Self-Reflection



Throughout the course of this class, I have learned several things, but moreover this class took me more into depth on some topics that I have merely brushed across in my life so far. This project in general has forced me really truly take the animal kingdom apart and realize that each and every species has its own issues, history, and social perception. I have learned so much about dolphins and can’t wait to start researching some of these topics about other animals and species. I have learned that the human and non-human animal relationship is filled with love and compassion in some ways and yet in other ways still filled with misconception and misunderstanding. We, as a human race, have so very much to learn about these other animals. I had many thoughts and perceptions of my own coming into class, and although some may have slightly altered, many have only strengthened or pushed me to want more knowledge about these topics. The topics throughout this course have all impacted me greatly, for I now want to go out with this information and impact others, and make a difference for all these animals. As far as the top of the list goes, I would have to say breed discrimination and breed bullying are huge for me just because it is so widely misunderstood and miscommunicated. I am a former pitbull owner, and know from experience that these dogs are no different from the “sweet natured” dogs. Another topic for me would indeed be the marine mammals in captivity and zoo animal conservation because these are areas in which I may work in my future considering I want to use my animal science degree working with exotic animals. This course is extremely beneficial in the aspect that it instills facts and knowledge for these students to go out and share with the world, in turn hopefully making changes and a difference, but it also instills passion and compassion. These students will feel compassionate towards these animals and it my drive them to be so passionate about it that they go out and take on one or multiple of these issues on their own. I know that this class has instilled even more compassion in me, not towards animals because that compassion could not grow anymore, but towards humans. I have learned to forgive humans and try to help them understand these issues rather than just getting angry, frustrated and hateful towards them. This is a lesson I can carry with me through life and will positively affect me forever.

 

Moral Vision Statement

My moral vision statement for non-human animals is as follows:

All non-human creatures should be treated with the same and equal consideration that our fellow humans are treated with. This does not mean equal rights, for what would a dog do with the right to vote, and a dolphin with the right to obtain a valid driver’s license. This just means that before something happens involving a non-human animal we should look at them as if they are humans for a moment to decide whether the situation is just and base consequences off of this if harm should come to the animal or if the use is found to be unjust. On that note, the exception would be animal slaughter for food and food alone, as mentioned below.

If I were to create my own personal philosophy, I would make dog breeding, buying and selling illegal for a certain number of years, and leave the public the only option of adoption. Then I would set regulations and standards for breeding to resume after pet overpopulation has decreased, and all breeders must be registered with a specific department of government. Only one litter per year would be allowed to each breeder by each breeding dog, and the number of breeding dogs allowed would not exceed four dogs. Inbreeding would also be considered illegal with consequences to follow. The USDA and a certified member of the AHA would make rounds several times a year to all registered breeders. If you are caught as an unregistered breeder- if you have animals for sale on the internet or newspapers, etc. - then you will be fined a giant sum of money and legal defenses will determine your punishment based on the severity of the case. All vet offices throughout the country would be forced to hold a sale on spaying and neutering once or twice per year at a very cheap rate for animals in their area. Animals hunted must have a steady or increasing population, must be in their natural, unfenced habitat, and must have a distinct purpose for being hunted such as the consumption of the meat. Hunting an animal for its skin or only certain parts of its body is prohibited, as is the buying, selling, trading and promoting of animal skin and body parts, i.e. elephant ivory. After humane means of slaughter are established for slaughterhouses, they will be given a number of animals that they cannot exceed in slaughter per year and people must register if they will be buying meat with a brief survey as to how much they consume throughout the year so that meat will not be wasted and animals will not be slaughtered for nothing. Cameras must be placed in each and every slaughterhouse by a member of the American Humane Association who will then have direct access to all footage in all slaughterhouses all over the country in on place at the touch of a button. This footage can also be accessed by the USDA and AHA when they come around for inspections as well. Any use of an animal by the entertainment industry must be inspected several times per year by the AHA or have a full time certified AHA member on staff at all times and also must have cameras installed to which will also follow the above guidelines. All research facilities will be under the same camera laws as the two aforementioned, and must also have a member of the AHA for inspections or on full time staff. Animals kept by zoos, aquariums and any other industries associated must have adequate means of space as well as passing a mental, emotional and physical stress test performed by professionals, each year. Animals may not be given a disease or harmed in order to further research; they must find animals already injured or diseased to operate on. I feel that these requirements are things that are doable in my life as well as others. It would also create more jobs with the AHA and possibly the USDA. These standards would help ensure humane situations for all animals in these situations until further adjustments for humane methods can be made.

