Quote:
Originally posted by superben
In all seriousness, though, I have a huge interest in marine animals, and I love seeing them, but training wild animals to do trick is just unnatural imo, so I agree with your point.
These shows have huge educational purposes, though, so I would not want to boycott them either. In a way, I think they help raise people (esp kid's) awareness and respect for the marine life, and it can have positive long-term effect in the preservation of marine wildlife.
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Exactly this.
There are a select few whales kept in captivity, and they should ideally be treated with the utmost respect. At the same time, the captive animals also really put are a tangible representation of their environment and do offer a learning opportunity for people to see that there is a lot out in the marine environment worth protecting.
They do play an important role in environmental preservation because they put a face on their habitat. I don't think many people would care as much about preserving the environment if they didn't have a charismatic species to relate to it.
The way I see it, a person would relate to the animal because they have had a personal experience with the animal by seeing it in person, and be more receptive to environmental change and preservation.
you betch 
