Thank you VERY much Tnewman.

When I did my SCUBA dive with one of these programs in the Bahamas awhile back, the Internet was not around to get this kind of information out to people.

When I voiced my concerns before signing up that I did not like the idea of doing this with captive dolphins (I had been wanting to do it for years but my conscience told me it was wrong), I was told by the people that conducted the dive (in the open ocean) that the dolphins were free to leave if they wanted. This is not true. Once these animals have been kept or born in captivity, they have no ability to hunt in the wild any longer and depend on people to feed them.

We took a boat to the little teeny enclosure where the dolphin was kept. They didn't tell me about that part...

It was awful. The poor dolphin was obviously very hungry and uninterested in anything but getting fed. She was given frozen fish out of a tube ONLY when she performed a "trick" for us idiots stupid enough to pay $150+ per.

Even before I later found out what I had been a part of, I was embarassed and ashamed that I had done so.

What a shame that these people tout this as "entertainment" and "educational."

The only thing I can think of that is more disgusting and commercially-revolting is "Breakfast With Shamu."

Yeah Tnewman2119!! Three cheers!

I think MAYBE tjs522 was a troll? This is a very sensitive subject that usually gets people yelling at each other (it's not been too bad here though) so I have to wonder if the original poster was trying to see what he/she could stir up?

Troll or not, I always tell what I know because there are still people like Tnewman2119 who DON'T know and will decide not to participate once the find out how awful it is. So, that makes it all worth it!

Diana, "Breakfast with Shamu" turns my stomach too!

Does anyone know if the Miami SeaQuarium is still closed? It was closed recently because even after spending over $2 million on renovations, it was still deamed 'unsafe'. Most of the animals were taken elsewhere, but the poor Orca, "Lolita" is still there, languishing in the smallest pool of ALL parks and illegal by our own regulations. It's dispicable. They need to LET HER GO!

Reply to Ally,
Not sure "just letting captive whales go" is best considering what happened to Keico. Here is the link, in case you missed this sad story:

http://www.earthisland.org/news/new_news.cfm?newsID=524

JohnD,
ME miss a story on a captive dolphin release? Surely you jest!

Trust me on this, this is an entirely different matter. They do not know where Keiko's pod was/is. But they DO know exactly where Lolita's pod is as they have followed them for years! So, it's VERY likely that if they released her where her pod is, she would be welcomed back into the fold of her family! She still has close relatives in this pod! In the video, "Lolita. Slave to Entertainment" and the scientist explain all this! Of course, they would have to put her in a sea pin for awhile and teach her how to get her own food, etc., just like they had to do with Keiko, but it can be done! And since Lolita is only 30-35 years old, she has the time!!

So long and thanks for all the fish...