 

Three Main Points

Here I will discuss three main points I would like to address and see change in.

·        Captive Breeding

 

§  Although captive breeding would not address the issue of these animals being held in captivity, it is a step in the right direction. The reason I will back this statement is because as in other environments, such as with exotic zoo animals, captive breeding provides a chance for more animals to be introduced to the world of captivity without decreasing the population of those outside the captive facilities in nature. The annual Taiji, Japan slaughter is a roundup of thousands of dolphins into a small cove where trainers can pick and choose a few dolphins for captivity, walk away with their purchases and not think about it again until the following year when they return if need be. The dolphins left behind are slaughtered in mass amounts, in painful and gruesome ways. That means thousands of dolphins were wiped out of the population in one day. Due to the fact that dolphins have only one offspring in a birth, this causes us to believe that the animals could soon be endangered if this is kept up. Another benefit of captive breeding is that the animal will have no memory of the ocean, where it belongs, and therefore will not experience the detrimental effects of being taken from his or her native environment. This does not only benefit the dolphin, but the facilities as well because it is cheaper to allow a natural birth than to purchase more dolphins, and secondly, the facilities can advertise that they do not partake in these awful occurrences and possibly drive more sales for their park from people who have the animal’s best interest in mind.  Through this route, although some dolphins will still suffer, many more will be saved and that is why it can be used as a stepping stone in the right direction.

 



·        Pods Together

 



§  Pods together means that once an animal is born through captive breeding, it will remain in that same facility, in the same enclosure as its fellow family members. These species create tightknit pods made up of family members and close friends. This is commonly ripped from these animals during capture causing extreme mental and emotional pain and even grief. The experience is traumatizing and incredibly stressful to these animals and causes a decline in health over the years. This can benefit the facilities also through advertisement of not ripping apart the families, and could also benefit the trainers because the happier dolphins may be even more willing to perform.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq7NRRDz_JM
Watch this clip of a mega-pod of dolphins!
 



·        Better Accommodations

§  Lastly, I would like to bring up that these animals need adequate amounts of space, and more than likely, no facility will ever meet these requirements. However, effort in this area will go a long way. The facilities that hold these marine mammals in captivity need to realize that these animals naturally travel hundreds of miles across the ocean on the daily. They may then understand that that the space allotted to them in these enclosures, is just not enough. It would be of great justice to the animals to make larger enclosures and ensure more space to these beautiful creatures so that the environment is less stressful for them. They should also allow spaces where the animals can go to be away from other animals, away from the eyes of viewers, and away from the crowds. This gives the animals the freedom to choose whether they want to be in the spotlight or be social with the humans. Although this adjustment can be very pricey, it can also be advertised as better quality and care which might bring in more people who care about these things, which many do. This may also inspire more creative living environments, as I will mention in the next bullet, and could also inspire, or even drive other facilities to meet this requirement.

 

§  I also have this vision that someday these animals can still be in entertainment without being captive. My visions are along the lines of a special group of people working with a wild pod of dolphins and training them to do tricks the same way, while still allowing them to live in their native environment. The trainers would provide incentives for the animals to stick around or a least keep coming back, and the two groups would work together in harmony. Dolphins, even those in the wild, have proven to display a love for pleasing humans. With the right training, practice, ideas and incentives, I would love for this vision to someday come true! Until then, we must stick with stepping stones in the right direction!

 

Con Letter



Dear WDC Non-Profit Organization,

It is my clear understanding that you are against our marine mammal friends being held in captivity. I completely understand your concerns about this topic and I too have concerns.

