View Full Version : have the trainers gone back to the water at seawor
we are visiting orlando in a few weeks and my 7 year old grandon wouldlove to see the be[ol]lieve shows[msncool][beer]
LiesaAnna
09-01-2011, 22:40
i dont think their health and safety people will let them, i enjoyed seaworld much more when i saw the killer whales performing.... bet they miss it to.. the whales that is xx
sammibabe
09-01-2011, 22:42
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by LiesaAnna
i dont think their health and safety people will let them, i enjoyed seaworld much more when i saw the killer whales performing.... bet they miss it to.. the whales that is xx
[/quote]
Bet the trainers do too
Last we heard they have not and are unlikely to do so in the near future. The trainers will miss the interaction and so will the whales.
We were at Sea World a week or so ago and the trainers were not back in the water then. The Believe show was still good, but not quite the same.
The last I heard was The Health & Safety people in the US are saying they should not go in the water with 'dangerous' animals again, but Sea World are trying to get this sorted.
Seaworld are replacing Believe in Spring 2011 with a new show.
Found this on line
"Also in Spring of 2011 Sea World will roll out an all new show featuring the parks favorite black and white sea mammal, Shamu. The show will be replacing the critically acclaimed Believe."
Can't find any details yet though!
Just read this report on News 13.
SeaWorld is appealing a recent federal ruling that keeps trainers away from orcas during performances.
The case stems from the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau, who was pulled underwater and drowned by the six-ton killer whale Tilikum in 2010.
The theme park submitted a petition to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission asking the agency to review the ruling.
OSHA officials had spent six months investigating Brancheau's death and ultimately charged SeaWorld with a "willful" safety violation. The agency recommended that trainers never be allowed to have close contact with orcas unless protected by a physical barrier.
Among some of the issues stated in the petition for review filed July 3, SeaWorld said the judge failed to take into consideration the period of 18 years of interactions with Tilikum with no injuries to any trainers.
SeaWorld also said the judge should not have relied on statements from other incident reports, some of which were 20 years old, and from other parks and did not involve Tilikum for which the citation was issued.
“The judge’s opinion that each interaction with a killer whale presented a risk of injury or death is factually flawed on its face and contrary to the evidence. If this were the case, on would expect there to be many more injuries during the course of the interactions with the killer whales, but that is not what the record reveals,” SeaWorld stated in the petition.
SeaWorld officials concluded by asking that if the review is granted, that they be allowed to submit a brief longer than the set 35 page limit because of the "extensive issues in this case."
Dads_Taxi
02-08-2012, 14:31
The Daily Mail on-line (UK site) had an article on Tuesday of this week claiming that
"Staff at SeaWorld marine parks in Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio yesterday re-started 'water desensitisation training' with the company's killer whale collection". I assume that means the trainers are starting to go back in the pools.
It also says in the article: "SeaWorld has also invested tens of millions to design and install safety features to protect staff, including a fast-rising floor in the G pool of its Orlando Shamu Stadium complex where Ms Brancheau was killed." I wonder if that means the floor comes up and the whale becomes "beached" to facilitate rescue of a trapped trainer?
The article is followed by several comments, all of them criticising the keeping of whales in captivity.
The article I read said this was only for Vet work, not for shows.
I miss the trainers interaction the shows last week were not the same. I appreciate safety must be paramount but the spectacle of the whale pushing a trainer along and vertical was something to be seen.
I noticed reduced numbers at the afternoon shows.
I did speak to one of the trainers who said Seaworld were challenging the ruling.
I also noticed the trainers now wear different couloured wetsuits. Maybe just me but I did think the old black and white patterned wetsuits they used to wear did make them look like baby killer whales and maybe Tilikum was confused and though Dawn was a whale.!! Just my untrained opinion of course.
I spoke to two trainers after the show who both said they wanted to get back in the water with the whales so we will have to see what happens next.
I understand Dawn did not want the whale destroying but safety has to be a main consifderation. I believe Seaworld has a good safety record but even one Death is one too many. I remember Dawn as an experienced trainer and we have sen her perform and could see her love for the whales.
CFN13 have definately been intimating that the trainers will be getting back into the water soon.