SeaWorld’s Act for Dolphins

SeaWorld wants to put as much distance as possible between itself and the infamous dolphin massacre at Taiji.

In a position statement, the company says it's "opposed to these drive hunts in Japan and elsewhere," and, in another statement, that it's committed to "see it stop."

I believe them. The Taiji drive hunts, with 41 dolphins dead this last time, along with 52 being shipped to marine circuses from Dubai to China, and another 140 injured,orphaned and traumatized as they're driven back out to sea, are a public relations nightmare for the whole captivity industry.

To support the notion that they're against these massacres, SeaWorld is identifying itself with an out-of-date campaign called Act for Dolphins, which was put together eight years ago by marine mammal scientist Diana Reiss, Dr. Paul Boyle (then CEO of The Ocean Project) and myself. And while SeaWorld played no role in Act for Dolphins, by linking to its website they are implying that they were involved. They weren't.

That, in itself, could be overlooked. But SeaWorld has now caught itself in another snag. On the one hand, it tries to co-opt the Scientists Statement Against the Japanese Dolphin Drive Hunts that Diana Reiss and I co-wrote. Yet at the same time it's claiming that "there is not a shred of scientific support" for my statements in the film Blackfish,and attacking me and my science colleagues who are featured in the film with ad hominem comments and depicting us as "advocates masquerading as scientists." Hmmm. Seems they only like scientists who say what they want to hear.

Well, you can't have it both ways, SeaWorld. If you want to "Act for Dolphins", you need to get your own act together first.