SeaWorld Audtions in San Antonio - Jan 10

[Paul Russell]

Posted: 1/5/14 at 7:58pm

Auditions for 2014 SeaWorld Performers will be held:
Friday January 10, 2014
At SeaWorld Human Resources Training Center 2
10500 Sea World Dr., San Antonio, TX 78251

Visit http://www.seaworldauditions.com for more information.

Seeking: Musicians, Mimes, Dancers, Costumed Characters, Actors, Variety Artists - All talents welcome.
Please arrive at the following times
to register to audition.

4:30 - 5:30 pm: Dancers & Costumed Characters

5:30- 6:00 pm: Actors, Singers, Variety Artists
and all other talents
Auditions at SeaWorld

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/5/14 at 8:09pm

http://www.seaworldslaves.com/

"I wonder, in what universe is it okay for us to kidnap peaceful, self-aware and intelligent beings... to steal them from their families, wrench them from their natural environments, for the sake of our entertainment and profit? How could anyone be so arrogant as to believe that they have a right to do this to another living creature? I wonder too, would SeaWorld executives be okay if we took their children from them and sold them into slavery? What rationalization could possibly justify the kind of suffering that such actions create?" Updated On: 1/5/14 at 08:09 PM

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 1/5/14 at 8:52pm

Updated On: 4/29/22 at 08:52 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/5/14 at 9:44pm

Before Kade changed it, the original post was "troll alert". This is my response to their first post:

Yes, I'm a troll because I think the treatment of creatures at SeaWorld is reprehensible. Shut up, watch Blackfish, and get back to me. Yuck.

Updated On: 1/6/14 at 09:44 PM

[jpbran]

Posted: 1/5/14 at 9:55pm

Yeah... you can count a lot of us as "trolls" if that means not wanting to see anyone assisting Seaworld in their mission to exploit those amazing animals.

(their employees changing the results of a poll about their treatment of orcas just made them seem even more hideous...)
Updated On: 1/5/14 at 09:55 PM

[lambchop2]

Posted: 1/5/14 at 11:12pm

http://www.orcahome.de/lifeexpectancy.htm

"Of the 158 captive killer whales that have died, more than 2/3 didn’t make it passed 10 years in captivity. Less than 30 orcas survived more than 20 years in captivity. Average time in captivity has improved steadily over the decades, but is still very low." Then again when you're feeding questionable quality frozen fish to animals who normally hunt live fish or (in the case of transients) do not eat fish, then have to stuff them with vitamins and gelatin to attempt to give them nutrition and hydration, on top of keeping them in incredibly small, bare tanks that keep them constantly exposed to blazing sun, all without the normal physical activity and socialization they would achieve in the wild except when they are forced to perform amidst blaring music and noises (just to name a few things)... yeah, I would imagine their life expectancy in captivity is drastically reduced.

Seaworld slaps a fake smile on an industry that is abusive to humans and animals. At least 3 trainer deaths, at least one trainer permanently paralyzed, and countless injuries to trainers, volunteers and other people they allow to interact with the whales. 158 dead whales, almost all well below their normal life expectancy, and all given a life that is not even a fraction of what they deserve and would lead in the wild.

Seaworld is deplorable.

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 12:21am

Updated On: 4/29/22 at 12:21 AM

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 12:41am

^^^SHILL ALERT^^^

[lambchop2]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 12:51am

"I've seen Blackfish and think the way SeaWorld treats its animals is deplorable. That, however, has no bearing on the OP's information about auditions for a top theme park. "

The auditions are for a theme park that abuses animals and puts people's lives in danger for the sake of corporate gain. Advertising for auditions there will naturally result in the discussion of the terrible practices of said theme park, IMO.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 1:07am

^^^^ This, a thousand times over! It's a disgusting place that needs to be shut down, and people should know the truth before they work for them.

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 8:13am

Updated On: 4/29/22 at 08:13 AM

[GuyfromGermany]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 8:33am

A Former SeaWorld Employee's Response to "Blackfish".

