Political Quotes

“For decades, there has been a growing debate among marine biologists and other professionals over maintaining marine mammals in captivity, but it was last year's release of the documentary ``Blackfish'' that spurred a broader public discussion over whether the conditions in which marine mammals, particularly orcas, are held for public display are humane and whether these animals should even be held in captivity. I have serious concerns about the psychological and physical harm to orcas and other large marine mammals in captivity. Isolating these animals--which can travel hundreds of miles in a day in the wild and which live in large, complex social groupings--in a small enclosure is troubling. There is substantial evidence that orcas in captivity live much shorter lives than those in the wild and display high levels of stress and aberrant and sometimes dangerous behavior. Two weeks ago, Representative Huffman and I, along with 38 of our colleagues, sent a letter to the Department of Agriculture, urging them to move forward with a rulemaking regarding conditions of captivity for marine mammals under the Animal Welfare Act. Twenty years ago, the Department recognized the need to revise regulations. Ten years ago, the Department proposed such a rulemaking and received many public comments. Since then, progress has stalled, despite the public outcry about this issue.…”