Warning: thinking about this stuff may bother you
Yesterday we heard that Tommy Lee had sent a letter to Sea World accusing them of using cow vaginas filled with hot water to masturbate their captive male killer whales in order to collect their sperm. It was disturbing to say the least, and put some pictures in my head that won’t be easily forgotten. Lee was advocating for the release of Tilikum, a killer whale who has killed three people, including a female trainer earlier this year. In his letter, he accused Sea World of lying when they said that no one was in direct contact with the whale, and claimed that Sea World was still collecting sperm from Tilikum through divers using that bizarre method. Lee admitted to getting his information from PETA, and now Sea World has responded that he was wrong and that they do no such thing.
SeaWorld is finally lashing back at Tommy Lee — claiming the rocker’s allegation that the park uses cow vaginas to “masturbate” their killer whales for sperm collection is “beyond ludicrous.”
A rep for SeaWorld tells us, “If Mr. Lee’s information on Tilikum and SeaWorld’s artificial insemination program for killer whales comes from PETA we’re not surprised that it’s wrong. PETA is as careless with facts as they are extreme in their views.”
As we first reported, Lee had fired off a letter to SeaWorld demanding they release Tilikum the orca back into the wild. In his letter, Lee also stated that he learned the “sick and twisted” info about the cow vaginas from SeaWorld’s own director of safety.
But the SeaWorld rep notes, “The process of collecting semen for [artificial insemination] doesn’t differ in any meaningful way from the techniques employed in managing livestock or other species for zoological display.”
“Contrary to the charges made by PETA and repeated in Lee’s letter, our trainers do not now nor have they ever entered the water with Tilikum for this purpose. The safety of SeaWorld staff and the welfare of our animals are our highest priorities.”
The rep adds, “Whatever his views on SeaWorld, Mr. Lee would be wise to spend more time checking his facts.
[From TMZ]
Ironically, the whale’s name is pronounced “Til-a-come.” Thankfully Tilikum seems to be taking care of business on his own and without a diver’s help. I’m so sorry for making you think of this. All joking aside, the fact that the whale has killed three people is enough to prove Lee’s point that it should not be in captivity. It’s hard to tell what they should do with the creature, though, as it may not be able to fend for itself again in the wild.
Photo credit: WENN.com
Sea World uses “cow vaginas filled with hot water to masturbate their captive male killer whales in order to collect their sperm”?
Anybody with half a brain knows this is not true. My hand cramps with just the 8 inches I have to deal with and nobody could hold their breath that long.
Totally irresponsible accusation.
He’s gross.
Stupidest thing I’ve heard in a while.
Gosh, PETA putting out misinformation? What a shocker.
I’m sorry but this reminds me of something that happened at Sea World in Florida a few years ago when I was visiting. It’s pretty weird but I SWEAR it’s true.
My friends and I were visiting the underground walrus enclosure, so we could watch them under the water level. There was one male just kinda floating there in front of the glass, which was cool-we got a great view of him. As we start to walk away, one of the girls starts giggling. I turn around and she said “is he…?” and sure enough, his flipper was over his “junk.” We laughed a little, made a couple of jokes and were getting ready to leave when he whips it out…BIG time! It comes shooting out of it’s protective sheath like a light saber! It was amazingly huge! By this time all 3 of us are in hysterics.
But it gets worse. He then bends his head over and…well, you get the point. I didn’t know animals even did that! Then he grabbed a ball that had holes in it and…well…you know! He finished his business and looked quite content.
I’ve never gone back to Sea World…and don’t know if I want to after that show!
I think Tommy just figured since it worked for him….
Get over yourself, bubbles. It was hilarious. Maybe you should ask Santa for a sense of humor for Christmas this year. You could use one.
@CB, they know he’s killed 2 people. The third was a homeless man they found in his tank, they don’t know if the whale killed him or exposure did. One of those killed was at another park-before he was acquired by Sea World., and this last one was at Sea World.
god I hate PETA, if thy actually did what they claim to do i wouldn’t have so much of a problem. But any organization who purposely lies and uses terroristic acts to make a point if scum.
Are you all aware of the PETA “sea kitten” campaign? They are trying to get people to start calling fish “sea kittens” to discourage everyone from eating fish. Their theory is that you wouldn’t eat a kitten, would you?
I honestly didn’t believe this when I heard it, but sure enough, it’s right there on their website.
It’s an interesting debate on whether places like zoos or seaworld should exist. Is it better to preserve a species in captivity or let it “roam free” but probably die much much faster. There are merits to both sides but neither Tommy fucking Lee nor PETA should be saying shit. One is a douchebag (Tommy), and the other is a somewhat at times retarded extremist organization with honestly some stupid (and some legitimate) views.
My main problem with PETA is one they don’t check facts and make shit up and second they use money on stupid campaigns hiring celebrities to be naked rather than giving that money to animal shelters or programs that spay and neuter pets at cost (in order to reduce over population). But the second isn’t glamarous so you know …
You’re absolutely right, LDG. I admit that I’m less tolerant of animals in captivity than I used to be. For example, I cannot bring myself to go to a circus ever again, even though I loved them as a child. That’s no way for an animal to live. Zoos and facilities like Sea World, while I admit I love going to them, do pose a moral dilemma on some levels.
