OSHA proposes fine for SeaWorld Orlando over trainer interaction with orcas

Aren't you inherently working with potential hazards by working with the killer whale to begin with? I don't know the facts of the incident, and maybe there are always ways to reduce risk...but I doubt there will ever be a time when there is no risk.

As an aside, I heard that the most dangerous ride at Walt Disney World is the Mark Twain Riverboat. It is operated by a boiler which, in its truest sense, is a bomb. If that boiler blew up it could take out dozens, if not hundreds of people.

Enjoy your next trip to the happiest place on earth!

That's what my issue has been with all of the SeaWorld and OSHA interaction is that they seem to treat the situation as if the animals are machines. This isn't a situation where the worker wasn't wearing safety goggles and stuck their hand in a press. There is some risk inherent to the job that the trainer has to accept. I'm certain that every single one does.

I'll bet Jane Goodall got her share of scrapes, bumps, and bruises.

Has there ever been a case we know of where trainers at zoos, circuses, animal sanctuaries, etc. have been injured and OSHA comes rushing in to levy fines? It seems like SeaWorld is always a target. How level is the playing field in this regard? Personally, if I were a trainer I would assume risk is part of the job..whether working with dogs, cats, horses, or orcas, but that's just me.

wahoo skipper:
As an aside, I heard that the most dangerous ride at Walt Disney World is the Mark Twain Riverboat. It is operated by a boiler which, in its truest sense, is a bomb. If that boiler blew up it could take out dozens, if not hundreds of people.

Same issue with the Disneyland Railroad in principle in that it is also ran by Steam.

Animals can be unpredictable and thus dangerous. Don't think it follows though that any incidents involving animals would be beyond review. From OSHA's general statements:

The general duty clause requires employers to implement feasible measures to prevent or minimize recognized, serious hazards. The general duty clause, therefore, applies to workplaces where there are recognized hazards that could result in death or serious physical harm, and requires that employers address these hazards.

I read that to mean that expectation isn't that all injuries must be prevented. Just that feasible measures must be taken to prevent/minimize them. In the instant case, I haven't seen any real details in terms of what happened. What I have seen:

"A U.S. Department of Labor investigation found that the trainer was not properly protected from hazards while working with the whale," OSHA said in a statement.

"The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated the incident and issued a general duty clause serious citation for allowing employees to work in close contact with the whale, exposing them to the potential for bites, struck-by, and drowning hazards."

Would need to see details as to what happened, what was being done, what steps could have been taken to avoid/minimize risk of injury while at same time accomplishing task being accomplished, etc. before saying whether its a witch hunt against SeaWorld, failure to understand animals, etc.

From what I have seen, some news groups have filed FOIA requests to get more details.

Interesting that Jane Goodall is brought up in this discussion given I don't understand her to have favorable views of SeaWorld.

Quick Google search found OSHA investigations of the San Diego Zoo. At least some of them appear to involve injuries resulting from interactions with animals. At this point, are there any circuses with animal shows? I understood when circuses came back they did so with only human acts (though I haven't been to a circus in at least 20 years or to SeaWorld in at least 30). I don't think its necessarily the case that SeaWorld is singled out. Just that with all the publicity surrounding Blackfish, SeaWorld is followed more. Also with respect to this site, its an amusement park with coasters as well.

Is it the entertainment aspect or the species that is the problem? Lots of aquariums have dolphin shows. The Shedd Aquarium, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Georgia Aquarium all come to mind. I don't recall hearing much about protests of those facilities...and I've never really heard people call out the Clyde and Seamore shows at Sea World for that matter. How about Bird of Prey shows at zoos across America?

Walt S:

Same issue with the Disneyland Railroad in principle in that it is also ran by Steam.

Wow, I knew Railroad Tycoon was on Steam, but not the Disneyland Railroad. Valve is amazing!

wahoo skipper:

Lots of aquariums have dolphin shows.

At least they don't have dopey turtle shows.

I think the objections and protests for the smaller animal performances are a thing, but Sea World and orcas get the publicity because the animals are so much larger and orcas were literally Sea World's entire brand.

Protests at Shedd Aquarium:

https://images.chicagohisto...et/344639/

https://sharkonline.org/ind...-the-shedd

Expect there have been protests at various times at other aquariums as well.

Certain situations gain legs whilst others don't. Sometimes its tough to figure out why.

As we have discussed before, we are very hypocritical when it comes to animals. Cute and cuddly or can do work for us and you likely will be protected. Taste good cooked over an open flame and you have concerns. And that is often cultural. Animals eaten in one country are off limits in another.

We regularly see reports celebrating tens of thousands of dollars being spent to save various animals (oil spills, injured by boat props, etc) and returning them to the wild. But slaughter millions of animals each year for food (often times after having lived in some pretty horrible conditions).

https://animalclock.org/

My view of zoos has changed over time. Took my kids regularly. Likely part of the reason my daughter is about to become a vet. But recently, visits are less frequent and often don't feel good while there. Habitats are now better than the concrete/steel jungles we had at one point. But watching a wolf pack hunt from afar in Yellowstone doesn't make me feel good when I see the Cleveland Zoo wolves walking in circles around their "small" enclosure. Though I am not protesting zoos. And I eat a lot of beef, chicken, pork and turkey. Happen to be married to a vegetarian (wasn't when I married her) and have a daughter about to become a vet (who is a vegetarian and sometimes wears a shirt that says "Good doctors don't eat their patients."). Neither of them are protestors either though.

Conservation and education are real needs, I think. I'm not sure anyone would care about whales at all were it not for SeaWorld.

^I wholeheartedly agree. The positive contributions SeaWorld has made are completely overshadowed by excessive government oversight.

I suspect Greenpeace did not start out of a visit to Sea World.

I credit Star Trek IV with saving whales. And those actually were whales.

Fair, but I was going to SeaWorld Ohio long before that movie.