Everybody Loathes Marineland

After so many cracks at it, so many hints we'd been thinking about it (dismiss it right now as mere boyhood-nostalgia, okay?) and so many jokes about it (some genuinely aquamusing - others not) - we had to succumb before it really was too late (for this season, anyways) and we went to Marineland - yes, not Maryland, Ma-rine-land! 

We were there when protesters arrived and took over the premises in a flash!  We were there as the walls of hypocrisy were shattered down by decibels of truth, shouting the injustice perpetrated against creatures that cannot voice their pain in any way.  We were there when justice came a-knocking, shaking the foundations of those marble towers of capitalistic greed that were galvanized by the cupidity of man - and his cruelty to his fellow mammal.

Protesters were rightfully clamoring to ''shut it down'' as they successfully gained entrance into the park, just as buses of tourists were arriving to ''enjoy'' Marineland, even this late into their season.. Police may have dispersed them rapidly afterwards, but not before they disturbed a show featuring belugas, sea lions, dolphins and the so-obviously uncomfortable Sonia the Walrus - and so the protesters were able to spread their message to all who happened to be present there, on this rather cold and damp Sunday, the second-to-last day of operations for this 2012 season of Marineland in the Niagara Falls region...  View some of the images that we took of that now:

Signs rivaled with each other in wit, veracity and harshness towards King Waldorf's kingdom...

and the country it was built upon.

 One of the obvious leaders of the protest rally doing his thing  - 

and YES; he is RIGHT! 

We are all animals - and we ALL deserve 

freedom, and in our natural habitats too.

We didn't use the Lumix camera for photos much more than those two shots, though: we resorted immediately to the video cam for better mementos on the spot!  

Let's watch:

Everybody loves NIAGARA FALLS -whether it is on the Ontario, Canadian side or on the ''State Park'', American side- however everyone with half a brain would agree that a place such as ''Marineland'' simply goes to the complete opposite zenith of the majesty that the Falls evoke and inspire. The Falls are Nature in its purest form. Nature in all its beauty and awe-inspiring force. Nature untamed.  The denizens prickled out from Nature and held up as continuous displays for the merriment of poor excuses for ''nature lovers'' that flock in every year by the thousands -if not millions- are deprived of everything that Nature had to offer them; the Nature in which they were born and should have lived out their entire natural lives. They are now mere parodies of their real selves; these animals that are found in theme parks such as ''Marineland'' are beyond being merely ''tamed'' - they are turned into puppet toys for the basest amusement of all.  Even those animals that are merely on display there, as in an aquarium or a zoo - those lucky creatures that do not have to perform any ''tricks'' for the bemusement of the crowds there - they are reduced to being the equivalence of zombies of the wild now.  The killer whales swim around in circles, quite visibly sensing their entrapment. The dolphins shrug it off better - perhaps because it is in their nature to do so - and it appears to be likewise for the belugas, but this may be a case of simple impression of our own character traits upon what we observe... The sea lions are obviously trained to act jolly and joyful - so much anyone can see through. The fishes that visitors can pay to feed are another sad sight to behold: for aren't these the very same fishies used to coax the dolphins, sea lions, belugas & al. to perform tricks - with each trick rewarded immediately with a fish?  This is, at best, a concentration camp for fishes then.  The lone walrus observed was painful to watch - yes, the word is not ill chosen at all: it was painful to watch that poor creature forced to perform the few tricks it absolutely had to deliver in order to close out that damn show of theirs - in order to give those damn masses what they came looking for.  But it's doesn't stop there at all - after all, this so-called ''Marineland'' also takes on a sort-of zoo appearance as it also includes enclosures within its perimeters that are devoted to land mammals: namely deer and some critters of the ursine quality. The deer wander around, lifeless, annoyed at best...  The bears are bored, sad, depressed in the worst cases. Again, as with the fishies, ''feed'' booths make nourishment readily available for the visitors to purchase it and then taunt the poor animals with it.  This time, the reward is for the patience to bear with the humans - pun totally intended, of course!

These protesters that are coming out of the woodwork now did not come to do this by sheer chance nor did they pick on Marineland on a lark either.  Several former employees of Marineland came out (were they disgruntled - or simply disgusted? We may never know for sure!) and testified that the animals were simply not well taken care of in there.  Gruesome accounts regarding the sea mammals, mainly, whose water wasn't adequate, overchlorined for damn sure, causing the skin to peel off the poor sea creatures - some accounts said even the eyes, too. The deer were also suffering from overexposure to the sun; and it isn't hard to believe that one iota after a single look at their pen.  Activists (some fools might call them extremists?) picked up on that and decided to do something about it: Sea Shepherd organized a massive protest as recently as last August, too. And I happened to be there for this latest one, now!  Many regular visitors and faithful customers of Marineland have turned their back on this traditional stopover for all families vacationing around Niagara Falls in the summer due to all these disturbing revelations. And they are not alone: Suzie McNeil, the singer whose voice has been ringing in our ears for what seems like an eternity now with that insufferable jingle that says, against rhyme and certainly totally against reason, that ''everyone loves Marineland'' - well, even she has had a change of heart and she would love to either have the words changed to ''all the whales haaaaate Marineland!'' - or have her voice outright removed from the darn commercial!  The SPCA has been on Marineland's case, too, after the many sickening allegations made against it - but, well, it is the SPCA, after all, and what can we really expect them to do; they who have euthanazied more animals than any number of zoological facilities combined?  But that's another damn sickening story...