The major concerns I have are indeed about the welfare of these animals, their health and their population security. I am familiar with the annual Taiji dolphin slaughter in Japan. I am also aware that this is executed based on the income these fishermen will receive when selling these animals to facilities holding them in captivity. Many dolphins are injured and severely damaged mentally, physically, and emotionally during this massive capture, and those not chosen for captive facilities are then slaughtered in incredibly gruesome ways causing trauma for those left alive and those dying a slow and painful death. A very high percentage of the whales in captivity are subjects of a collapsed dorsal fin, displaying that they are living in high stress situations. The pods of these marine animals were ripped apart in order to keep a few dolphins and whales here and there on display, another tragically distressing process these animals must endure throughout captivity. Lastly, these animals are confined in such tiny spaces compared to the vast measures of the ocean that they would naturally travel daily in their native environment. This all being said, I must now play devil’s advocate for the organizations out there still trying to do good by these animals.

Many people, if not for these parks and organizations, would never have the opportunities to see these majestic creatures in person, especially not with such close encounters. Although changes need to be made, some of these organizations could very well be educational in some ways. These encounters and visits may also increase the number of people interested in the animals and could drive those people to invest time, money, or hands towards research, conservation, and just helping these animals out. The fact that these facilities may increase awareness about the animals and species as a whole does at least provide some benefit. I hope some of my aforementioned points will ease a few of your concerns until changes can be made.

Best Wishes with your organization,

Mychal Lowrance

 

http://us.whales.org/whales-and-dolphins

Pro Letter



Dear SeaWorld,

I am writing this short letter to address the topic of your dolphins and whales in captivity. I know that recent and past events have brought many concerns to your notice and to the surface that maybe you haven’t necessarily considered, or have considered, but are not sure how to address the situation.

You may be more concerned with the use of these species in your facilities due to the number of people out in the world that are now against the use of these species, which could cause a decline in your business by said people not visiting your parks and sharing the news as to why they shouldn’t visit with others around them. I would like to shed light on the fact that despite the vast numbers out there against these animals in captivity, you will always have immense numbers of people who will not research the topic, or be told about the topic and will never have reasons to not visit your facilities. Along with that, you will also always have children and even adults interested in visiting these parks just to see these animals because they are so majestic and not something that can be seen easily in the wild, especially with such close encounters. You may still be able to argue that these visits are beneficial to humans because humans may leave your parks with a new love for these species and may do what they can to educate themselves on the creatures, or even reach out with a helping hand or extra money to organizations for these animals. Most people, if not for these parks, would never in their lives encounter these majestic beauties; therefore you can still argumentatively claim that you are still doing the world a favor.

As for the vast numbers already against the use of these species in captivity, there are a few things you could possibly address to ease some issues that these people have. First and foremost, you should breed your own of these animals, rather than go out and capture them from their native environment and rip them from their pods to bring them to you. This capture is devastating to the animal mentally, emotionally and physically, and also causes a tremendous number of deaths among the many dolphins captured and not taken to facilities. That being said, when you breed your own dolphins or whales, you need to keep them together. This will ease the grief and anxiety these animals feel when they are ripped away from their family members, and may also give them a more pleasurable experience because they can stay with their family, which in turn makes them much happier. One last piece of advice I will give is that you try to make better accommodations for these animals, meaning much more space. These animals use up immeasurable amounts of space in their native environments, therefore allotting them the most amount of space that you possibly can is the best route for displacing some of the anger this causes for advocates of the species.

Best Wishes in your future endeavors,

Mychal Lowrance

 

http://seaworldparks.com/en/seaworld-orlando/Attractions/Exhibits/Dolphin-Cove

A Controversial Topic Involving Dolphins

There are several controversial topics pertaining to dolphins, and because I won’t be talking about them all, I encourage you to research them because they are very interesting things to learn about and it is excellent knowledge to have. The topic I will be talking about however is dolphins and other marine mammals in captivity. Orca whales are technically considered dolphins and therefore they will also be represented under this category.

