Update on Shouka the Killer Whale
There has been no change with Shouka the Killer Whale since the last article. Shouka, living in a pen at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, is all by herself with no companion to be found. Even after the many letters sent to APHIS by several of you (animal and plant health inspection services) there has been no improvements. The creator of the petition, Wendy Brunot, has yet to have a response regarding Shouka’s companionship. Every time the petition is signed an email is automatically sent to APHIS. Wendy explained,“Last year year I went there to keep tabs on her. I turned in some violations to APHIS and they corrected a few things but they still haven’t corrected the main issue, which is her companionship”. This is a major problem that needs to be resolved. APHIS needs to put some pressure on Six Flags Discovery Kingdom to give Shouka a companion.
Recently there has been news that Shouka could be moved to Marineland, Canada. This is devastating news, as Marineland has previously had two Orca’s removed from their facility (both on loan from SeaWorld) due to poor living conditions. Wendy is concerned also, she said, “If she goes to Canada, and the other Orca there dies, then she’s in the same position. She’s alone again. There are no laws in Canada that can protect her”. After some investigating, it appears that Canada doesn’t have a clause in their animal welfare act concerning marine mammals. The good news is that it appears that Shouka could still be on loan to Six Flags from Marineland, Antibes in France. Should Six Flags try to move Shouka to Marineland Canada then Marineland, Antibes in France can and will intervene.
Shouka has spent a total of four years or more in seclusion. Recent studies would suggest that leaving a highly social mammal of Shouka’s size with no companion can lead to aggressiveness. Wendy doesn’t know if Shouka is aggressive towards humans, but she did state that trainers do not get in the water with her. This could be a large indication that perhaps Shouka is aggressive and therefore she needs a companion immediately. If she was left alone longer it is a large possibility that she could become destructive towards humans. This has to change; Six Flags still has a chance to adjust this.
The petition that Wendy has created can be found here. Her petition states that Six Flags should give Shouka a companion that is already in captivity. Wendy explained, “If Shouka’s going to be in captivity, and that’s how it’s going to be in this moment, then the least they can do is take care of her for what her needs are as a social animal. I don’t want to see her there, but realistically where else can she go? There are no sea pens out there for her. There are no other options for her”. Wendy doesn’t condone animals being imprisoned in captivity but if they are going to do so she believes they should at least care about their welfare. Six Flags appear to be ignoring the Animal Welfare Act section 3.109.
What can you do to help? Sign Wendy’s petition of course. Tweet it, share it on Facebook and email it to everyone you know. You can also urge six flags to give Shouka a companion by tweeting @SixFlagsDK. Hashtags that frequent twitter are: #Shouka #SixFlags #DiscoveryKingdom & #KillerWhale. Adding the link to the petition, or even this article will lead anyone interested in the right direction! Let’s put some pressure on Six Flags and get Shouka the companion she truly deserves. No being deserves to live a lonely life.
Special thanks to Wendy Brunot for speaking to me about Shouka.
anagirlempath
Holise E Cleveland III
Monika Turner
Thomas O'Brien
Thank you Alex! Lets hope with the public’s help, we can make a difference for Shouka!
We will make a difference for Shouka. She deserves so much more than this. I think about her every day and I will not forget her. Wendy you are awesome! Thank you for taking time out of your day to speak with me!
Get news! Shouka was moved to Seaworld San Diego on monday where she has adjusted wonderfully. I saw her this morning while visiting the park, and she is absolutely full of energy being surrounded by so many new killer whales. She’s seemed to buddy up with Corky, the oldest female. SO much better for her than being alone in that tank!
If the marine parks admit the their assets have feelings, they will have to admit more. If they confide that the emotional welfare of these sentient beings is important, they will have to eventually address the fact that these creatures should not be in prison for crimes they did not commit. This is a step up to a victory for freeing these gentle beasts.
Thank you, Sonja. Have a great day!
Great article and suggestions, Alex. I’ve sent several tweets about Shouka but will continue to keep the pressure on. I tweet as @DolphinsSOS and @OrcaSOS and will follow you to RT.
Thanks Lindie! The more pressure on six Flags the better. Just keep going at it. We will change this. Thank you for reading and following
shouka does deserve more than to live in Keiko’s old pool she does deserve a campainion i say send her to sea world san diego or san antonio or orlando where there are other captive killer whales that would be able to be great campanions for her and she can get use to having calves around her just in case of future purposes.
