As you probably have heard by now, West Edmonton Mall has decided to fill the old dolphin tank with three sea lions. As you might have guessed, there are a lot of people opposed to this, with groups like Zoocheck Canada calling it “deplorable”.
Fellow blogger Darren Barefoot has written a letter to WEM saying that until the mall is animal free, he will not be visiting. I think that’s too bad. The argument could be made that no animal should be in captivity, but if we are not going to follow that idea, I think as long as the animals are being looked after, who cares? I don’t know much about it, but I am sure there are some government regulations that must be met and are checked on, so if everything is checking out, I don’t see a problem.
I also think that having the animals at the mall is good for kids – kids who would not have the opportunity to see the animals anywhere else, but also for kids in general, as they have an opportunity to learn something while they are wasting time at the mall.
MasterMaq's Blog 
Actually, the argument can me made for wild animals not to be kept in captivity, and it’s currently being made all over the world. All of the science agrees that it’s unhealthy to keep wild animals, particularly large mammals, in small cages (and by small I mean anything smaller than the ocean).
The educational excuse–that children gain some vast insight from seeing wild animals in captivity–is a hollow one. There’s no science to back it up, and experiential technology (i.e. high-definition TV, IMAX, etc) does an exceptional job of bringing people and animals close together without harming the animals. Furthermore, I sincerely doubt that the mall identifies education as a priority. In fact, I’ll bet they take steps to deter the kids from watching the animals for too long, lest they spend less money.
If you don’t want to buy into the big-picture science, consider this:5 dolphin calves–all of those born in the mall-have died in the last 15 years? That strikes me as pretty unacceptable.
Thanks for the comment Darren. I didn’t say the argument couldn’t be made…I said it is obviously not being followed what with zoos and other facilities around the world housing wild animals. My point there was that as the battle is clearly not going to be won anytime soon, let’s make sure that the animals in captivity are being looked after properly.
Sure we could use some more research on whether or not children get anything from it. I am only 20 years old though, so I can think back to when I was younger, and no HDTV and plasma screen in the world beats seeing an animal in person. Its just not the same.
I cannot dispute the number that have died. Clearly those numbers are unacceptable, and I hope that they do a better job with the sea lions.
animal captivity is controversial, there’s no disputing that, and although I’m somewhat disgusted that something, that can feel pain and pleasure is being kept in a controlled environment for our own "entertainment"
hell what’s next? maybe "Real Tournament" on TV instead of "Unreal Tournament" on my computer, we’ll just put convicts in huge facilities, leave weapons all over the place and watch them kill each other for my amusement, well ok, that’s unfair, that’s an extreme case
but the fact is, if I was a dolphin, sea lion, or whatever, I don’t think I’d enjoy it, living in captivity is just as it says, captivity, and although some people might argue that if they become used to that situation, they can’t survive in the wild anymore
so doesn’t that make it a vicious cycle? You keep bringing in dolphins and making them accustomed, and we can’t protest b/c it’s true?
FREE WILLY YOU BITCHES! that’s just my two cents, but I figure it is somewhat unrealistic to eliminate zoos, marinas, etc, so I’m with Mack, let’s make sure they get as much of their wild-environment and proper care, its the least we could do.
I just moved from Edmonton…this is news to me. The last I saw and heard they were trying to immitate Cirq and had a bunch of divers doing shows there…but there is a nice bunch of pink flamingos right by the pool for your entertainment and occationally they have pot bellied pigs, miniature horses, goats etc…walking through the mall.
It sucks that there are animals in captivity, but I have rabbits…are they ok or should I set them free?
B.
I just stumbled across this discussion list. While I cannot weigh in, in too much depth as my schedule in campaigning on behalf of captive animals is pretty much at the max, I thought you might be interested to know that there are no standards in Alberta or Canada for keeping captive wildlife.
There are certain species whose basic biological and behavioural needs cannot be met in a captive environment, including marine mammals, great apes, elephants and many more.
I am sure that most people would agree that if the basic needs of animals cannot be met in a captive setting then those animals should not be held in captivity. The problem is that most people don’t think about it very much. I applaud you for thinking about the issue and hope you continue to explore the issues.
Julie Woodyer
Campaigns Director
Zoocheck Canada
I live in Edmonton and I have been boycotting WED for more than 12 years now. It is truly terrible what they did to those poor dolphins and now the sea lions. I am personally against keeping ANY type of animal in a shopping mall. The air is bad, people throw coins into the water tank, children spit, etc. WED should be about shopping, eating and human entertainment, why bring animals into it? Are we that bored, that thousands of stores, restaurants, cinemas are not enough for us? I say, boycott the place until all animals are out of there.
I live just outside of Edmonton. I really think it is wrong for them to keep the animals there. I also do not approve of zoos, but this is far worse. At least in zoos the animals have some room to move around. Have you seen that flamingo cage? its pewny! And it is SOOO loud and noisy in that mall… thats really not natural for them. Its prison. The only differnce is they havn’t done anything wrong.
Guys, i totally agree. Let those mufucka roam edmonton so i can hunt them down and have them for supper! I’ve never eaten sea lion or flamingo before, should be quite the treat! BOYCOTT WED!
if they were not in the mall, they would just be in another tank. they’ve already been accustomed to people, so its almost like they need human attention. animals in the mall isn’t such a bad idea as an attraction as long as their treated well. they do have a vet working there. GO WEM!
Joel, get an education man.
yeah, yeah, yeah you know me. But here I am again I just wanted to say "I would absolutly love to have you respond so bye for now that’s all I wanted to say. "smooch"
Love your best bud,
Lola