Killed by Hollywood?

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This is a bit old, but it is different.

Here is a general article on what went down:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3315519.stm

This is from an article in the TCPalm that isn't coming up any more:

Bossart is being truthful in saying he argued against the release from the beginning. But he wasn't the only one who could see a potential problem:

http://whale.wheelock.edu/archives/info98/0041.html

There is a lot here potentially. Is captivity 'bad'? It seems to me that people tend to project their thoughts/feelings on other beings (people, animals, etc.) They think, 'I wouldn't be happy living in a big tank and eating fish, so, Willy must not be either.'

Now, unquestionably a great deal of captivity would be a bit of a drag. But, when the fish is in a palace...

(And yes, I know he wasn't a fish).

Has anyone read the 'Little Prince' where the fox is begging the Prince to tame him?

 

This is a sad story.

It goes to show what happens when people act on their emotions rather than their minds.

 

The treatment of animals in captivity will always be an area for debate. It's funny how people can sometimes do more harm than good because they wrongly project their personal viewpoints onto the needs of the animals.

I recently met a woman who works in a research lab for diabetes. She told me that the animals that they use there for testing are raised in a very special environment and extremely well cared for. The environment they are kept in is also completely sterile. When uneducated animal activists 'give the animals their freedom', they are really just giving them their death. The poor animals are completely unprepaired for life outside their cage.

[ January 16, 2004, 22:08: Message edited by: Dragonfly ]

 

This is a direct quote from the article. I'm not sure we're you're going with this, since we have no idea if animals would "feel" better living in the wild, or being miserable but living longer in captivity, so the question is hard to answer. The story made me think of another take on this idea of freedom vs captivity dilemma - Jack London's "Call of the Wild." - the heroic principle in the persona of Buck and the thematic idea that, "you can take the animal out of the wild, but you cannot take the wild out of the animal." I have not thought about that story since college. What a great story. For me at least, Buck still may be the perfect "hero."

 

I live near San Diego and am a member of the Zoological Society (fancy name for Season Ticket holder to the zoo and wild animal park). Anyways, a few months ago it was aranged so 11 elephants from Swaziland were going to be shipped to the US; 4 would be dropped off in a zoo in Florida and the other 7 would come to the Wild Animal Park. And it was all over the papers down here about how every animal activist group was up in arms about how it was illegal, immoral, and how the elephants would be better off in their native habitat. Problem is that these animals were going to have to be killed off because the reserve in Swaziland couldn't support these 11 elephants, but that didn't keep the activists from insisting they not leave the wild.
There's also a story of a sealion or a seal at the zoo who was taken from the wild for rehabilitation. Well there were several attempts to release him back into the ocean but all ended when he'd stay close to the boat and follow them back to shore. The last straw (and I'm not joking here) is when he beat the boat back to shore, busted open the door to their little beach office and they found him lying on the couch waiting for them. You just can't return these animals who imprint so strongly on human beings, it's as irresponsible as abandoning your cat or dog to the streets; they're no longer meant for that life.

 

Lol, what good story. I guess lounging on the couch is a whole lot better than winding up as shark bait at the North Pole.

 

It's a bit of a dilemma for me. While I have a problem with capturing wild animals for the selfish purpose of putting them out for human display, I also have a problem with the idea of releasing them back into the wild after they have grown accustomed to their new life (especially f they were born in captivity to start with). Two wrongs don't make a right.

An important consideration is how the animals are treated in captivity. In Canada (and especially in my province), there was a bit of an uproar not too long ago over some polar bears from northern Manitoba that were sold to a Mexican circus. Now, I this wasn't a great idea to begin with, and as it turned out, the bears were keep in a cage outside in very hot weather, and were lacking proper nourishment. More here, including info on their "rescue".

 

That is correct, once we capture or keep an animal, or include it in our lives outside of what it would have sought for itself, we then become responsible for every other action, as we have caused such things to be. These animals could be freed, but the may themselves be hurt.

"You may take our lives, but you may never take, our Freedom!" Is something I do not think an animal would understand. But it may, I do not know.

The best solution to me would be to not take the animals or destroy where they lived in the first place, thus they would live or die by their own means. We, as humanity, have a conscience as well as conciousness, we are thus responsible for everything we do, and have an obligation towrads those we effect.