riding dolphins seems like a weird place to draw the animal cruelty line

jsteele wrote:I now think that posters has a weird obsession with fat people and I am going to remove the thread due to that.

Is there more than one poster with an obsession about fat people, or is it just one (or two) people with a lot of time on their hands? The site seems to goes in waves where is becomes a fixation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:I now think that posters has a weird obsession with fat people and I am going to remove the thread due to that.

Yeah people seemed to miss that the original post was actually about fat-bashing and not at all about dolphins. That being said, it took some interesting turns I found interesting....I am now completely down a rabbit hole learning about animal domestication... Ha!

Lol same I found this really fascinating article about the ethics of horseback riding and I’m a little miffed that I didn’t get to share it but at least it was a fun read for me!

Start a new thread! There's really interesting ethical issues raised by all kinds of engagement with animals. I think that riding horses CAN be ethical but an also not be ethical, depending on a number of circumstances. Pet ownership generally raises a lot of questions. I'm on the side of, it is and can be ethical to "own" animals when it's done humanely - but there are some animals it can't be done humanely with. This includes dolphins. And many primates, too, I think. And elephants. Never, ever, do one of those elephant rides, if you find yourself someplace where they are offered.

Anonymous wrote:Hi guys, it’s your friendly Floridian here. At Discovery Cove in Orlando you can ride a dolphin. Yes it is a real thing. You hold onto their fin and kind of lean atop of them and they pull you around through the water.

This is the OP of this thread - and ugh. I'm sorry to learn I was so wrong about these dolphin encounters. Truly, I thought they were horrifying enough when you were just swimming with captive dolphins.

Maybe OP wasn't a troll. Maybe a fat shaming jerk but not a troll.

Hi guys, it’s your friendly Floridian here. At Discovery Cove in Orlando you can ride a dolphin. Yes it is a real thing. You hold onto their fin and kind of lean atop of them and they pull you around through the water.

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:I now think that posters has a weird obsession with fat people and I am going to remove the thread due to that.

Yeah people seemed to miss that the original post was actually about fat-bashing and not at all about dolphins. That being said, it took some interesting turns I found interesting....I am now completely down a rabbit hole learning about animal domestication... Ha!

Lol same I found this really fascinating article about the ethics of horseback riding and I’m a little miffed that I didn’t get to share it but at least it was a fun read for me!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess you can! Yikes.

https://www.dolphindiscovery.com/los-cabos-san-lucas/los-cabos-activities-dolphin-swim-and-ride.asp

This is the OP of this thread - and what the actual eff.

I stand corrected. This exists. It's even worse than I imagined.

Yeah I didn’t believe it either until I saw that. I knew about swimming with dolphins but *riding* them??!

Anonymous wrote:I guess you can! Yikes.

https://www.dolphindiscovery.com/los-cabos-san-lucas/los-cabos-activities-dolphin-swim-and-ride.asp

This is the OP of this thread - and what the actual eff.

I stand corrected. This exists. It's even worse than I imagined.

jsteele wrote:Are there really places that allow you to ride a dolphin? I actually find that hard to believe. But, if there are such places, I don't think the poster is a troll.

I am the OP of this thread, and I work in animal welfare - I've worked for groups that oppose dolphin encounters, and basically all cetaceans in captivity, because of the inherent cruelty. And I have never heard of a place that lets people ride dolphins. Not to say it doesn't exist, but I feel like I would have heard of this if it's real. That's why I think OP is a sh*t stirring troll.

jsteele wrote:I now think that posters has a weird obsession with fat people and I am going to remove the thread due to that.

Yeah people seemed to miss that the original post was actually about fat-bashing and not at all about dolphins. That being said, it took some interesting turns I found interesting....I am now completely down a rabbit hole learning about animal domestication... Ha!

I now think that posters has a weird obsession with fat people and I am going to remove the thread due to that.

I guess you can! Yikes.

https://www.dolphindiscovery.com/los-cabos-san-lucas/los-cabos-activities-dolphin-swim-and-ride.asp

Are there really places that allow you to ride a dolphin? I actually find that hard to believe. But, if there are such places, I don't think the poster is a troll.

IMHO, I don't think it's a troll. I think it's someone who absolutely knows that dolphin encounters are not ok but still really, really wants to do it. That OP is looking for people to make her feel better about it.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/985546.page

Not that regular people can't still wonder if dolphin encounters are cruel or not - yes, they are. But the detail about kids and adults being able to "ride" dolphins?