(Vallejo Times-Herald)
Petition pressuring Six Flags about killer whale
By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen/Times-Herald/
Posted: 05/09/2012 01:01:50 AM PDT
A Vallejo woman's online petition demanding that the federal government force Six Flags Discovery Kingdom to find its killer whale a roommate has gotten hundreds of signatures from around the world.
Despite rules dictating that captive individuals of her species be kept with compatible company, the park's killer whale has been housed alone for about six months, the petition notes.
A less-than-ideal situation prevailed for much longer, according to a 2008 federal inspection report.
But this is not for lack of trying to comply, park officials say.
The Animal Welfare Act states that "marine mammals, whenever known to be primarily social in the wild, must be housed in their primary enclosure with at least one compatible animal of the same or biologically related species."
Killer whales, or orcas, are known to be social beings which form tightly knit family groups with which they live their entire lives, according to the petition started about a month ago by Wendy Brunot.
Calling Shouka's present circumstances "cruel, inhumane and against the law," Brunot seeks to get the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS,) "to enforce the Animal Welfare Act" in this case and pressure Six Flags to comply.
Park officials realize Shouka's recent living arrangements are not optimal and are working on a solution, spokeswoman Nancy Chan said Tuesday.
The "19-year-old, captive-born female orca is a beloved and treasured
member of the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom family," Chan said. "Due to recent compatibility issues, Shouka and her companion for the last seven years, a male Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, have been separated."
Chan went on to say park officials "are working to find a suitable companion for her, and in the meantime, the Discovery Kingdom veterinarians and animal care staff provide Shouka with an excellent enrichment program to keep her active and stimulated."
Park officials are "in active communication with the USDA regarding our compliance with Animal Welfare Act regulations," she said.
APHIS spokesman Dave Sacks said his agency is in contact with park officials "to ensure compliance" with regulations, and that park officials "are acting in good faith" to resolve the issue.
In an inspection report from 2008, the agency notes the orca is "single housed;" that park officials were "using a dolphin as a companion animal but they are separated though next to each other a majority of the time." The document, which indicated inspections done May 13 and June 5, 2008, says the "situation is being reviewed by USDA APHIS."
Results of that review were not immediately available, Sacks said. Subsequent inspections have been done, but the results specific to Shouka were also not immediately available Tuesday, he said.
A self-described "huge activist for marine mammals in the wild and in captivity," Brunot, 40, says she enjoyed visiting marine parks "until I learned more about the social behaviors of killer whales and what it can be like in captivity for them."
Now opposed to keeping such creatures confined, Brunot, a small business owner, said that "if they are going to be there, then the least parks can do is abide by the minimum requirements of the law."
Calls to the park and APHIS have gone unheeded, she said. Hence, the petition on Change.org.
Stephanie Feldstein of Change.org, "an online platform for social change, and a sort-of YouTube for petitions," said Brunot's "campaign" has already attracted more than 700 signatures.
"So, clearly this is an issue that resonates with people," Feldstein said. "Signatories come from across the U.S. and internationally. There are a lot of people interested in the issue of marine mammals in captivity."
What becomes of Change.org petitions varies, Feldstein said, referring to the orca one filed through the website.
"Often, a petition campaign becomes a movement," she said. "Sometimes, the recipient of the petition can increase pressure for change. Events, like petition deliveries, are organized."
In this case, APHIS gets an email whenever someone signs Brunot's petition, Feldstein said.
"The hope is that as they receive hundreds of emails they'll realize there's a public outcry for there to be change," she said.
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