Quote :

"That citation, carrying a $70,000 penalty, was for exposing workers to drowning hazards when interacting with Killer Whales" "

More government ridiculousness. Sea World trainers know what their getting into. They're working with KILLER Whales..in slippery conditions. They know and accept the dangers. There is no reason for the gov't to get in between these trainers and their employers.

Quote :

"Sea World trainers were forbidden from getting in the water with Tilikum because of the previous deaths. But the killer whale still managed to grab Brancheau's long hair as she laid on her stomach on a cement clab in three inches of water. The cause of death was drowning and traumatic injuries."

The trainers are voluntarily putting themselves into these dangerous situations. You're taking a huge aggressive whale, stuffing him into a small pool and forcing him to do the same tricks everyday. You're asking for trouble.

Quote :

"The OSHA report also suggests that trainers not work with other killer whales at the park, either in the water or out of water, unless they are protected by a barrier, deck or oxygen-supply system underwater."

If both parties agree to the job, then the gov't shouldn't be meddling. ...especially when the gov't mandated protection results in the worker not being able to even do the job.

The other "violations" are just trivial things just to get more money out of Sea World...

Quote :

"The second citation, deemed serious, was for failing to install a stairway railing system beside the stage in Shamu Stadium. That citation carried a $5,000 penalty. The third citation was considered "other-than-serious" and was for failing to have weather-protected electrical receptacles at the stadium. That citation didn't have a penalty."

If you want to do a "cool" but potentially deadly job...then you accept the consequences. The gov't should stay out of it.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2010/08/23/general-us-seaworld-death_7871777.html?boxes=Homepagebusinessnews

8/24/2010 11:56:08 AM

Quote :

"their getting into"

can i have some getting into?

8/24/2010 12:01:11 PM

^^agreed.

8/24/2010 12:03:04 PM

^^^
agreed

8/24/2010 12:09:26 PM

8/24/2010 1:26:31 PM

Quote :

"KILLER Whales."

Just curious as to why you capitalized the word killer. Are you trying to draw attention to your own ignorance of the mammal?

8/24/2010 1:56:33 PM

I am glad someone beat me to calling that out.

8/24/2010 3:09:41 PM

Quote :

"The trainers are voluntarily putting themselves into these dangerous situations"

They work for free?

8/24/2010 4:42:51 PM

Okay...

1) The wikipedia detail on all these orcas in captivity is unbelievable.
2) What we are doing to these whales is messed up yo!
3) I generally like OSHA. It's a very necessary mild annoyance.

8/24/2010 5:00:38 PM

Quote :

"They work for free?"

More of a "No one becomes a trainer at Sea World because they're really down on their luck and have to take any job just to make ends meet."

8/24/2010 7:58:53 PM

Quote :

"Are you trying to draw attention to your own ignorance of the mammal?"

"The sea was angry that day, my friends"

8/24/2010 9:59:46 PM

^^ ...and yet, it's still a job. OSHA has a responsibility to protect workers, even (and especially) when those workers agree to do a dangerous job.

Coal mining is also acknowledged to be dangerous and you don't take the job without knowing that. Yet there are still supposed to be safety practices in place to protect the workers.

8/25/2010 8:32:53 AM

yes, but people generally don't relocate and go though years of study to work in a coal mine, that's mostly a captive work force

8/25/2010 9:52:56 AM

Nope, sorry, there's way more coal mines out there than Killer Whale shows. Surely any good conservative coal miner would know that they can just up and move to a coal mine that does respect safety.

Right?

No, OSHA has a job to do and that's what they're doing. Your right to a safe work environment is supposed to be protected whether or not you work in a coal mine, junk yard, hospital, IT-dungeon, farm, or freaking Sea World. They all have risks and OSHA is there so that those risks can be mitigated.

[Edited on August 25, 2010 at 10:12 AM. Reason : /]

8/25/2010 10:11:58 AM

being in the water and close to those whales is just asking for death. most people have experienced their pet doing something mildly violent when it was irritated- puppy nips and cat scratches. If your kitten was 30 feet long you'd be in mortal danger of any physical outburst- same with the whales.