 

The reason behind choosing the topic of captivity is because it encompasses several different aspects of the controversies with dolphins. First and foremost, I would like to invite you to watch two different documentaries that will shed a better light on this subject than I ever could, “The Cove” and “Blackfish”.

Because I had no access to online streaming of “The Cove”, I included a few links below of short videos to help you get an understanding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMy0ely7poo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8JC_239vnc

And here is a link to the “Blackfish” trailer, followed by a link of the online streaming of this movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLOeH-Oq_1Y

http://www.thegreatplanet.com/blackfish/

In my next section of posts, I will be going more into depth, inspecting and discussing this topic further on the blog. Therefore, I will only be shedding light on a few aspects in this post.

The Cove, as mentioned under Speciesism in a previous post, is a documentary covering the live slaughters of thousands of dolphins in Taiji, Japan. This is a yearly event and causes mass, brutal death to colossal numbers of dolphins. This is relevant because this massacre happens due to the need for dolphins in captivity. Places that have dolphins in captivity for any reason, had to get them from somewhere and although some may not participate and may never have due to breeding in captivity, the fact still stands that some marine captivities do still retrieve dolphins from Japan in the dolphin round up and after a few have been chosen for different businesses all the dolphins remaining are slaughtered and sold for meat; meat that is incredibly dangerous for human consumption that is.

These dolphins are used for the entertainment industry all over the world for various reasons, also discussed in previous posts. Initially, I had always realized that dolphins and other animals in captivity probably aren’t as happy in captivity because they aren’t free and don’t always have the opportunities to express their natural instincts. I did not, however, think that it could cause psychological problems for them. I assumed if they were taken young enough that they didn’t remember being taken then maybe they would just think that this life in captivity was normal. In some cases, that maybe true, but in others the animal does remember the freedom in the ocean and their pods and this causes them severe trauma. I am disheartened that this capturing still happens when other places breed them in captivity just fine. But overall, I am sad knowing that these animals could potentially be severely depressed with life. Some of what I read made it appear as though this is much worse in orca whales than in dolphins, but not uncommon in dolphins. Without being able to talk to the animals, it is very difficult to communicate their feelings, and thus we will probably continue to use them however we’d like unfortunately.

 

Resources:

http://www.thegreatplanet.com/blackfish/

http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/captive_marine/

 

Dolphins in Religion or Mythology

As mentioned in the history of dolphins, they have long been shown throughout history playing roles in religions. Mythology and the Greek gods took special liking to these beautiful creatures of the sea and included them in many tales. Below is a sample of dolphins in a Mythological story of Poseidon.

 

Poseidon and the Dolphin's Feat

 

A Love Story

Poseidon and Amphitrite

 There once came a time where Poseidon was feeling extreme loneliness. Full of anger, he was stirring up storms so strong that made the seas and heavens unite...

To combat his sad feelings, Poseidon set out to find a wife. On his way, he stumbled upon the mermaid Amphitrite, a sea nymph with golden hair and shimmering blue eyes, dancing on the island of Naxos with her girlfriends. Captured by her extraordinary beauty, Poseidon couldn't help falling in love with her and asked her to marry him.

 Amphitrite, a granddaughter of the Greek Titan of the seas Oceanus and the daughter of the gentle Sea god Nereus, was trying to protect her virginity in any way possible. So she refused Poseidon's proposal, telling him that she disliked his violent nature, and then flew to the Atlas Mountains to escape.

 However, Poseidon was determined. So he sent his messenger Delphinus, the king of the dolphins, to locate the mermaid and win her heart.

 The dolphin king obeyed and started a long, perilous journey to find the love of his master. When he finally located the maid, he promised her that, if she married Poseidon, all the energies of Poseidon would balance and tranquility would come to the world of waters. No strong sea would ever do harm to the seamen again.

Touched with emotion, Amphitrite surrendered and she married Poseidon. According to Apollodorus, the couple gave birth to two daughters, the Nymphs Rhode and Benthesicyme, and a son, the merman Triton, with the upper body of a human and the tail of a fish.

