Mood:
incredulousThe People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) I'm sure started out with noble ideas and ideals, but now the liberal agenda has further taken over this group saying that animals have more right than humans! Now I'm not saying that animals don't have some sort of rights, but to say they possess 'more' than humans??? Come on!! We were created to be rulers of this earth as good stewards with wisdom and knowledge. Now, granted we have abused that assignment but now it's time to take responsibility for our actions, not worship animals!
PETA, in it's infinite stupidity, wants to buy at least one Sea World and release the animals into the wild and put holograms of animals in their place! Now who's lame brained idea was this?! One, Sea World has one of the most successful breeding programs around. Most of their whales and dolphins were born in capitivity. Releasing them in the wild, not knowing how to hunt, is a sure death sentence for these great creatures! Second, Sea World would fold in an instant with hologram displays, which is probably PETA's agenda in this case. People want to learn and also have fun doing it while experiencing the proximity of these animals!
You think I'm kidding??? Read the article that follows:
PETA: Nothing fishy about SeaWorld bid
By Michael Stetz
STAFF WRITER
August 21, 2008
SAN DIEGO – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants to buy SeaWorld. One guess what the group wants to do with the popular theme park.
The animal rights avocates said they have a donor willing to put up the bucks to buy at least one of the three SeaWorld parks – in Orlando, San Antonio or, of course, San Diego – put the animals in marine sanctuaries and perhaps return some to the wild one day.
The group wouldn't close the joint. Instead, it would replace the killer whales, dolphins, stingrays and other animals with virtual reality exhibits.
PETA is known for staging publicity stunts, including one in Ocean Beach last year where half-naked people put fish hooks in their mouths to protest game fishing, but it swears this is no hoax. Still, the group won't identify the donor.
“He chooses to remain anonymous,” said Lisa Wathne, a PETA spokeswoman.
PETA has never been a fan of SeaWorld, saying the marine animals suffer from living in small tanks instead of their natural habitat.
The group saw an opportunity when news broke that SeaWorld's current owner, beer giant Anheuser-Busch, is poised to be swallowed whole by the larger beer giant InBev, a Belgium firm.
Experts believe InBev will divest itself of Anheuser-Busch's 10 theme parks and concentrate on beer once the sale is final. The parks could be worth as much as $4 billion. The company sold SeaWorld Ohio for $110 million in 2001.
While a company would normally prefer to sell the entire theme-park package to a single buyer, InBev may be willing to sell the parks piecemeal, said Jack Russo, an analyst with the investment firm Edward Jones.
“It's a tough time to be unloading these kind of assets,” he said.
PETA said the donor has deep enough pockets to buy at least one of the SeaWorlds. The group sent a letter Friday to InBev's CEO spelling out the deal.
PETA hasn't heard back, Wathne said. No one could be reached at InBev for comment.
SeaWorld said all questions about a sale need to go through InBev, but spokesman Dave Koontz called PETA's effort “a publicity stunt.”
At least one marine mammal expert, Lee Kellar of the Alaska SeaLife Center, said releasing marine mammals back into the wild is “a very difficult transition” for the animals.
Even a marine sanctuary wouldn't be much of a benefit, he said, because the animals would still need the care of humans. “It would cause a lot of pain and suffering for the animals,” Kellar said.
Michael Stetz: (619) 293-1720; michael.stetz@uniontrib.com
