Legislator Calls for Ban on Orca Shows at California Marine Parks

Published on June 2016 | Categories: Types, Presentations | Downloads: 23 | Comments: 0 | Views: 143
of 3
Download PDF   Embed   Report

Asm. Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, unveils a first-in-the-nation bill to ban performances by trained orcas -- killer whales -- in the wake of a controversial documentary. Here's his fact sheet

Comments

Content

AB 2140 (Bloom) California Captive Orca Welfare and Safety Act
Fact Sheet

PURPOSE
After the tragic dea t h of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Branch e a u , the public has begu n to que s tion the moral justification of kee ping orca s in captivity for our gen er al ent e rt ain m e n t After hu m a n s , killer whale s are the mos t socially and ecologically compl e! specie s on the plan e t Scientist s studying killer whales in the wild hav e docu m e n t e d the close social bond s the s e anim als shar e As top pred a t o r s, their coop er a tiv e hunting tech niq u e s and uniqu e vocali"ation s de m o n s t r a t e highly evolve d learn e d beh a vior, what ma n y call culture #ur captive orca s only culture is perfor m a n c e bas e d culture $iller whale s are cap a bl e of trav eling %&& miles per day and are found in all the world's oce a n s , yet are allowe d to be held in small concr e t e tanks As a stat e we should lead the way in ending captivity for ent er t ain m e n t purpo s e s and should be ens urin g our curre n t captiv e population gen e r al welfare ne e d s are take n care of, and that we end any future captivity whet h e r it be by captur e or captive bre e din g progr a m s here in (alifornia )any scientist s agre e holding orca s captive hav e no cons er v a tio n ben efits for orcas in the wild and have only adv a n c e d captiv e bre e din g tech niq u e s with deb a t a bl e succ e s s *f we truly want to help the orca we should focus our efforts on restoring habita t in the wild and prot ec tin g our oce a n s +ike the eleph a n t , the large s t land ma m m a l in captivity , we have reali"ed that orcas are more compl e! than most other marin e ma m m a l s and require mor e spac e, hav e a more comple! social struct ur e and most import a n tly nee d their family network -pod. for a happ y and he althy life #rcas simply do not belon g in captivity

SUMMARY AB /%0& does the following1 • • • 2nds perfor m a n c e bas e d ent e rt ain m e n t for all orca s in the stat e 2nds captiv e bre e din g progr a m s and the e!port and import of gen e tic ma t e ri als 2nds the import and e!port of #rcas into and out of the stat e

• • •

3equire s that all curre n t captive orca s be retire d to sea pen s if available Will allow for retired orca s to be on display but not perfor m +imits the amo u n t of hu m a n inter ac tion for train er safety EXISTING LAW

4here are curre n tly no laws prohibiting the captive display of orcas5 ther e are only laws that gover n the care and maint e n a n c e of orca s and the captur e and res e a r c h use of orca s 4hose laws are the feder al Animal Welfare Act and the )arine )am m al 6rotec tion Act 4he Animal Welfare Act est a blish e s stan d a r d s and specification s that the facility must adh er e to in order to hous e an orca in captivity *t est a blish e s the stan d a r d of care require d when han dling, housin g, or trans p o r tin g orca s and other marin e ma m m a l s 4he )arine )am m al 6rotection Act is aime d at prote c tin g the whales from being unlawfully captur e d from the wild by prohibiting the taking of marin e ma m m a l s

#ffice of Asse mbl ym e m b e r 3ichar d Bloom AB %/%7 8 9act She e t (onta c t1 :uy Strahl -;%<. 7%;8 /&=& 6age %

withou t specific auth ori"ation 4he ))6A require s a per mit for the taking of a marin e ma m m a l , like an orca, from the wild for a limited nu mb e r of purpo s e s 6er mits may be issu e d for scientific res e a r c h , public display, or for enh a n cin g the survival or recov e ry of specific stocks Authori"ation can also be given to take marin e ma m m a l s incide n t ally in the cours e of cond uc ting certain activities -i e military activities or fishing. Along with the s e feder al laws, marin e ma m m a l facilities also self8 regulat e 4he two most pro min e n t bodies involved in this self8 regula tion are the Association of >oos and Aquariu m s -A>A. and the Alliance of )arine )am m al 6arks and Aquariu m s -A))6A. 9acilities may be accre dit e d by thes e bodie s if they me e t the stan d a r d s each has est a blish e d 4hes e stan d a r d s are typically higher than the minimu m require m e n t s est a blish e d und e r feder al law

$asatk a has one other living offspring, 4akar a, female, // years old, in 4e!as *n the wild, the me a n life e!p e c t a n c y of orca s is 7& years for male s and =& for femal e s While a very small nu mb e r of captive whale s has achiev e d thes e aver a g e life spa n s , mos t die in their tee n s and /&s and none have com e anywh e r e close to the estim a t e d ma!i m u m life spa n s of <&8 ?& years for male s and @&8 ;& for femal e s (alifornia has lost %0 orcas in its =&8 year history 4welve were wild8 caug h t and they are1 • Sha m u , 9emale, died %;?% after < years captive • $andu , 9em al e, died %;?% after 0 years • 9rankie , )ale, died %;?0 after = mon t h s • $ona , 9em al e, died %;?? after < years • $ilroy , )ale, died %;?@ after %% years • Shaw n , )ale, died %;?; after % year • (anuck , )ale, died %;@% after 0 years • Winsto n , )ale, died %;@< after %< years • #rky , )ale, died %;@@ after /& years • $andu = , 9emale, died %;@; after %/ years • Bootka , 9em al e, died %;;& after /& years • Bjoss a , 9emale, died /&&% after /% years 4wo were captiv e8 born and they are1 • Splash , )ale, died /&&= at %< year s old • Sum a r , )ale, died /&%& at %/ year s old

BACKGROUND (alifornia is curre n tly ho m e to %& captiv e orca s 4hre e were capt ur e d from the wild and they are1 • (orky , 9emale, captur e d in (ana d a in %;<; • $asatk a , 9em al e, captur e d in *celan d in %;?@ • Alises , )ale, captur e d in *celand in %;@& Seve n were captive8 born and they are1 • #rkid , 9em al e, /= years old, moth e r $andu -dec e a s e d . , #rkid has no living offspring • $eet , )ale, /% years old, moth e r $alina, the original Baby Sha m u -dec e a s e d . • Shouk a , 9em al e, /% years old, moth e r Sharka n -dec e a s e d . • Bakai , )ale, %/ year s old, mot h e r $asatk a • *kaika , )ale, %% year s old, mot h e r $atina -in 9lorida. • $alia , 9emale, ; years old, moth e r $asatk a • )akani , )ale, % year old, moth e r $asatk a

SPONSORS

Animal Welfare *nstitute ? 9ormer SeaWorld 4rainers

#ffice of Asse mbl ym e m b e r 3ichar d Bloom AB %/%7 8 9act She e t (onta c t1 :uy Strahl -;%<. 7%;8 /&=& 6age /

SUPPORT

OPPOSITION ( )

Ver !"#$ 7C?C/&%0

#ffice of Asse mbl ym e m b e r 3ichar d Bloom AB %/%7 8 9act She e t (onta c t1 :uy Strahl -;%<. 7%;8 /&=& 6age 7

Sponsor Documents

Or use your account on DocShare.tips

Hide

Forgot your password?

Or register your new account on DocShare.tips

Hide

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link to create a new password.

Back to log-in

Close