#swims act

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Sometimes I think about how when I was a little kid, I got an advertisement in the mail from HSUS asking people to write their state congresspeople about banning horse slaughter in the United States. Had a beautiful picture of a horse running wild and free on the envelope and provided a template to follow.

Little me wrote my representative, and I even got a response assuring me that they would support the bill. It ended up passing, and yay we saved the horsies!

Then I grew up and got a job in vet medicine, and was told by an experienced equine vet how because of that bill, horses whose owners either can’t or won’t have them euthanized will be sold to slaughter operations in Canada or Mexico, necessitating them to be transported sometimes hundreds of miles by trailer instead of being granted a swift, merciful death—which they often desperately need. One they would have if humane slaughter of horses was still legal in the United States.

So when I think about the HSUS backing the SWIMS Act, I get scared. Because somewhere out there, there’s going to be a sweet little kid who just loves animals writing their representative, asking them to save the whales. Without realizing they’re only making things worse.

[whaleexpertsanonymous]

One of these days, I’d love to be able to look at pictures of beautiful wild whales without the caption waxing on about the evils of captivity.

There are an estimated 50,000 wild orcas, and less than 60 in human care worldwide. Orca breeding has already ended in western nations, and the SWIMS Act does absolutely nothing to address the very real threats facing wild whales. It will however, end the vital research efforts of accredited aquariums studying the beluga whale (of which endangered populations exist) by prohibiting future reproduction.

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Five critically endangered northern right whales dead from boat strikes and netting entanglements, and representatives are introducing a bill to Congress to… ban aquarium belugas from breeding.

[orcinus-veterinarius]

is there anything we can do to stop the SWIMS act from going through if it gets seriously considered? It’s so ridiculous to me that people who get all their info spoon fed from blackfish and ric o’Barry can introduce these bills that could seriously affect conservation work and blatantly ignore all of the other (much more pressing!!!!) issues

If you’re a United States citizen, write your state representative and senators. Urge them to dismiss the bill or vote against it should it come to that. Explain the importance of zoos and aquariums to conservation and public education (be sure to mention your state’s AZA facilities as examples, even if they don’t house cetaceans. They’re all partners). Tell them exactly what you told me… how it’s wrong and unfair that documentaries have swayed the public’s opinion against the vital work these organizations do. Point them toward the Chicago Zoological Society’s Cetacean Welfare Study and the AZA accreditation guidelines for evidence of the superior care these animals receive.

And finally, ask them to focus on the real issues and protect our wild whales from the actual threats against them.

If the bill becomes a true issue, I will be drafting a letter to my state congressmen and will post the template here as a model! The SWIMS Act has the backing of a lot of very powerful ARA organizations (including PETA and HSUS) with very well-equipped lobbyists, so it’s important that congresspeople hear from the other side as well.

[orcinus-veterinarius]

Hey! I’ve seen some people I follow on insta spreading a post about how to get the SWIMS act passed so naturally I had to go and rant on my stories about it lol. I’m trying to find pro-cap studies and articles about cetacean captivity, but no matter what I type into google it just feeds me PETA bull shit. Do you have any good studies or articles you know of that I could share?

I always recommend the Cetacean Welfare Study (which is actually a collection of studies) as a starting place. It mainly focuses on bottlenose dolphins, since they’re obviously the most well-represented in aquaria, but includes belugas and Pacific white-sided dolphins as well. The SWIMS Act doesn’t target bottlenose or lags (in this iteration at least), so only belugas would really be affected by it.

SeaWorld is the only facility that still has orcas, and they already ended their own breeding program, and pilot whales and pseudorcas are not bred (in fact, there aren’t any pseudorcas left in North American aquariums). So the bill is just… stupid. Performative. It does absolutely nothing to address the issues actually impacting whales in the wild. But it does interfere with the efforts of accredited aquariums like Mystic, Georgia, and Shedd to provide research that will aid endangered wild beluga populations.

Several versions of the bill have already been shot down, and the last time it was presented, the AZA president stated that “opposition will be broad and strong to this SWIMS Act.” I don’t anticipate the act getting much further than it did last time, but I’m going to keep an eye on it.

[orcinus-veterinarius]

“Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings.” Let’s make one thing clear, this “SWIMS” bill was not drafted by anyone with experience in a zoological setting and is fueled purely by ARA propaganda. It has nothing to do with actual welfare and is only concerned with removing these animals entirely from human care.

No wild captures of whales have occurred in American waters in over 30 years, and the only pilot and false killer whales currently housed in the country are non-releasable rescues. SeaWorld owns the only orcas (besides Tokitae) in the USA and already ended their breeding program due to activist pressure, never mind the fact that reproductive and calf-rearing behavior are important components of their welfare. And beluga whale breeding occurs under the AZA’s Species Survival Plan.

Zoos are vital to conservation efforts. It starts with whales, but next it will be elephants (as we’re seeing in the UK), then great apes, then big cats, until there’s nothing left. Let zoologists and veterinarians make the decisions for our zoo animals. Do not back this bill.