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        <title>Keep Whales Wild Blog</title>
        <link>http://www.keepwhaleswild.org/blog/</link>
        <description>Concerned about the ethics of marine animal rights? Want to know what's going on in the world of the anti-captivity movement? Thoughts on animal cruelty and what we can do about it.</description>
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            <guid>http://www.keepwhaleswild.org/blog/denaturing-nature-the-ethics-of-animal-entertainment.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.keepwhaleswild.org/blog/denaturing-nature-the-ethics-of-animal-entertainment.html</link>
            <author>production@realestatewebmasters.com (REW Webmaster)</author>
            <title>Denaturing Nature: The Ethics of Animal Entertainment</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Have you ever watched a Disney movie like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty and noticed the unusual way that animals and humans interact in the stories? Movies like this usually have many scenes of the heroine of the story engaging with nature in a way that shows “good” animals clamouring to assist or entertain humans. When you watch footage of whales and dolphins performing in aquatic shows, it’s hard not to be struck by the same kind of surrealism.



 


Anthropomorphism—attributing human traits or motivations to animals—has been standard in stories and myths for millennia, though it can take many forms. Sometimes storybook animals are essentially human—like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland—while other times they occur as props, performers, or helpers to humans—like the wildlife in Disney’s Snow White.


In real life, people often hold fast to the tenet of anthropocentrism wherein they believe—and act on—the concept that humans are the apex entity in existence. This often gives people the perspective that animals that are useful, entertaining, or attractive to humans are worthwhile of their attention and/or protection. Unfortunately, the protection that people inflict upon these animals is often unwarranted or worse, detrimental to the health and mental well being of the animals.


For example, in some areas, people take to feeding wildlife in the winter because they are concerned about them finding enough sustenance to survive the cold months. Sometimes this is a valued help to these animals, but sometimes it is very harmful. Unfortunately, as is often the case with wild animals in an artificial feeding situation with inexperienced humans, the population of the animal that is “benefitting” from human intervention can swell or be sustained beyond the levels that nature can support and the animals can come to rely heavily on humans for food—which is often not what they would eat in the wild and doesn’t meet their nutritional needs. 


Another type of “protection” that people offer animals is to be “ambassadors” of their species in aquatic facilities. A variety of marine mammals are incarcerated in marine parks and taught to perform for spectators as “education”. Whereas this may expose people to the wonder of these animals, it certainly doesn’t teach them anything about their behaviour or style of living in a natural setting. In fact, this type of facility does these animals an injustice by pushing the concept of animals as living toys or entertainers. 


Artists rendering of new SeaWorld show "One Ocean"


However benign or even beneficial the use of anthropomorphism can be in literature and art, assigning worth to real animals based on human benchmarks can be immensely detrimental. Assuming that animals need to be protected or sheltered from anything besides our own species’ actions shows human misunderstanding of the entire concept of nature. Animals aren’t living, breathing stuffed animals that exist solely to entertain, amuse, or befriend humans. Their existence does not require us to find them attractive or intriguing. Animals exist for their own sake, maybe we should consider doing the same.
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            <pubDate>Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:17:56 -0500</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.keepwhaleswild.org/blog/keep-whales-wild-messages-of-support.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.keepwhaleswild.org/blog/keep-whales-wild-messages-of-support.html</link>
            <author>production@realestatewebmasters.com (REW Webmaster)</author>
            <title>Keep Whales Wild: Messages of Support</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 


Are you tired of seeing whales exploited in aquariums for human "entertainment"? 


Have you wondered at the beauty of orcas in their natural habitat and
 realised just how exploitive that the captive whale industry is?


Do you have a way to help make change that you'd like to share?


Share your message with us .. 


 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:20:39 -0500</pubDate>
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