Orca kills keeper in Seaworld, Florida - cover up in progress

[T & P]

A killer whale has killed a 40-year-old female trainer at the SeaWorld marine park in Orlando, Florida.

Officials described the incident as an accident, saying the woman fell in the water, although eyewitnesses said the whale jumped up and grabbed her waist.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8535618.stm

I won't rejoice in anyone's death, but I find the enclosement of orcas (or "killer whales" as the media likes to call them) and other sea creaters for human amusement rather abhorrent, so not a huge amount of sympathy from me.

Interesting that eyewitness accounts difer so radically from the official version of events. Something SeaWorld doesn't want us to know?

 

[weltweit]

According to the BBC article there have been a lot of incidents with Orcas.

And it does sound as if the Orca came out and took her down.

 

[Cid]

It's not really that surprising is it?

... Warning, link contains cute sea lion death.

 

[Cid]

Um...

Sold to SeaWorld as a stud in 1992, the whale was involved in a second incident in which authorities discovered the body of a naked man lying across his back in July 1999.

 

[DotCommunist]

Barrywhale

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Definitely a cover-up. Conspiracies at work here.

You know - those orcas have quite big noses. I'm just saying.

 

[RaverDrew]

Barrywhale

 

[Louloubelle]

Ever since it's been on the cards.

Very sad for the keeper's family and for the orca

Don't keep huge orcas in little pools would seem to be the answer

Here's , even smaller pool

 

[longdog]

Killer Whale: The answer's in the question.

If you keep a seven tonne fish* with sharp teeth in a swimming pool you have to expect them to bite you every now and again.

* Yes I know orcas are mammals.

 

[gentlegreen]

Good on the whale.

Too much money in it to hope this shuts down places like that.

 

[invisibleplanet]

It's a domestication too far. Free the Whales!

 

[invisibleplanet]

Park guest Victoria Biniak told a local TV channel that the trainer had just finished explaining to the audience what they were about to see.
At that point, she said, the whale "took off really fast, and then he came back around to the glass, jumped up, grabbed the trainer by the waist and started shaking her violently. The last thing we saw was her shoe floating."

Which bit of 'I don't want to: jump through your stupid hoop/ring bell/pull rope etc, do they not understand??
This is the second time the whale has killed someone. The whale belongs out in the open sea, not shut in a tank. Free the Whale!

 

[arturo]

It's a domestication too far. Free the Whales!

Nuke them imo. Bloodthirsty bastards.

 

[RaverDrew]

I've been to SeaWorld three times, it's fucking awesome.

You lot dunno what you're talking about, the whales there love it. Free mackerel ftw

 

[MightyAphrodite]

I keep reading the title of this thread as...

"Oprah kills keeper in Seaworld- cover up in progress"

 

[MightyAphrodite]

the reason people shouldnt be shocked in any way about this story is in the first 3 words of the headline.

(hint: its the 2nd word...)


Keep wild animals where they should be, in the wild imo.

A killer whale has killed a 40-year-old female trainer at the SeaWorld marine park in Orlando, Florida.

Officials described the incident as an accident, saying the woman fell in the water, although eyewitnesses said the whale jumped up and grabbed her waist.

 

[scumbalina]

Yup. Stick something like that in captivity for your amusement, this shit'll happen. Seaworld and similar places are fucking disusting

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

These type of amusement parks are disgusting in my opinion. Have read some studies on captivity of such mammals in these places and attacks aren't rare. Neither are suicide attempts by the mammals themselves and the training regime the animals are subjected to is actually a process designed to "break" the animal so it performs it's circus repertoire for the morons that visit.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

A B.C. critic of keeping whales in captivity says her group warned aquarium officials not to keep a bull whale named Tilikum in shows after it was involved in the death of a trainer in 1991.

Today (February 24), Tilikum, the largest orca in captivity, was linked to his third human death in 19 years. Two occurred at SeaWorld's Orlando facility.

Annelise Sorg, spokesperson for No Whales in Captivity, told the Georgia Straight by phone that her organization raised the alarm after Keltie Byrne, 20, died in 1991 after ending up in the whale pool at Sealand of the Pacific in Oak Bay.

"We all begged them, 'Don't allow these whales to be allowed...in captivity with other people'," Sorg said. "It's just ridiculous. And they didn't listen."

According to Sorg, Byrne tried to get out of the tank , and the whales grabbed her and pulled her back in with their teeth. She added that when her body was recovered, there were no teeth marks, indicating how gently the whales handled her.

"They would try to swim with her," she said. "They would squish her between two whales, like they would do to an injured whale. They drowned her. It took two hours to get the body out."

http://www.straight.com/article-293...d-three-deaths-including-two-seaworld-orlando

 

[dylans]

Good on the whale.

Too much money in it to hope this shuts down places like that.

Cunt. A woman is dead

 

[gentlegreen]

Cunt. A woman is dead

There's a job waiting for you then.

 

[shagnasty]

Checked on wikipedia they are related to the dolphin,but are obviously much bigger.they should be in the sea not exploited at these circuses

 

[gavman]

thank god for wikipedia

 

[Stobart Stopper]

I am not surprised this has happened. We have seen that show twice and it's really wrong that these huge things are being kept to perform like this.
They are beautiful creatures but they should not be used for entertainment IMO. When we were there in 2003 one of them went a bit nuts and they had to isolate him in a tank at the side of the arena.

 

[Pickman's model]

as you sow so shall you reap

thus mote it be

here endeth the lesson

 

[Stobart Stopper]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8535618.stm

Something SeaWorld doesn't want us to know?

They just hate the bad publicity. The place was teeming with people when we went and that was in the low season in September, it must be even busier in the summer. It's all about making money with Disney. They will argue that it's about "conservation and research" but it's bollocks IMO. The Discovery Cove dolphin swim was a huge rip-off.

 

[bmd]

Reports say this whale has a dubious past.

 

[Pickman's model]

victory to the olf

 

[Pickman's model]

Reports say this whale has a dubious past.

messy divorce, drinking problems, that sort of dubious past?

 

[Jonti]

... According to Sorg, Byrne tried to get out of the tank , and the whales grabbed her and pulled her back in with their teeth. She added that when her body was recovered, there were no teeth marks, indicating how gently the whales handled her.

"They would try to swim with her," she said. "They would squish her between two whales, like they would do to an injured whale. They drowned her. It took two hours to get the body out."

http://www.straight.com/article-293...d-three-deaths-including-two-seaworld-orlando

Thanks for that JC2.

Watched a programme about another, free orca last night. A very moving story. It's clear these animals are friendly to people and have no wish to hurt them. On the contrary they make repeated attempts to get humans to join a pod.

I guess you know all about Luna, but here's how the documentary was billed here.

Documentary film-makers trace the story of a killer whale that was separated from its family and became lost off the rugged Vancouver coast. The programme follows the mammal's tumultuous life, recording the friendships the creature develops with humans, and government officials' numerous attempts to capture it