Dolphins (and Whales) - Their cruel treatment

Originally posted by ckitch
Sorry squire, you are missing the point...

I'm not missing the point at all.

Originally posted by ckitch
1. This is not about the level of Dolphin intelligence

Why then, is the supposed level of dolphin ''intelligence'' brought into play when they are being killed and mistreated in similarly brutal manners to our mammalian cousins, such as cows, sheep, and pigs ?

People pretend that dolphins are more intelligent than other species, because they anthropomorphise certain aspects of their observed intelligence, yet, as I've pointed out, similarly anthropomorphising other facets of their intelligence shows that they are more stupid than most rodents.

Originally posted by ckitch
2. This IS about the painful spearing of a very sensory aware creature.

As opposed to the painful killing of sensory aware mammals in abattoirs ?

People get gooey over dolphins and whales because of personal opinion, and not logic.

Please don't try and ''justify'' any special treatment for dolphins, or outrage on the species' behalf, just because the creatures personally appeal to you.

People who whinge about the treatment of dolphins and whales are invariably unbridled hypocrites.

Originally posted by ckitch
3. I care for all living creature, but it's a fact that if you have a higher intelligence then any pain is likely to be more traumatic.

Complete and utter nonsense.

First of all, you are going to have to provide me with some evidence that dolphins are any more ''intelligent'' than most other mammals.

Just about any other other animal, seeing two potential predators fighting each other, will GTFO !
Yet dolphins are so stupid that they will interfere in one of these fights and potentially kill themselves.

Secondly, who says, other than you, that someone or something of supposed higher intelligence will feel pain more acutely than someone of lower intelligence ?

I would say that it's the opposite...

Something/someone of higher intelligence has more brainpower and potential for abstract thought which may be used to divert and alleviate the pain that they are physically feeling.

Something/someone of lesser intelligence has less brainpower and potential for abstract thought, so they have don't have the same chance of negating the physical hardship that they are subjected to.

I don't think that your third point has a leg to stand on, other than your own personal animal preferences overriding your logic and common sense.

Originally posted by ckitch
4. As for jumping over nets... That's not even worth a discussion. The fact is some did and some didn't. It's
the wrongful killing that is the topic, not their ability to escape.

It is extremely worthy of discussion, considering that a dolphin's ''intelligence'' appears to be at the centre of a dolphin worshiper's hypocritical ''arguments''.

Dolphins in captivity very rarely jump from their pool ( despite being physically capable of doing so ), despite the fact that they have a far larger pool next door. This is extremely stupid behaviour, and places them below most other animals in the intelligence stakes ( if we are in the business of anthropomorphising other animals' intelligence ).


The fact of the matter is that most dolphin lovers have been hurt in some way by other humans, so they let wishful thinking, pain-easing fantasies, and cherry-picking information about the creatures, lead them to view dolphins as a mode of escapism; a supposed semi-mystical, superior being that is immune to the kind of suffering and unbending cruelty of humanity.

This fantasy, of course, is bollocks; and while I will acquiesce to dolphin lovers' self-indulgence about these creatures, I'll not accept their illogical, selective, ego-ridden drivel about the species' alleged ill-treatment.