 

 The use of dolphins in Greek Mythology caused the Greeks and many other people around the world to believe that these were righteous animals looking out for the good of mankind. In many cases they were shown bringing love together, and rescuing human lives. Stories such as this one would only impact dolphins in a positive way and cast them in a positive light, which is an excellent asset, lucky for them!

Resources:

http://www.greek-gods.info/greek-gods/poseidon/stories/poseidon-amphitrite/

Dolphins in Film

Upon studying all the movies that I could find about dolphins or involving dolphins, I found quite an extensive list, which I will share at the end of this post!

I will be exploring two films, one more attuned for children and one more directed for adults.

"A Dolphin Tale" is the film for children that I will cast my two cents on. This is a film centered on the friendship that forms between a boy and a dolphin when the dolphin loses its tail in a trap. The entire movie is based around this. The boy helps the dolphin cope, the dolphin helps the boy cope; it is a true story and a great movie. I feel the dolphin was chosen for this film because they found this true story of the dolphin to be such a fabulous story to share with kids and because nearly all kids love dolphins, it would be an easy selling point for them. The intended message to the audience in my eyes is to instill compassion in today’s youth. I believe this movie does a great job of bringing the viewer to a state of pure compassion for this dolphin in need. This is something all children should be taught, and through a fun movie with a dolphin is an excellent way to do this.

 

 

For adults on the other hand, I chose the film "Beneath the Blue". Dolphins play a main role in this movie as well and there is one dolphin in particular that is of upmost importance. However, the human and animal bond in this movie isn’t nearly as strong because the movie has other points of interest such as, corruption, distrust, dishonesty, oodles of action and romantic relationships budding, etc. The storyline is about a group of people researching and studying the intelligence of dolphins only to find them dying in vast numbers very quickly. They blame the navy for using sonar technology and then the story stems from their fight to save the dolphins as well as the other aforementioned aspects. I also believe that the dolphins were a great selling point for this film because just the year before this movie came out a documentary by the name of The Cove (as I have mentioned in previous posts) had come out and was an excellent seller, listed as documentary of the year. I believe this had a lot of people amped up about dolphins and saving them, so what better time to drop a ‘save the dolphins’ movie? I don’t really think this movie had any intended messages for the audience except to be a good movie with a great selling point. Unless of course the writers were hinting that underwater solar activity may in fact be hurting the dolphins. Who knows?

 

The difference in the message for these two movies is that the children’s movie gave a message that the child could carry with them throughout life about having compassion towards animals. The adult movie alternatively really just wanted an action/ romance movie to draw in adults and threw dolphins into the plot because people were currently passionate about saving the dolphins.

Below is the link for A Dolphin Tale trailer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdpg9NsgEaI

And here is a link to the trailer for Beneath the Blue!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSjQWO6hsCk

Here are some more awesome dolphin movies you might like to watch!

IMDb - Dolphin Tale (2011)

Big Miracle (2012) - IMDb

Dolphins (2000) - IMDb

Dolphins and Whales 3D: Tribes of the Ocean (2008) - IMDb

The Day of the Dolphin (1973) - IMDb

Eye of the Dolphin (2006) - IMDb

Dolphin Boy (2011) - IMDb

Dolphin Cove (TV Series 1989) - IMDb

Beneath the Blue (2010) - IMDb

The Dolphin: Story of a Dreamer (2009) - IMDb

The Dolphins of Shark Bay (2010) - IMDb

Together: Dancing with Spinner Dolphins (2010) - IMDb

IMDb - To Swim with Dolphins (1996)

Dolphins in the Deep Blue Ocean Blu-ray (Germany)

