better off as red scars on my back...

[hlthe2b]

9. Ole Leviticus had some major problems, if you ask me...

some major issues.... ;)

[Codeine]

10. He's being punished every fucking miserable day he's in that pool.

Not punished my ass! :mad:

[beam me up scottie]

12. He's been in prison for years, what else can they do to him?

It was criminal to keep him isolated from other whales and expect him to perform tricks for his keep, Sea world should be put on trial and punished.

What right do they have to confine him in a kiddie pool, why can't their animals be given more freedom?

[Skip Intro]

13. A lot of people think of punishing animals, sadly. nt

[upi402]

15. if acting wild, then set free into wild

what's the quandary here? or is it a zoo display situation?

[backscatter712]

18. Question: Would that orca be able to survive if released?

I'm not sure. If he was born and raised in captivity, that would be a serious problem. He wouldn't know how to find food, or how to hunt, or how to interact with other orcas. Just letting him go without any way to address that would mean certain death for him.

[beam me up scottie]

20. Are there any wildlife sanctuaries for sea mammals?

Tillikum should be given all the room he needs to swim and play and live out the rest of his life in peace.

Allow him to be a wild animal, not a trained poodle.

Just let him be.

[upi402]

21. a trainer might

be alive if they had 1/2 a brain before this.

[backscatter712]

16. I feel bad for that orca.

He's a wild animal - of course he's going to be dangerous at times.

What happened is a tragedy, but blaming the animal is completely stupid.

[LeftyMom]

17. Uh, he was stolen from his family and lives in an overgrown swimming pool

where his primary sense is completely overwhelmed, his fins have broken down because he can't swim more than a few times his body length, he's prone to skin trouble because he lives in chlorinated water and he's exposed to extremely loud music and crowd noise.

He lives in Gitmo for whales. I'm not sure what else they could do to him, shy of withholding food.

[lib2DaBone]

19. Killer whales roam over 100 miles a day in the open sea...

if you put them in a 30 foot pool and make them swim in circles all day... no wonders they "Snap".

Let the damm thing go back to the sea..... quit using animals to make money for entertainment.