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What's Seaworld's Excuse for Dawn's Death?


After watching Blackfish, I started doing some research and looking into what parts of the movie may have been exaggerated, falsified or even just blatant lies. I feel a have a firm grasp on most of the topics discussed in the film but I can't seem to figure out what Seaworld has to say about Dawn's death. They claim that Tilikum was not an aggressive whale and that Dawn had more than 15 years of experience and went through extensive training.

So what gives? Why is she dead then? Blackfish says its because Tilikum was mistreated and had previous aggressive encounters. What's Sea world's answer to this?

Anyone know?

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Going from memory, they said it was her own fault and the whale was mesmerised by her pony tail. This was explained in the film, complete with the guy on national TV saying "if Dawn was here today, she'd admit it was her fault"

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Right, yeah. I was hoping for a current response from Seaworld because I feel like Blackfish is a bit biased on the subject.

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I don't think they have said anything different. Blackfish showed footage of SeaWorld's statement

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From their website, this is their current statement

"The film falsely suggests that SeaWorld “blamed” Ms. Brancheau for her death. We have never done that. She was our colleague and we mourn her loss to this day. The film, however, does blame Ms. Brancheau, and it accomplishes this through former trainers with little or no relevant experience. These trainers were not present on the day she died, and callously presume to critique her interaction with Tilikum"

...weird, since they have footage of someone from seaworld flat out saying "If she was here, she'd tell you she was at fault"

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Because that was some guys opinion. I worked on a ski mountain once. Some skiers got hurt on a chair lift. A reporter asked a staffer (who knew little about what had happened) and the staffer said something like they got hurt because they were idiots. One persons opinion but to the press it was the resorts 'official' line because that made for a good story.

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Because that was some guys opinion. I worked on a ski mountain once. Some skiers got hurt on a chair lift. A reporter asked a staffer (who knew little about what had happened) and the staffer said something like they got hurt because they were idiots. One persons opinion but to the press it was the resorts 'official' line because that made for a good story.


Except, it wasn't just some guy or some staffer, it was a Sea World executive making an official statement to the press, way after the fact. It wasn't an uninformed guess or opinion from someone unauthorized to give a statement. It was seaworld's official stance from the mouth of their own executive.

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Damn shame they keep trying to cover up bs with some other bs.

https://www.facebook.com/iwillservemypeople

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False, that person was a former SeaWorld employee. He left SeaWorld in 2008, 2 years before Dawn died. You can see for yourself on his LinkedIn page. https://www.linkedin.com/pub/thad-lacinak/30/a5/408

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@Trajanc:

What infuriates me most are imbeciles like yourself who think it's a good idea to spew nonsense before doing any sort of fact-checking, thereby spreading false information. Had you done a minute's worth of research you would have known that it was a Sea World executive making an official statement and not "some guy's opinion".

Do us all a favor: do some research or just don't have an opinion. Thanks.

As for this topic, SeaWorld has tried desperately to cover this up with thinly-veiled PR spins in an attempt to sway public opinion.

"Tilikum was interested in her hair!" That's their official statement.

-Okay, then. Eye-witnesses claim and video footage (not released to the public) tell us the same thing: he grabbed her arm. But okay, let's say he grabbed her ponytail because he was just interested in it. Why, then, did Tilly proceed to brutally mutilate Dawn? Because that's what happened. The autopsy report confirms Dawn's left arm was torn off, her spinal cord was severed, she had fractures to her jawbone, ribs, cervical vertebra, and lastly her scalp had been torn off as well.

All that, according to SeaWorld, was Dawn's fault for exposing her ponytail to Tilikum.

So was it because he was interested in her hair or was it because he had been held in a comparatively tiny tank all his life, abused, raked and injured by other whales, and forced to perform without being given adequate food on the day of Dawn's death? Or inn other words, because he was frustrated and aggravated?

Really, SeaWorld? You expect someone to be dumb enough to go with the former?

In my opinion, everyone responsible and involved in the capture and confinement of Whales for the purpose of entertainment, as well as the lawyers and attorneys who are heartless enough to defend SeaWorld, should all be thrown in prison. But that's just me.

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I still don't get what she was doing in the water with him? Did they really lie to all the trainers that were in the water with Tilly, about the events of those 2 deaths? Something is off, because One of the 911 calls alluded to a trainer being in the water with the whale they are not supposed to be in the water with.. So why was she in the water with Tilly??

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She wasn't in the water with him. She was lying on a shallow slide out area which has a few inches (about 6-ish) of water covering it. It was something multiple trainers had been doing with Tilikum for years; there's photos and videos of it all over the internet.

He grabbed her off the slideout and pulled her into the water with him, where he killed her.

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That's the same thing. She is right there for him to grab inches away. It is not like she is reaching over a pool throwing him fish, she was lying down next to him. No trainer ever should have been doing this, had SeaWorld been 100% up front about him..

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Exactly. Which is why SeaWorld were cited by OSHA. It shouldn't have taken a trainer dying for that to happen though.

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Seems to me this hit piece....errr "film" misrepresents MANY things. Full of Michael MooreGut-like half truths and lies in their slickest forms.

I honestly couldn't give a! Those whales still shouldn't be living in tiny tanks at seaworld!

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