Plus these whales must still have an instinct to hunt, especially when they only get to exercise it on fish. In the wild, they kill other whales!

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/animal-planet/34786-weird-true-and-freaky-orca-vs-sperm-whales-video.htm



people are much smaller than some of their prey.

8/25/2010 11:29:48 AM

And, predictably, the day after the OSHA ruling...the husband of the trainer has lawyered up for a possible wrongful death suit against the park...

His lawyer...

Quote :

""It's not every day that OSHA issues a willful citation for plain indifference or intentional disregard for human life," O'Connor said. "It is clear, after reviewing the willful finding, that more of the true facts will be brought out regarding the fatal attack upon Dawn.""

Sea World's response:

Quote :

"OSHA's allegations in this citation are unsupported by any evidence or precedent and reflect a fundamental lack of understanding of the safety requirements associated with marine mammal care. Killer whales at SeaWorld are displayed under valid federal permits and under the supervision of two government agencies with directly applicable expertise: The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the U.S. Department of Commerce National Marine Fisheries Service. SeaWorld is a member in good standing of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums. Both associations make employee safety a central feature of rigorous accreditation processes."

[Edited on August 25, 2010 at 11:37 AM. Reason : .]

8/25/2010 11:36:34 AM

I'm glad someone called the KILLER thing out too. I already had it copy pasted ready to tear em up.

Its still very rare to have someone killed by a dolphin. Aggressive or not. Sea world wasn't negligent but they are definitely liable and need to be fined so that they'll make measures to prevent this from happening again.

8/25/2010 11:40:44 AM

Quote :

"Your right to a safe work environment is supposed to be protected whether or not you work in a coal mine, junk yard, hospital, IT-dungeon, farm, or freaking Sea World."

Since when do people not have the right to risk their life? I guess you also want to ban shark diving, bungee jumping, sky diving, and joining the army?

Why do some get to risk their life for play, but others cannot risk their life for pay?

I would argue it is far more wrong to prevent someone from engaging in their chosen profession than it is to prevent someones sport.

[Edited on August 25, 2010 at 4:39 PM. Reason : .,.]

8/25/2010 4:37:34 PM

Quote :

"If both parties agree to the job, then the gov't shouldn't be meddling"

I think that we ought to protect employees from exploitation when they can't protect themselves.

That isn't really what strikes me as the case, here. It's more like, you are a terrestrial dweller hanging around in a small aquatic environment with a fucking orca, bossing it around at that. There are more dangerous jobs in the world, but there are also certainly plenty of ways to get yourself dead doing that one. It doesn't take negligence on Sea World's (or anyone's) part for that to happen.

Quote :

"Sea world wasn't negligent but they are definitely liable and need to be fined so that they'll make measures to prevent this from happening again."

That's what I have a problem with.

If they weren't negligent, why are they liable?

If they weren't negligent, what are they going to do to keep it from happening again?

If they weren't negligent, they didn't really do anything wrong, and so why must they be fined (i.e., punished) to get them to act upon any lessons learned to prevent it in the future?

...and that's assuming that there even IS anything for them to do...like I said, you can do everything right, but if you're a human, out of your element in the water, and in close proximity to a predatory, aquatic animal that is 100x bigger than you...sometimes accidents happen, and they're just that. Accidents...and you knew that it wasn't a job knitting socks.)

8/25/2010 5:39:54 PM

i can't believe no one pointed out how awesome this drawing was

8/25/2010 5:55:54 PM

Quote :

"Sea world wasn't negligent but they are definitely liable and need to be fined so that they'll make measures to prevent this from happening again.""

OSHA disagrees. They say the park showed "willful'" negligence. They were purposefully allowing the whales to kill the trainers. Sound right to you?

And the "measures" OSHA recommended was putting a wall between the whales and trainers. How would you train a whale when you're behind a wall?

The Trainer was actually laying in a small pool next to the pool that held the whale. He grabbed her long hair and pulled her in. Was she following the rules?

8/25/2010 11:05:07 PM

You have to pay the bribe if you want to do business. Same as India. It's Seaworld, they can afford it.

8/25/2010 11:15:56 PM