I've been asked often and recently about my opinions towards this "amazing documentary" that "just came out" on Netflix called "Blackfish". Having worked for SeaWorld for a few years, people are always curious as to what my opinion is.

"Julie, have you seen it? What do you think?"

Yes. I have seen it, multiple times. My opinion of it is this: I completely respect and agree with the underlining message- whales do not belong in captivity... but neither does any other animal (more on that later). I do, however, find the movie's portrayal of SeaWorld to be horribly offensive and misleading. SeaWorld is not a monster.

"But Julie, SeaWorld uses animals for entertainment purposes, isnt this wrong?"

Thank you, PETA. Yes, SeaWorld is an entertainent based industry. People all over the world come to see these marvelous animals up close, eat a churro, and then ride the latest roller coaster.

But before you go all animal activist on me, think about what your saying. Have you ever been to a zoo? Aquarium? Pet store? All of these animals were placed there to entertain, excuse me, educate you. And they dont quite do it to SeaWorld's standards (Ill get to this later).

"But Julie, SeaWorld took these whales out of their natural environment".

False. The majority of the whales at SeaWorld were born in the park. Yes, a few were captured more than 35 years ago, but that is how animals were acquired those days.

And frankly, where do you think the animals at your favorite zoo came from? Contrary to popular belief, these animals are not usually "rescues".

And to be even more frank, how many of you have a home aquarium??? Where do you think these fish came from? That's right. They're captured from their native environment, oftentimes shocked, meanstwhile depleting coral reefs in hopes that these stressed fish might make it to your aquarium, where, lets face it, they usually die.

"But Julie, the tanks the whales are in are like bathtubs"

Ugh. This one gets to me the most. At least use your own wording! Yes, the exhibits the whales are in are no where close to being the size of the ocean. But they are VASTLY larger than the size of most animal enclosures. True, these animals can swim hundreds of miles a day.... but think about other enclosures. Elephants can walk up to 40 miles a day and yet I rarely see an enclosure larger than 2000 ft.

And bird cages? Fish tanks? Why is it that no one is offended by any of this?! It's okay to put a goldfish in a bowl but not okay to have whales in a 60 million gallon environment? An enclosure that SeaWorld has spent over 70 million dollars to improve?

"But Julie, these animals are forced to perform shows. They're slaves."

Inaccurate. The whales at SeaWorld are never forced to do shows. They get an alloted amount of restaurant quality food based off of their fitness level, size, and metabolism. And they are fed regardless of if they do a show.

"But Julie, it's cruel to force these animals to do "tricks".

These "tricks" are actually positively reinforced behaviors that the whales have learned through positive interactions and operant conditioning. Studies have shown that learned behaviors like this actually increase an animals mental health prolonging their fitness and increasing quality of life.


"But whales dont do flips in the wild"

....and your dog doesnt naturally give you his paw when he wants a treat, but he is capable. Training behaviors like this, once again, encourages mental and physical growth. If the whales were incapable, they wouldnt do it.

"Cant they just stop making the whales do shows?"

Sure, but there is no positive reprocussion to that. Without enrichment, whales would resort to common boredom behaviors seen in zoos and institutions around the world. Plus, the interations the whales have with the trainers is a form of bonding for the whales. If they suddenly discontinued, the whales would display depression behaviors. I dont know about you, but I am highly against intentional depression.

"Cant you release them? They'll be happier"

Look up the story of Keiko, the whale from "Free Willy." That's what happens when you release a captive killer whale. They are not equipped to live in the open ocean environment anymore.

"Okay, what about a seapen then? Its bigger and the whales would be interact with their natural environment"

These whales currently thrive in multi-sourced continually filtered water environment. These means they are never exposed to pathogens, parasites, or heavily contaminated water. Putting them in a sea pen would expose them to a variety of potentially killer organisms. Not only that but they would be exposed to countless amounts of new sights, sounds, and vibrantions, causing an immense amount of stress.