The ''dozens of protesters'' reported by mainstream media indeed crashed through the gates of the famous Ontario theme park on Sunday October 7th - but the ''crashing'' part was not all that raucous as they made it sound to be, as you can plainly see in my video of the event! The raucousness came from their coordinated chanting though: as they were  railing against Marineland's ill treatment of marine life and other creatures... Mainstream media painted a rowdy and arrogant portrait of said protesters, too, by spreading the news that they had been gloating about how '' they managed to shut down a dolphin show at Marineland in Niagara Falls''. Well, the fact is that they came in and made some noise just as the dolphins were doing their thing in the main pool, yes - the trainers fled in sheer total utter fright but the dolphins carried on as nothing was happening: they (the dolphins - duh) at least, loved the ''crashing'' that was going on...!  But then again it might be, once more, our impressing upon those creatures our very own feelings and such...

Niagara Region Police revealed that they called in extra officers ''when a protest grew to about 800 people.'' - which would put this protest, on the penultimate date of activity for this 2012 season of Marineland's business, higher on impact level than the one back in August! Protesters must not love Marineland especially when the temperature is too high and the sun too strong to do the picketing outside like that! 

Constable Derek Watson was reached for comment (again by mainstream media) and he said that ''a group of roughly 125 people rushed the front gates of the park.'' - of which I am proud to say that circumstance led me to be a part of!  Const. Watson needs a Holmes by his side to piece together how that came to be, though...! He'll never piece it together - never. He further added that  police were able to quickly regain control of the situation and that there were no arrests. Well, the fact was, dear constable, that these protesters were not savages on a rampage, anarchists who don't want to pay higher tuition fees and/or want everything handed to them on a silver platter (including seafood, perhaps?) or simple disorderly troglodytes:  these were genuine Nature lovers, all with higher intellectual quotients than the entire administration and staff at Marineland! They were, therefore, prone to go quietly, protest pacifically and then disperse without warranting any muscle, any action whatsoever on your part - much less  any arrest. Despite all these facts, Dylan Powell of the group Marineland Animal Defence (M.A.D. - gotta love the acronym: sing it to the tune of that jingle now!), which organized the protest, revealed soon afterwards that one trespass ticket was issued - but  he wouldn't say to whom.  My bet is: the guy with the ''WE ARE ALL ANIMALS'' sign! Why?  Because that kind of truth hurts neanderthals like those suits that administer Marineland and the politicians that turn a blind eye to this - and even moreso those neanderthals that wear badges, carry joysticks and wear silly dull uniforms! But we're starting to digress now... M.A.D.'s Dylan Powell says that his well-behaved and extremely well-named group (with apologies to MADD - of course) is dedicated to ending animal captivity all over the globe and is determined to shut down Marineland for good too! People have been saying that we need more groups like ''that'' - with ''that'' meaning either the traditional WWFs (World Wildlife Fund - duh) or the IFAWs (International Fund for Animal Welfare) but also, sometimes, groups such as Anonymous too...! Well, verily, I tell you, all everybody needs is to get M.A.D. - and the rest will follow up just fine, finally! Say that you're MAD AS HELL and YOU'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE - and it will *feel* much better already, I tell you! Aye, one day, that will finally *truly* be the case - one day...

Marineland was indeed closing for the season this weekend - and they had a big surprise for the occasion!  One thing is for sure: they didn't see that one coming - and they really should have, the morons!  Marineland Morons - that sure cuts it just fine, don't you think? And to think that the superior dolphins oblige their demands for 'entertainment'' as they do...

After all this, Marineland was not immediately available for comment -what a surprise, again- or so we were told, again, through mainstream media. However the same mainstream media chose to remind us all that Marineland did state, through whatever means that it chose to employ, in the past, that its primary concern is to provide a safe and healthy environment for the animals in its care.  What - and profit comes in second - or maybe even third, in that equation?  Bullshit. 

Oh, my - it is a good thing Marineland is in Niagara Falls, Canada, and not somewhere in Spain or something: it might actually have bulls in its park, if it was set up there, as tauromachy is huge in those parts - and then the bullshit would really hit the fan!  But let's not extrapolate and let's certainly not go there...!

There is a Marineland (or several) to be found elsewhere, though: the one in France made the news, too, though judging from the picture we found, it wasn't for anything too bad at all...  Mainstream media -once again- chose to supply everyone (who loves or who loathes Marineland, all alike) with that and MORE ''related'' news stories... Have a look at this rather abrupt, unexpected and very sudden extra edition of A.N.N.  - Aqua News Network!  As a bonus - and as unexpectedly indeed as our entire participation in this protest was, too!  (We signed the petition too, by the way: this petition!  SIGN IT - NOW! You did? Good - now you may go on to the provided ''related content'' right here, below these waves of discontent and turmoil...!)

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Oh yeah - we should have driven all the way down to MARYLAND instead - Marineland sucks!
:-!