Marine Mammal Training and Laws in the UK-Sealions vs. Dolphins?

Question

In the UK it is now illegal (and has been for some time) to keep dolphins captive and/or train them, but sealions are still kept all around the country and made to perform.

I am glad that there are no dolphins here but what do people think about sealions? they are made to perform like dolphins were. Is it just a lack of public awareness and over publicity of dolphins that created the law because they are more popular?

should there be one for the sealions??

discuss..

Answer 1

Why not stop everything that has to do with people coming in to contact with a wild or semi-wild animal.  Even if that contact is siting on a bench watching seals or driving through a park.  Force people to sit at home on he couch watching those terribly done "Nature" shows and being brain washed in the process.  Yes, lets by all means make people more lazy and more stupid.

In my career I have many times done things that bring nature and wildlife in contact with people, especially children.  You have no idea the reaction from a bunch of 4th grade children when you lift a small seine out of the water and it is full of life.  Yes, by all means lets deprive those children.

Answer 2

I do think the dolphins popularity has something to do with the fact that keeping them in the UK is (thank goodness) severely regulated (the minimum tank size being twice that of that in the US for example). However unfortunately, it is not downright illegal or banned:

http://www.marineconnection.org/campaign...

But back to the original question, why is it any different for sealions?

Well, while I do think dolphins just get a lot more publicity in general which may have helped press their case, I do think there are other factors as well.

For one thing, sealions are not completely aquatic, they spend some amount of time on land where they do not actually move all that much and I believe their social structures are a bit less complex than for marine mammals such as orcas. Furthermore we have a better understanding of the senses that sealions employ whereafsonar is something completely alien to us. This means that recreating an environment that is suitable for their needs may be easier than creating a habitat for cetaceans. Nevertheless, regulations should probably be stricter for them as well.

While sealions do seem to like lying in the sun for long periods of time- a behaviour not compromised by captivity- it should not be forgotten that several species are migratory and do travel large distances in the wild as well.

All too often people just see marine mammals and assume because they spend their time in the water, providing a barren concrete tank is enough to meet their needs.

I do think sealions, if provided with a large enclosure with both a detailed terrestial and aquatic part, in large groups mirroring the wild to some extent, are somewhat less affected by circumstances in captivity.

Can I just say -Jim- Yes, by all means lets sacrifice animal welfare for mediocre entertainment that has no educational value. By all means let's deprive these animals in favour of entertainment.

Noone is talking about limiting nature encounters, but that is exactly what seeing performance animals is not, natural. Experiencing nature is wonderful and important for children, but it can be done without compromising the animals in a way that provides a much more real experience, introducing the children to the real animal, not the disney character produced by SeaWorld and co.