"But Julie, there is absolutely no benefit to having these poor creatures at SeaWorld."

SeaWorld has impacted the lives of over 400 million visitors over the timespan they've been in business. That is 400 million people that have been affected by the beauty of not only the killer whales, but of over 6000 species of animals they would not come in contact with on a normal basis.

"SeaWorld is not educational".

Excuse me? The top leading research done on both killer whales and other cetaceans comes from SeaWorld sponsored research. Most of what we know today about these animals has been learned from animals in captivity.

"Cant we learn simply by observing them in the wild?"

Theoretically, sure. But any scientist (or grad student) will tell you how difficult it is to study animals in the wild. You can sit and observe 24 hours a day and only witness about 15 minutes of usable data.

And good luck funding that research. It's an unfortunate fact that people do not support things that do not benefit them directly. SeaWorld contributes millions upon millions of dollars to variety of conservation programs in the wild, including the Marine Mammal protecion act and Sea Turtle conservation. Finding funding from a private, independent source is unlikely and unreliable.

"Okay... well... umm... what about the dorsal fin thing?"

Dorsal fins are made out of cartilage, a flexible structure that makes up your nose and ears. The size of the dorsal fin is cause by a multitude of things, including genetics. Many of our whales come from a similar bloodline (not crossbred) and therefore have larger dorsal fins.

Although not common in the wild, a whale's dorsal fin, especially larger ones, may bend. This may be an effect from more surface exposure combined by genetics. There have been no indications that this affects the animals well-being in any way. It's a fact of life. Sometimes we get droopy body parts too....

"Why can't SeaWorld just go to be all educational? Obviously people would respect it more."

Nature Centers and educational facilities are amazing ideas and do many great things. Unfortunately, not many people go out of their way to visit them and they can go out of business (Chula Vista Nature Center...anyone?). People, unfortunately, are selfish beings. They want to be entertained, not lectured. So although the conservation message is taught at many of these amazing facilities, they are not affecting as many people as you would think.

SeaWorld's message is this: to celebrate, connect, and care for the natural world we share through the power of entertainment. People come into the parks with an expectation and leave with an appreciation of marine life they've never had before. I cannot begin to tell you how many kids Ive heard say that Shamu changed their life. That they want to stop polluting the ocean. That they want to save the sea turtles. SeaWorld is a memory that they will have forever and oftentimes changes their entire outlook on life.

So, before you boycott SeaWorld, realize that you're not boycotting the evil corporation "Blackfish" makes it out to be. You're boycotting Bruce, the 80 year old sea turtle who was rescued not only once, but twice after being shot in the head and left for dead by people who didn't care. You're boycotting Iris, the rescued seal who was found stranded and blind and then rereleased, able to see again. You're boycotting the 650 juvenille sea lions rehabilitated and taught to eat after they were stranded on the Pacific Coast. You're boycotting the baby emperor pengiuns, just hatched, ensuring the future families of penguins to come. You're boycotting the hundreds of dogs adopted from shelters thanks to Pets Rule. You're boycotting the group of high schoolers collecting trash off the shoreline after talking to the veterinary department behind the scenes and seeing the effects of trash in our ocean.

If you need a summary of what SeaWorld is today, I ask you to look at me as a reflection. To look at the 1500 zoological team members that provide the upmost care to these animals. SeaWorld is one of the worlds most respected zoological facilities, setting the bar for husbandry standards today. We are SeaWorld. We are the people who cant drive by a lost dog on the street. We're the people who stay awake overnight, waist deep in frigid water carrying a stranded dolphin that wasn't strong enough to swim. We're the ones that cry the moment a sea turtle swims off into the ocean water after being hit by a boat. We are the ones whose heart rate accelerates the moment a mother gives birth to a beautiful calf. We're the ones whose muscles ache after scrubbing oil off of birds trapped after a spill. We're the ones hand feeding that abandonded baby otter in the wee hours of the night.