Interesting and topical, I work for a medical university. Just today PETA spammed my organization, sending over 13,700 emails to employees stating that we (as an organization) cruelly and unnecessarily abuse animals in the name of education and research. Their information is, of course false and misleading. We do use animals in some cases where there is no practical alternative. We also have simulators that can be used in place of animals in some, but not all, cases. Of course, they don’t acknowledge that and have apparently ignored the corrected information that has been sent to them.
PETA is an organization of ignorance and misinformation. No sane person wants to see animals harmed unnecessarily. I won’t wear cosmetics that were tested on animals. But medical research? It’s a sad fact of life that animals are often necessary in order to make advances that will eventually help all of us. And I can promise that the animals used here (and I’m sure at other facilities) are treated very well and as humanely as possible.
@samihami. I totally believe it. You can even find footage of that particular behavior on youtube. As in their is more than one video of it. The thread over on ONTD on this story was pretty funny/disturbing.
Heh. Finally got around to this. I’m sure they use an artificial vagina on him when he is out of the water – similar to how they collect semen from bulls, horses and other livestock.
BAN SEAWORLD!!!!!!!! They DO NOT save animals- they use them for sport and money period. Every single one of those creatures would prefer to be in the wild versus the tanks they are in. Just because they cant speak doesnt mean they arent miserable!!!! Prisoners are committed to cages for acts for crimes – these poor animals do nothing to deserve their punishment!
People who take their kids to the zoo and/or Sea World are telling their kids is ok to abuse animals. Ive never understood the mother who sits their with her kids saying look how cute the elephants are KNOWING they are there against anything in their natural will and would run if they could.
Samihami- Its ok to eat fish because they dont have any feelings right? How is this different from eating a cat? I see no difference.
I am not a huge fan of PETA but i do agree that fish and meat are living creatures so whats the difference between eating a fish or a cat? Animals are animals right.
People dont want to admit this so they say cats and dogs are pets with feelings. Cows, chickens, turkets, deer, whales, etc all have just as many feelings as a cat or dog.
Im not bagging on people who eat meat – i just think if you eat it why not eat all meat. Why differentiate between something that lives in a house or something that lives in the barn or lake.
Why do we use innocent animals for medical expiraments?I am not against meical expiramets but why dont we use prisoners on death row found guilty of heineous crimes?
I bet that would be a bigger deterent of crime than the death penalty itself. If you knew you were going to be expiramented on medically you might think twice before committing a crime.
@samihami – You and I work at the same hospital! 🙂 And I work in research, but not animal research.
Kim, we could use people on death row for experiments as long as they signed consent. But most people on death row don’t give a damn about the rest of us who will be here long after they are gone. And please use spellcheck.
Prisoners are denied rights like voting so i would mean they lose all rights upon getting death/wouldnt have to sign a consent form. But you know Amnesty International would never let this happen.
No, but it’s clear that you probably won’t make it out of fifth grade with that atrocious spelling.
In the United States, people have to sign a consent form (written in a language they can understand) before being allowed to be in any type of research. It doesn’t matter if it’s a study medication, behavioral, or observational. A consent form must be obtained, and yes, prisoners CAN participate in research, as long as they are part of a general category of participants. Amnesty would have nothing to do with it if the patient signed consent.
Hey Kerri! What a coincidence!
“Samihami- Its ok to eat fish because they dont have any feelings right? How is this different from eating a cat? I see no difference.”
Kim, the point is that if one doesn’t want to eat meat of any kind, they shouldn’t. However, it is still my right to enjoy meat if that is my choice. There may be a valid argument against eating meat, and civilized people should be able to discuss it; however, the gestapo-like tactics of fringe groups like PETA only serve to make the anti-meat movement look foolish. Rather than advancing their cause, they set it back.
As for your comment about eating a cat versus eating a fish, that’s a cultural thing. In the US, we have animals that have been domesticated and it is common to have companion animals/pets. Yet in some other countries, dogs and/or cats are considered food, yet they would consider it to be a terrible sin to eat a cow. So, yes, I would find it extremely distasteful to eat a cat, a dog or a squirrel. But there are others who would see it as normal. There IS a difference.
I used this posting on the sarah palin fiasco but I figured it applied here too…
@Kim…wow… you sound like an angsty 12 yr old emo kid… do you want an emily the strange journal to write your ridiculous and self righteous thoughts in?
sorry to break it to you, but EVERYTHING you do and buy kills animals in some sort of way. Even veggie farms kill rabbits and other things that want to ruin their crops.
Let me ask you, do you kill bugs? Because if you do you are a total hypocrite. What is it with you PETA-esque die hards, do you only care about the “unnecessary” slaughter of the cute and cuddly animals?
I’m a part of PETA:
People for the Eating of Tasty Animals!!!
PS- what kind of pillow do you have? Comforter? Shoes? Because I’m pretty sure there is some sort of animal product in there, which is promoting the pro killing animals industry…
PPS- the difference between eating a cat and a fish: Fish are DELICIOUS, cat… not so much too stringy
Kim-there is a difference in the level of intelligence in animals. I personally will not eat any animal that is intelligent.