Jenna Deedy

They say that the internet is full of crazy conspiracies that are just beyond indescribable, and sometimes, full of whimsical nonsense that does nothing more than to draw the emotional side of its audience that would be enough to be passed as “fact” without doing any research to validate the “claim”. Well, it does appear that animal rights extremists who target zoos and aquariums are now attempting to do the same thing on social media.

2019 has not been kind to the Amazon Rainforest with more than 40,000 fires across the region this year alone. Scientists from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research have determined that this year alone has seen the fastest rate of burning since the organization began a record-keeping survey on the health of the rainforest in 2013. In fact, the toxic smoke from the fires is so intense that many parts of Brazil now lay under darkness, and in some places, hours before the sun could even start setting.

Munchkin is a company that is known for making products made for everyday use for toddlers that was first established in 1991 after it’s founder Steven B. Dunn was surprised by the lack of “creative” designs in products that were made for infants and toddlers. While the company started out with making eco-friendly sippy cups, the company has since gone on to make organic snacks and formulas along with travel accessories. However, in recent years, as of 2015, the company has been under fire by both zoo and aquarium professionals alike over its ties with a radical anti-zoo group.

In May, researchers based at the Center for Whale Research sighted a newborn calf off the coast of Tofino, Washington. At the time, the calf, who was later determined to be a healthy female, was seen swimming with two females. One was named Tsuchi, who is also known as “J31”, and another was named Eclipse, who was also known as “J41”. At first, the researchers were not really sure which of these two female whales was the calf’s mother, but after a second sighting of the calf that occurred two months later, the researchers were able to determine that the calf was in fact, the daughter of Tsuchi. In fact, her May 24th birth helped bring the population’s numbers up to around 76 orcas.

It was just another hot, humid, and sunny day at SeaWorld San Antonio in August of 2010 when my counselor led our camp group to Shamu Stadium to watch an afternoon presentation of the show, Believe. Although the trainers were no longer doing any water works with the orcas at that point, they were still interacting with them during the show, and doing the regular behaviors they would often do during the show, regardless if there were waterworks, or not. After the show ended, and everyone left to see the other animals at the park, our group stayed behind at the stadium to watch baby orca Sakari interact with her mother Takara, and paternal half-sister, and “foster” aunt Unna, and talk to the trainers about their experience working with the orcas. This is where John Hargrove arrived on the scene.

From the outside, DierAnimal may look like any environmental-based political party that works to find methods that are aimed at improving the environment and help troubled animals. After all, any cause that is aimed at helping animals, and the planet are noble causes that we can all agree to on so many levels, However, what some supporters and zoo and aquarium professionals may now know is that DierAnimal has its very own hidden agenda that they should all need to look out for. What is that agenda you may ask? They target zoos and aquariums with the aim at “phasing” them out.