So once again, don't believe everything you see and don't assume you know everything because a "documentary" tells you so. Educate yourself. SeaWorld is not the enemy, there are bigger evils in the world. We do not go out of our way to torture and "enslave" animals. We love and know more about those animals than "Blackfish" would ever care to let you know. It is because of SeaWorld, and places like them, thst you even care about these animals in the first place. I am very proud to be a part of the SeaWorld family and always will be.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 8:52am

Yeah, guys, seriously.

Central Africa is on the verge of GENOCIDE, and you're concerned about some orcas?!

Wake up, white people!

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 9:49am

Updated On: 4/29/22 at 09:49 AM

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 9:59am

I find it hard to believe that SeaWorld would let such a tone-deaf and tactless employee who uses faulty logic answer all of those questions publicly. Is there a link to the interview quoted above?

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 10:11am

Come on, people. This is clearly not a legit or verifiable response. There’s no last name for Julie, no mention of which SeaWorld she works at, and no original source for it. Someone is just posting it on forums and in comments sections all over the Internet.

And they’re not good points. They’re idiotic points, either shifting the focus entirely or justifying abuse by saying, “But people get to learn about them and see them, which makes it all okay. Besides, don’t you have other things to think about?”

If someone was going to take the time to put something like this together, couldn’t it be a little less transparent?

[Chester Prince2]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 10:17am

Exactly. I have a hard time wrapping my head around anyone who would want to say they work or perform at Sea World now. Sea World has such a negative connotation in the public's eye.

[artscallion]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 10:45am

Her main defense seems to be "zoos do it too, and your fish tank!"
She also uses the tried and true slavery justification that it's for their own good. They wouldn't survive on their own since, because of the slavery we've kept them in, they no longer know how to take care of themselves. Why she thinks this excuses putting new animals through this cycle is never explained.

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 10:51am

Updated On: 4/29/22 at 10:51 AM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 11:01am

Exactly. I have a hard time wrapping my head around anyone who would want to say they work or perform at Sea World now. Sea World has such a negative connotation in the public's eye.

Does it really, though? I'm not being facetious.

I loathe Sea World as much as anyone...I wouldn't dare go there anymore. However, living in the Orlando area, I can tell you with some certainty that Sea World's attendance hasn't seen any noticeable effect from Blackfish just yet. Shamu Stadium still routinely fills up.

However, Sea World is having a heck of a time booking acts for Beaches, Barbecues and Brews this year. It's their signature spring/summer kick off event. Already, Willie Nelson, Barenaked Ladies, Faith Hill, and two other acts whose names I can't remember at the moment have dropped out.

I will say this...Sea World Orlando has a fiercely loyal crew (what they call their staff)- despite everything that's been said about Sea World, they continue defending the park and their mission. Their posts on social media (I'm friends with a lot of them) are quite amusing. It's remarkable how on message they are- they all spout the lines about how much good work they do for rescue and rehabilitation. Which again, no one has ever tried to take that away from Sea World. They do good work in that area. In fact, probably the best work out there when it comes to rescuing marine animals...but that doesn't excuse what they've done to the orcas.

Do I think their PR machine is working overtime right now? Yes. Do I think the parks are going to get a lot more bad press when Blackfish wins the Oscar for Documentary Feature? Absolutely. At the moment, however, I sadly haven't seen a noticeable change in attendance at the parks. Much of the public seems aware of the accusations in Blackfish, but doesn't seem to care. It seems to have been met with a collective shrug of the shoulders from most.

Updated On: 1/6/14 at 11:01 AM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 11:17am

Great points, adamgreer, but this doesn't appear to be a black and white issue.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 11:34am

Longtime readers of Datalounge know alllllllllllllll about Julie.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 11:43am

Bigger question: Why is a major casting office trolling BWW for performers?

Can't Paul rustle up some "showcase cockroaches" for his Sea World needs?

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 11:58am

Updated On: 4/29/22 at 11:58 AM

[sanda]

Posted: 1/7/14 at 11:45am

They should add those stunt back in the Shamu show. Since the accident and "tune down", it was not as excited as before.