20 Years with the Dolphins

Dolphins of the Shadow land

Surfing Dolphins

Minds in the Water

The Wild Side

Dolphins: The Ultimate Guide

The Dolphin's Gift

Dolphins and Sea

Swimming with Dolphins

Dolphins in the Wild

The Dolphin Defender

Explore the Wildlife Kingdom: Dolphins: Tribes of the Sea

If Dolphin Could Talk

Talbot: Dolphins & Orcas

The Cove (2009) - IMDb

Flipper (1996) - IMDb

Zeus and Roxanne (1997) - IMDb

Resources:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdpg9NsgEaI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSjQWO6hsCk

http://www.squidoo.com/dolphin-movies

Dolphins in Literature/ Folklore

One piece of literature or folklore that I found a dolphin in, is a French fairytale type story conveniently named, The Dolphin by Madame d’Aulnoy. This is the story of a man, Alidor, who was not loved by his family because he was ugly, so he left his family on a quest for somebody to love him. He found a kingdom with a princess deep in the woods and fell in love with her, but because of his ugliness, she just laughed at the thought of marrying him. Because fish were the main source of protein back then, Alidor was constantly out fishing trying to bring in a large load of fish to show his worth. However, he never caught any fish. One day he caught a magic dolphin, and the dolphin promised to help Alidor out if he would release him back. The dolphin kept his promise and brought Alidor a very large load of fish. Next, the dolphin tried to help Alidor with ways that he could win the princess over. They both found that Alidor didn’t have a whole lot of game and the dolphin decided to turn Alidor into a talking canary that the princess could keep as a pet. The princess loved her canary very much and was very surprised to find that her canary was Alidor when he changed back. The king was not happy and sent them all away- the dolphin, Alidor and the princess. The story wraps up with the dolphin granting Alidor and the princess their own island, the dolphin makes Alidor handsome, they have a baby, the king forgives them and they all live happily ever after.

      Pretty extreme story and pretty extreme circumstances, huh?

The dolphin plays a pretty large role overall. He helps Alidor look worthy with the fish, he grants Alidor a chance to show the princess his personality through the talking canary, and then once the princess loves him, the dolphin then makes Alidor handsome and gives them a home. I feel the dolphin may have been chosen for a few reasons. Alidor was always fishing and therefore they needed a creature of the sea since that is where he spent a lot of his time. Dolphins are seen as one of the most beautiful, magical creatures in the sea, and Alidor was considered the ugliest and most worthless. Another reason is that dolphins are very intelligent and maybe other sea creatures wouldn’t be able to think thoroughly on the same level that the dolphin did throughout the story. Those are just a few of my ideas as to why a dolphin may have been chosen for this piece of literature!

Resources:

http://robvanderwildtstoryteller.wordpress.com/tag/the-dolphin/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dolphin_(fairy_tale)

Dolphins in Art

Dolphins have most definitely been presented in art today and throughout history. This post will cover a couple of those today.

 

One of the many forms of ancient art that included dolphins is frescoes. Frescoes are a source of some of the most beautiful ancient art handed down to us from the Minoan civilization of Bronze Age Crete (2000-1500 BC). Without written records, they are often the only source, along with decorated pottery, of just how Minoans saw the world and give us glimpses of their beliefs, cultural practices and tastes. Fresco painting is the painting of color pigments on wet lime plaster without a binding agent and the paint is then absorbed by the plaster and protected from fading.

A few problems with frescoes are the delicateness of the pieces, incompleteness of the art and the lack of an artist to tie them to. They also tend to be extremely difficult to date. There are also many surviving fresco remains dating from the second phase of 1550 to 1450 BC, when the Mycenaean began to take over the Minoan sites. However, as these are stylistically very similar to earlier Minoan frescoes, they are discussed as one in today’s society.

Natural subjects such as flowers and other plants were typically the subjects in these paintings. The Minoans were one of the earliest cultures to paint natural landscapes without any humans present in the scene due to their love of nature. Animals were also commonly portrayed in their natural habitat, including dolphins and other sea creatures.

As far as today’s modern culture, dolphins are portrayed in art in hundreds of different forms such as statues, jewels, posters, films, photography, carvings, sculptures, moldings and paintings to name a few. In Scotland you can find this really neat metal wire sculpture of a dolphin along the boardwalk in Aberdeen City and Shire.

 

This sculpture was placed here to bring in tourists and spark an interest in their desire to see the modern arts and culture of Aberdeen and Scotland in general. In fact, this picture was taken directly from the “Visit Scotland” website!

