Prevent Whale Shark Being In Captivity!

[fish are friends....]

VISIT http/www.whalesharkpetition.com/ TO SIGN!!!

Resorts World at Sentosa wants to import whale sharks for the attraction and entertainment of visitors. Whale sharks are vulnerable to extinction and have never done well in captivity. They can grow as large as two city buses, migrate thousands of kilometers in the wild, and live up to a hundred years. It is just plain cruel to keep them in glass cages.

Whale sharks have never fared well in captivity. Two whale sharks died within five months of each other at the Georgia Aquarium.

Write to the Minister of National Development, the Singapore Tourism Board and
Resorts World at Sentosa before this tragedy happens on our shores

Thanks for your help...
Meg

 

[saltynay]

Ooo now I have a curiosity versus moral dilemma as I also live in Singapore as well as the UK and have never seen a whale shark..... Going to go research on just how deadly it is to keep them in captivity.

 

[Liam50]

done my bit to saving the planet now time for everyone else to!

 

[LucaBrasi]

signed it

 

[gaz gun man]

signed it

resize your sig to 400x300 or a mod will delete it

 

[fish are friends....]

Thanks!

 

[saltynay]

A few facts you didn't mention:

The aquarium most notable for whale shark husbandry is the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Japan. From 1980 to 1998, 16 whale sharks (14 males; 2 females) had been kept here and to this day 3 whale sharks are on exhibit. Survival times ranged from as little as 3 days to the current record of nearly 10 years, dependant on their initial condition on arrival, as some animals had been injured during capture. The longest surviving whale shark is still at Okinawa aquarium. It was 4.6 meters long on arrival in March 1995. Now after 9 years 9 months of captivity the shark is over 7 metres in length, a growth rate of 24cm per year.

To catch a whale shark it is spotted, and an open-ended barge is lowered into the water. The shark is guided into the interior of the barge, and the ends are closed. The barge with the whale shark in it is then slowly brought back to shore.

Two whale sharks are featured as the main attraction of Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan
Four whale sharks, two males, Taroko, and Yushan,[17] and two females, Alice and Trixie, are held in the Georgia Aquarium, in Atlanta. Which are being studied for breeding patterns in the hope that they can avert the extinction of whale sharks

 

[saz326]

With science as it is, I cannot see why they dont raise captive bred fish such as this for display purposes. Surely it would be cheaper to grow some whale sharks, and then release them once they become too large for display.

Even if you cannot get the fish to do the deed themselves, there are plenty of ways to gather eggs and milt and grow "test tube" babies. I cannot believe the way that wild animals of any kind are gathered for display. If you want them that bad - grow one and leave the wild ones alone. At least a home grown animal/fish has no experience of the wild (so doesnt constantly look for the outside world).

Have signed.

 

[saltynay]

Even if you cannot get the fish to do the deed themselves, there are plenty of ways to gather eggs and milt and grow "test tube" babies. I cannot believe the way that wild animals of any kind are gathered for display. If you want them that bad - grow one and leave the wild ones alone. At least a home grown animal/fish has no experience of the wild (so doesnt constantly look for the outside world).

I am not sure about you but I definitely don't want to be the one who goes and collects that sperm... Think of the health and safety hazard report.

 

[lil-x-me...x]

i have done my bit to help

im so against putting these creatures in from the wild in cages. its like someone moving us into a desert and then putting us into a cage and all people staring at us for their own entertainment, not having a feeling in the world for us. grrr im sooo against it!

 

[angelfishguy]

whats the differance from having a wild fish(guppies or angels etc) and having a shark on display???
its the same thing right, the only diffarence i can see would be size

 

[BecciMac1987]

Even if you cannot get the fish to do the deed themselves, there are plenty of ways to gather eggs and milt and grow "test tube" babies. I cannot believe the way that wild animals of any kind are gathered for display. If you want them that bad - grow one and leave the wild ones alone. At least a home grown animal/fish has no experience of the wild (so doesnt constantly look for the outside world).

I am not sure about you but I definitely don't want to be the one who goes and collects that sperm... Think of the health and safety hazard report.

Why dya think the sea is so salty

 

[saltynay]

Due to the water flowing from the rivers into the seas/oceans on its way it picks up salts which dissolve. Once the water reaches the ocean evaporation occurs which further increase the concentration of salt in the sea water as the water leaves and goes back inland to rejuvenate the rivers and continue the flow + 4.5 billion years and you have salty sea's . As my last name is salt I have quite a good joke about it for when I meet people but its PG so not suitable for public.

 

[Mikaila31]

Really not enough is known about these sharks. We don't know where they go to breed or have young/spawn. All we know is that they all go somewhere. What conditions they need to breed for the young to survive isn't known either. Also there size adults can get 60ft long, I feel there is no aquarium yet that can house a 60ft long fish that is known for long distance travel.

Yet..... entirely condoning it I don't agree with. The captive whale sharks can provide information to researchers, even if a aquarium is not and ideal environment by any standards, we can still learn from them. They also educate the public to the plight of these beautiful animals, which is that large numbers of them are killed annually for food. This is MUCH more harmful to them than the few dozen we have tried to keep in captivity. Its the publics desire to protect a species that has the most effect. Those species that we favor get the most protection. Public education is the beginning of public support. Also the fact remains, what if they ARE successful? what if they are able to get the sharks to breed in captivity? Would it be worth it then? Sure if we do fail it is a loss, but at least we did try. It would be foolish not to try something that might be able to save an threatened species. I feel that the zoos that do keep these fish, do have good intentions, weather they will be successful in the end no one knows.

 

[fifefish]

whats the differance from having a wild fish(guppies or angels etc) and having a shark on display???
its the same thing right, the only diffarence i can see would be size

The difference is that Guppies & Angels are bred by private in captivity, the sharks are not,
the sharks are endangered , whereas guppies and angels aren't