PETA's offer to buy Sea World called a 'stunt'

…but the facts about industrial farming are real. Animals do feel pain and suffer stress. Beaks cut off, tails removed, standing in deep pools of waste, pumped full of antibiotics, and packed into such tight cages and pens that they cannot even turn around is standard treatment. Regardless of what you may think of PETA's ultimate motives, they have drawn our attention to horribly inhumane conditions. Upton Sinclair did a similar service when he wrote about the Chicago slaughterhouses a century ago in a book called "The Jungle". I don't agree with many of PETA's positions, but as a society we have no ethical reason to treat our animals in such a fashion.

This orca has been stranded at a marine park in Miami since she was captured from her family in Puget Sound in 1970. She's now a healthy adult and could easily and safely be retired in her home waters for under $1 million. I hope that whoever this donor is will notice Lolita and help support our professional proposal for her safe and sound return to her native habitat with the opportunity to at least communicate with her family at long last. See orcanetwork.org for details.

They rely on your good will for donations...display cute pictures of puppies...and grotesque "documentation" of slaughterhouses... All to further their cause. The bottom line is profit... provided by the misguided well intentions of the public. This is a business folks. If you want to save animals. Spay your pets. Adopt pets. Don't send money to these uber-liberal con-men.

Eat meat. Eat vegetables. Eat grains. Don't consume Peta's propaganda.

They have drawn our attention to the awful conditions and hazards of factory farming. I am not a vegetarian, but it upsets me when the large factory farms inhumanly treat the animals, dump waste for others to have to clean up at our expense and, most importantly, flooded the market with antibiotics, creating the superbugs that defy treatment. The food may be cheaper on the shelf, but it is costing big bucks in environmental and medical hazards.

Before Sea World came along, nobody cared that whale meat was a staple in Japanese grocery stores or that blubber was used to make transmission fluid. No one cared if a bunch of dolphin got caught up in tuna nets. But when people saw Shamu and Flipper doing their acts, they connected with these intelligent mammals and started to care what happened to them and their relatives. Same thing for Great Apes before they were displayed in habitats instead of cages. Those displays created the public pressure that saved these animals from extinction. And probably gave birth to the sentiments that brought us PETA and other animal protection organizations.

That said, if PETA wants to buy Shamu and set him/her free, that is their right, just like it would be someone else's right to buy the whales and sell tickets to see them or have a barbeque.

If you don't like what they want to do, outbid them.

I would love to know how much real money PETA has put towards real animal causes and studies. Propaganda, the cost of support staff, and buildings cost doesn’t count. Then for a comparison, I would like to know how much SeaWorld / Anheuser Bush has donated.

SeaWorld’s also has an uncalculated contribution towards the knowledge they have imparted upon people to help them realize the true state of marine biology and our affect on it.

Since peta (lowercase intentional) hates KFC, anyone want to join for the Original Recipe?

PETA gets *lots* of money. They have 7 buildings in Hampton Roads. They own the entire building that used to be CI travel. People give them expensive buildings, like the one in Freemason. Of all the useful things that could be accomplished with this space, it winds up in the hands of a rich, real life troll group. I believe they pull in over $40 million a year in donations. I've had friends volunteer with them, and quickly come to the conclusion that they didn't like what they see. Mailing crazy stuff to children. But hey, I guess getting donations from wealthy people that probably don't understand the real cause beats working for a living.

As long as this country has enough people who can spare enough money to keep organizations like PETA up and running, I'll fail to believe the dour predictions of coming doom pumped out by the the media. This is not a statement about the worthiness of PETA, but of the high standard of living we enjoy in this country despite efforts to have us believe otherwise. I think it's great that we, as a country, have established a level of wealth that allows us to care about the well being of animals. I would guess that a great many more people in the world have more pressing problems than whether Shamu spends another day in a tank. If they even knew about Shamu, I'll bet they'd probably think he would make a better consumable product than a form of entertainment.

I didn't know you could fit whales into dumpsters, how are they going to do that?? Gotta love PETA

It seems that Six Flags, Cedar Group, or Disney would be the only players interested in buying Busch Entertainment. One would hope that the family would decide to keep it, but that seems slim.

Peta has a noble cause but lets get real, this is a free country and keeping animals captive and teaching them tricks is ones perogative as long as they are humane in the care for the animal, including the dog that is in half the homes in America.

America is the Greatest Society in the Histoy of Man.

First, bashing PeTa for attempting to do good doesn't feel right. At least it is an American entity.

Second, if people were opposed to the plan, they can vote w/ their wallets. Is there something keeping a new company from opening another live exhibit right down the street?

Seems like a shaky investment.

I'm going to cook up some steak!

I would be willing to join such a group as well. Count me in. Granted, PETA has done some good in regards to offering help for that kitten that was tossed from a moving car, but more than often, they go overboard(no pun intended)especially in this case. For some reason they forget that animals that are in places like Sea World, cannot be released back into the wild sucessfully, for they would not know how to fend for themselves and they've become used to human interaction and rely heavily upon their keepers for care. Remember the whale from Free Willie? I am no big fan of zoos or places like Sea World, but Sea World with interactive exhibits...just would not be the same. Anyone remember thier protest a few years ago when the VA Aquarium proposed a dolphin exhibit? PETA and Dolphin Liberty conveinently left out one important fact: Dolphins would NOT be taken from the wild. You're right: it's People Embarassing Tidewater Area!

It has reached a point that anytime you see PETA mentioned............ you READ it to see what silliness they are up too now.

When you support Animals Rights above and beyong human....well, someone has their priorities mixed up.

If this radical group had any real intentions, they would buy them all. Nothing but People Embarrasing Tidewater Area again.

Wonder what they would do with the amimals? Is there a big enough dumpster for PETA to use?

If there was an anti-PETA organization, as long as it was peaceful, count me in. And yes, I'm being serious.

I think we should form an organization against PETA. Seriously, please contact me if you are willing to join.

nobody is going to pay $65 a day to see robot dolphins and whales. Peta should stick to what they know, how to be an embarassment to common sense.

I don't see this as "crass", Dog. Rather, it is a sensibly capitalistic approach to a problem they see as genuine. You may not agree, but rethink your bias. If In-Bev wants to sell, will you pony-up? Doubt it.

Regarding the "love it or leave it" fallacy, I am thankful Washington, Adams, and Jefferson didn't spout such nonsense. Work within the paradigm to change what is wrong. Only intellectual cowards run away from problems, or push away people with a different opinion.

You can bet your last dollar that peta is being crass, insulting and arrogant in any endevor they are involved in. Maybe they can move to where InBev is....huh? huh?

people embarrassing tidewater, again