 

Resources:

http://www.ancient.eu.com/article/390/

http://www.visitscotland.com/about/arts-culture/aberdeen-city-shire/

Speciesism

 

Dolphins are the most sought after animals for the entertainment of humans. They are used in zoos, aquariums, aquatic shows, marine mammal parks, dolphinariums, swimming experiences, television series, documentaries, and movies.

Luckily, these dolphins can adapt quite easily.

Why luckily?

Well, because most people NEVER think about what it took to get that dolphin into that captive zone in order to train it, and put it on display performing circus acts for human entertainment.

 

Japan has the highest rate of dolphin death...

Cause of death: slaughter by humans.

Why?

The dolphins are captured by the pods in masses, and then the most athletic ones are auctioned off to be held in captivity by marine mammal parks or the list of entertainment industries listed above.

Those are the lucky ones.

The dolphins that don't make the cut are then killed off for meat.

 

This is where speciesism comes into play. Speciesism involves the assignment of different values, rights, or special consideration to individuals solely on the basis of their species membership.

I believe that The Cove slaughters represent speciesism because they favor some of the dolphins and give them unlimited fish, games, companionship, LIFE.....whereas the others are just slaughtered as if they are worth nothing and we only view them as things in these venues.

 

The part that is most disturbing is how this process takes place.

The Japanese fishermen place boats, nets, spears, and sound projectors in the water and then basically herd masses of dolphins, thousands at a time, into a small cove with terrifying and ear bleeding sounds and then close in on them. They are auctioned off until all the bidders are satisfied.

The dolphins saved for life in captivity are pulled from the water, rubbed down with lotion so they don't dry out, transported for hours and even days, then dumped into their new chlorinated homes. It is a wonder that they survive all of this treacherous shock to begin with.

 

The dolphins who aren't so lucky...the dolphins left behind... are then brutally slaughtered by the masses in inhumane ways, and then sold under the radar as meat for the Japanese people to consume. The Japanese people, however, are sheltered from the ridiculous levels of toxic mercury in this meat, and don't even realize they are consuming it most of the time due to meat mislabeling.

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002YEWLU2?tag=thebrandonsto-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as4&creativeASIN=B002YEWLU2&adid=0RXYMCS5WZBSJTYZAHEW

Above is a link to the trailer of The Cove, an undercover documentary about this slaughtering. You can also purchase the movie from this link, or the digital copy of the movie.

The Japanese claim that this is part of their culture.

Slaughtering dolphins is tradition to them.

In my opinion... that's outrageous.

 

Until the rest of us reach out and put an end the endless, merciless killings... until we decide that speciesism isn't okay....

the blood left in the cove is all they will be remembered by.

 

Resources:

http://www.opsociety.org/issues/dolphin-slaughter-in-taiji

http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/08/30/cove-slaughter-2013-begins-ric-obarry-taiji-japan

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23380-new-japanese-method-for-killing-dolphins-is-inhumane.html#.UkIuhDMo5jo

 

Ethology

Ethology is the scientific and objective study of animal behavior, and is a sub-topic of zoology. The focus of ethology is on animal behavior under natural conditions, as opposed to behaviorism, which focuses on behavioral response studies in a laboratory setting.

Because ethology is focused on behavior in the natural conditions of the animal, more emotions tend to be viewed than those in the lab and captivity.

 

Dolphins, for example, after being studied and observed, have been known to show such emotions such as sadness, fear, distress, anger, interest and happiness which would all be primary emotions.

However, dolphins have also been known to show higher levels of intelligence to the point where they can possibly comprehend and even contemplate situations.

If they can understand a situation and then progressively think about that situation, who is to say that dolphins can't express emotions such as love, grief, guilt, shame, and embarrassment?

 

In general, it is easy to conclude that dolphins are sentient beings, meaning they have the ability to feel, perceive, be conscious, have subjective views, have meaningful experiences, and value their life.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rynvewVe21Y  

This is a video of a cat making friends with dolphins. Friendship and companionship takes some thought, and possibly some love towards one another!