I think she should be back in France with her family. She should be with her siblings, her parents and where she was born, in my opinion. I would hate for her to have to go to SeaWorld. Right now I think she only performs once a day, they would have her doing it several times a day. She has become rather stubborn with performances and sometimes won’t do them at all – I would hate to see how SeaWorld would “correct” that behavior.
And yet again, no one cares that Kiska is alone too (considering the next article is about Kiska being alone). I think Shouka SHOULD go to Canada. It has to be better than being alone at SFDK. If she is on Loan, as you all state, MLF can just easily take Shouka out if Kiska was to die or they would send over one of their other orcas to be with her. Kiska CANNOT go to SFDK as she DOES NOT Preform. Seriously, you people are blind to MLC. They don’t do HARDCORE shows, unlike most other marineparks with their orcas anymore, just “splash sessions” with no waterworks and mainly natural behaviors. They also believe in the retirement of show orcas, which no other park does. Is MLC really a terrible place for Shouka? No, its not. It wasn’t the best in the past but that was the past. MLC has the worlds SECOND largest captive Orca habitat, next to MLF (if the belugas are removed from Friendshipcove). Also they cannot be blamed for poor genes for breeding. Kandu just was clearly not a breeding male to have sucess, unlike SW sperm king, Tilikum. MLC did not in danger Ike either. He was happy and healthy and FAT (first hand accounts from myself and my visits. He was a VERY happy orca). Him and kiska JUST started to get along but then SW lost ANOTHER breeding male and had to replace him. Thats what the problem REALLY was, SW losing breeding males. They did not once think about Kiska, instead they left her alone not caring, when MLC fought to keep Ike for Kiska. Such a great voice for orcas SW is hmm? Not to mention whoring out poor Kshmenk in Argentina, not once wanting to help his situation either and may I remind you about Keiko? They didn’t care about him either. If he wasn’t sick they would of just whored him out too. In my opinion SFDK’s idea to send Shouka to MLC, is their way of giving you people what you want. You can’t have it both ways….its either you want Shouka to have a companion or you want her to stay in California alone cause Canada is “bad”. And if you’re all TRUE captive orca lovers, you would want these two orcas to be together, for eachother, for both their sanity and companionship. I support the move of Shouka to Canada. We will welcome her warmly and the MLC staff, vets and trainers will spoil her with nothing but love, attention and Kiska will love her companionship as well.
Kelsey, I do care about all the Orca’s that are being left alone when they shouldn’t be. I can only focus on one thing at a time right now with my schedule. It upsets me to know that Kiska is alone too, because these mammals NEED a friend to share the burden of captivity with. That being said, I have done enough research to know and see that MarineLand Canada is not the greatest of facilities. It’s speaks leaps and bounds to me when SeaWorld are willing to intervene. I think what’s absolutely best for beautiful Miss Shouka is to go back to France to spend the rest of her life with her family. They are the only Orca’s she’s truly known. Kiska is quite old now and it worries me to think that perhaps Shouka could end up alone to die in Canada. I do worry about her being able to get along with other Orca’s. I have been told that she did not get along very well with another Orca in the past in Ohio, so that worries me. She has been kept alone far too long for it to be easy for her. I’m sure the same goes for Kiska. I would also like to clarify that I am not a “true captive Orca lover” at all. I would rather see these animals in the wild, where they belong. The only reason I support this campaign is because I feel that Shouka should truly be back in France, no where else. Clearly it’s not working out for her in California and it’s common sense to know it wouldn’t work in Canada too. Thank you for the comment Kelsey. I appreciate it. Have a good.
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You clearly did not read my post clearly, MLF could move Shouka out if Kiska dies, and no SW didn’t intervene because “Ike was is trouble” They intervened because they wanted to replace Sumar with Ike, as they needed another breeding male. This is the con of SeaWorld….MLC FOUGHT for Kiska’s sanity…brought her up countless times in court. The only reason why sw got Ike back was because they found a loophole in the contract. (or they paid the judge off handsomely which they have been known to do). Have you ever been to Mairneland? I doubt it..you base you facts on old past problems, and anti-cap statistics. Those who have been know MLC is a great facility and better than that of SeaWorld. I suggest you go to MLC before bashing it to the ground…
Really? I think this says it all a(an article from the Toronto star that came out TODAY about the terrible conditions at MarineLand): http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1241961–marineland-animals-suffering-former-staffers-say