And so they’re not necessarily the happy, intelligent animal that everybody seems to think because they do have their own social activities and their own pecking orders. And things in their particular culture happens that a lot of people aren’t aware of. So I think we did a disservice by… Read More
Is there a problem, and how should curators be trained today?… Read More
And what is expected of them?… Read More
I think part of the way curators should be trained today is they should have more exposure to some of their peers at other institutions because I think what happens a lot of times is we get brought up within a system, an institutional system, and we think that’s the… Read More
I think that could be part of it. As we were talking earlier, I think we did ourselves a little bit of a disservice early on by saying how intelligent these animals are without really explaining what they use that larger brain for. They use it for acoustics. They use… Read More
And a big male Tursiops came up to her. And she started to pet it. And then she tried to start to swim to shore. Well, it killed her. Of course, nobody saw that in the news. You know, that dolphin killed her. It kept hitting her and hitting her… Read More
I think, longterm, they’re gonna be phased out. I think legislation is going to phase them out simply because social media and the activists are gonna win. And many people now are questioning the keeping citations in captivity. Read More
Why do you think that feeling seems to have increased over the past few years?… Read More
Because of the disinformation that’s out there. People aren’t hearing parts of the story. And they don’t wanna know the complete truth so they just form their opinions and move on. And, unfortunately, once zoos and the aquariums give up marine mammal, the next species that’s in line is the… Read More
Do you think the benefits of maintaining these marine mammals, which you’ve talked about, has just not been conveyed well enough?… Read More
Why do you think aquariums, more specifically, marine mammal facilities, always seem to be a bit on the outside with the general zoo community?… Read More
I think simply because of the attacks that we’re getting. As one friend of mine said to me, “I’m in the Midwest. I don’t have marine mammals. I don have a problem. I don’t want one. I’m gonna just play ostrich for a while.” That’s my comment. “If I hide… Read More
But what do you think is then the future for maintaining marine mammals, specifically dolphins and killer whales in captivity?… Read More
I think it’s a disastrous idea. I think, in the long run, HSUS doesn’t want zoos and aquariums. They don’t want animals in people’s lives. They’ve said that repeatedly. Unless the boss of that organization is gonna have to radically change, which I don’t think that’s where the fundraising comes… Read More
So what would be your advice to zoos and aquariums in preparing to deal with these animal rights liberation groups?… Read More
I think they have to have a good message, a strong messenger. They have to be consistent, and they have to raise the standards of poorer zoos, roadside zoos where we just seem to be ignoring them saying, “Well, they’re not accredited. We don’t want any part of them. They’re… Read More
The family should work together. Read More
Can you give us your thoughts on how best to deal with these groups?… Read More
I think you have to take them head on with a knowledgeable approach, with the truth, with science, make the science understandable, common sense, meaning you can’t muddle around in deep, dark science about, “This is published down here.” The public needs to hear it. “This is the simple explanation. Read More
What do you think about HSUS and the budding relationship with the zoo and aquarium community?… Read More