 

Another reason dolphins are believed to experience emotions is because emotions make you a more social creature and social creatures form bonds. Dolphins form bonds with other dolphins (pods) and other species, including humans, everyday. Dolphins also partake in activities that bring them joy and pleasure, such as playing!

 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMCf7SNUb-Q

 

Here is a link to watch dolphins playing with bubble rings that they themselves make, and you can tell by watching that this isn't just a mindless habit...it is a beautiful game.

 

Dolphins are also considered incredible beings just due to their incredible level of intelligence.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2o7WCCrbTw

This video demonstrates the dolphin's ability to imitate another dolphin while being blindfolded. Dolphins are actually one of very few animals that will imitate an action.

Another interesting thing about dolphins is that they have the ability to look in a mirror and recognize themselves. After they recognize themselves, they frequently take trips to the mirror to have a look at themselves and when marked on, they turn the mark towards the mirror and question it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgJl4bONOqc

 



The last point I am going to present in this section is the dolphin's ability to create.

Yes...create.

Whether or not animals can be creative is a topic being studied everywhere by ethologists and behaviorists alike. The link below is a MUST WATCH that proves that dolphins do indeed have the ability to create!

If you fast forward to 20:00 you will reach the dolphin section and the entire section is neat.
However, for the specific section I am talking about, when the dolphins actually create a trick on their own, fast forward to 24:45.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_3s4V9FLVA

Resources:
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/do-dolphins-mourn-their-dead

 



Current Social Perceptions

This post will discuss how people currently perceive dolphins in today's society.

The first aspect I would like to talk about is the most obvious when people think of dolphins; dolphins in captivity for entertainment.

People always picture dolphins doing tricks and dancing around in shows made exclusively for human entertainment. You will find such dolphins in marine mammal parks, dolphinariums, zoos, aquariums, etc.

 

Here's a link to a great SeaWorld dolphin show if you would like to watch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok4HppU9BoE

 

The dolphins, coming from a salt water life, are typically captured from their homes in the wild, and then brought to their new homes in chlorinated pools.

Dolphins are quite adaptable to this new life because they like performing, food rewards, people, and they respond well to being trained. Their high level of response to training is  directly correlated to their high levels of intelligence.

 

Another area in which society would come into contact with dolphins is in the military. Yes, how cool right? The military actually takes dolphins, trains them in various beneficial ways, and uses them as part of their elite team when fighting wars or during training exercises.

 

 

 These mammals were used by the military because the military needed more efficient and accurate ways of searching for and detecting objects underwater, such as mines and submarines.

The military also used them to research their abilities to swim incredibly fast and dive so deep in hopes of generating combat machines, like submarines, speed boats and torpedo's, with these capabilities as well.

These dolphins are also used to deliver equipment to divers under water to pick up equipment that a diver may have left under water, and to detect enemy swimmers and tag them with a marker before warning the troops that an enemy was in range.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy_IwblcVOA

^^^Military Dolphins^^^

 







 



 Dolphins used in research are probably the least thought of social perception of human and dolphin interactions, but it is actually very common.

 



 

Researchers study dolphin echolocation mechanisms, imitation ability, cognitive ability, reproduction, object permanence, number concepts, the social development in calves, echocardiography of pregnant dolphins, and much more!
A lot of researchers simply just study dolphin life, how they become a pod, how they obtain resources, how they communicate, whether their populations are thriving or decreasing, etc.

A few other sources of dolphin and human contact is through dolphin swim facilities where people may go to learn about dolphins or just to swim with them. Some have swimming courses where you can bring your children, and some have therapy sessions swimming with dolphins!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFWyoIkRA6I

 

The last area of social encounters between humans and dolphins that I will mention is through media.

Plenty of dolphins have participated in movies like Flipper, A Dolphin's Tale and technically Free Willy, where they play characters in the movie. Dolphins have been showcased in movies made about dolphins , such as The Cove, and they have also appeared in a television series that involves dolphins.

 

Resources:

 

https://www.dolphins.org/research_spotlight

 

http://thebdri.com/education/courses.html

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/etc/navycron.html

 

http://www.dolphinsplus.com/dolphin-swim-programs/dolphin-therapy/