Success! No wild orcas at Sochi! Sign the petition to the IIAPA and SeaWorld for them to be returned to the wild 5FEB14

VICTORY, sort of! This update from SumOfUS, and I hope you will sign this petition because it was public pressure that stopped these orcas from being displayed at the Sochi Winter Olympics, now our voices are needed to have them returned to the wild.....
My earlier post on this campaign is Demand that White Sphere drops its plan to display the orcas at Sochi 2014 21JAN & 4FEB14 http://bucknacktssordidtawdryblog.blogspot.com/2014/02/demand-that-white-sphere-drops-its-plan.html


SeaWorld has the chance to do something right.
News just in -- the two wild killer whales captured by White Sphere will not be displayed during the Sochi Olympics. 
But the orcas are still destined for other aquariums and shows. Tell SeaWorld and the IIAPA to pile on the pressure, and stop their association with White Sphere. 


Great news! The President of the Sochi Olympic Committee has just confirmed that the two wild orcas captured by White Sphere will not be displayed during the Sochi Olympics.
But this fight isn’t over. Whale and Dolphin Conservation believe that White Sphere is responsible for the capture of 8 wild orcas in the past year. The 2 that were bound for the Sochi Olympics are still in Moscow. They are still destined to be shipped off to another dolphinarium in Russia or China. They will still be forced to participate in live shows and be kept in ridiculously tiny metal tanks.
The physical and mental health of these orcas is in danger. We have to ramp up the pressure on White Sphere, and we think we know how. White Sphere is a member of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IIAPA), the world’s largest trade association for amusement parks and aquariums. So is SeaWorld. We want the IIAPA and SeaWorld to expect better from their members and partners.
Tell the IIAPA and SeaWorld to boot White Sphere out of the Association, unless it returns the captured orcas to the wild.
Being booted out of the IIAPA could be a serious wake-up call for White Sphere. The IIAPA provides White Sphere with links to suppliers and partners around the world, as well as advice on how to improve efficiency, marketing, safety, and profitability. Above all, the IIAPA gives White Sphere a veneer of credibility. Without IIAPA membership, White Sphere could be exposed as the cowboy outfit it really is.
And SeaWorld has good reason to speak out. SeaWorld has been facing increasing pressure after the documentary Blackfish came out last year, alleging troublesome practices involving its captive killer whales. Now is the perfect time for SeaWorld to stand up and prove its ethical stance, by refusing to be associated with White Sphere -- a company that has captured 8 orcas from the wild in one year alone.
Demand that the IIAPA and SeaWorld not work with White Sphere any longer, until it returns the wild orcas to the ocean.
Russia issues the permits for wild orca capture, but just because it’s legal, doesn’t mean it’s right. The US hasn’t issued a permit for the capture of a wild orca since 1989. That’s how dated this practice truly is.
Hundreds of thousands of us have protested the display of the wild orcas at the Sochi Olympics, and we won. Now let's aim higher, and stand up for all the wild orcas at risk by White Sphere's despicable behaviour.
Thanks for all that you do,
Hanna, and the rest of us at SumOfUs.

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More information:
‘Blackfish’ glitch: Did plan to fly orcas to Sochi for the Olympics get caught up in Moscow?, Raw Story, 16 January
Killer whales cruelly snared by hunters will be put on display at Russia's Sochi Winter Olympics, Mirror, 12 January
SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

Demand that White Sphere drops its plan to display the orcas at Sochi 2014 21JAN & 4FEB14

 
SO pathetic, but not surprising, considering the putin's Russia doesn't care about human rights, why would they care about animal rights and the environment? Join hundreds of thousands and sign the petition calling on white sphere to cancel their plans to display these Orcas and instead return them to their home. So far over 450,000 have signed. Keep this petition alive, and maybe the IOC will condemn the dolphinarium and the Russian government will have to prevent it from opening and free the Orcas.....
Amazing -- already over 450,000 people have signed our petition urging White Sphere not to display wild orcas at the Sochi Olympics! Click here to join them now.
-Hanna
Two wild orcas have been captured by Russian hunters, and are on their way to be displayed for human entertainment in a dolphinarium at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
White Sphere, the Russian company behind this, is just looking to make a fast buck from the tourists who will be descending on to Sochi during the Games. It couldn't care less that the orcas were stolen from their ocean home.
The mammals, which can grow up to 22ft long and swim 100 miles a day, are set to be kept in a “small concrete tank” after a 4,614-mile flight from the far east of Russia. Animal experts say that transporting orcas causes them stress, that keeping them in ­captivity shortens their life and can even turn them dangerously “psychotic”.
Tell White Sphere not to display the wild orcas for entertainment, and release them back into the ocean where they belong.
This isn’t the first time that the Sochi Winter Olympics has met controversy. Over 400,000 of us have already petitioned Coca Cola, as a sponsor of the Winter Olympics, to speak out on Russia’s brutal anti-gay laws.
The spotlight is now on Russian President Putin and the International Olympic Committee -- neither of whom can afford more embarrassment. Putin is putting his personal reputation on the line by hosting the Sochi Olympics, but he hasn’t done a great job of it so far. If we draw attention to White Sphere’s despicable behaviour now, just 2 weeks before the Games begin, there’s more chance that Putin and the IOC will take notice and that we win this.
Demand that White Sphere drops its plan to display the orcas, and return them to the wild.
Thanks for all that you do,
Hanna, and the rest of us at SumOfUs.org

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More information:
‘Blackfish’ glitch: Did plan to fly orcas to Sochi for the Olympics get caught up in Moscow?, Raw Story, 16 January
Killer whales cruelly snared by hunters will be put on display at Russia's Sochi Winter Olympics, Mirror, 12 January
SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.