And the letter goes as follows:-
Dolphins are lovely and intelligent animals and in many countries they are protected from abuse. Dolphins are not fish but mammals which suckle and care for their young for years. Records show that at least 2,700 bottlenose dolphins have been taken into captivity and 53% who survived the violent capture died within 90 days and half of them died within their first two years of captivity.
Many countries have now stopped or at least try to regulate certain guidelines with regards to the abuse of captured dolphins. However, the The Dolphins and Sea Lion Show” which features two bottlenose dolphins named Rio and Karon and a pair of sea lions called Gendon and Brad shows that Malaysia is not sensitive to the issue of the mistreatment of animals. Brought into Malaysia by LD Sports Sdn, Bhd. Rio and Karon will be hauled around from Kuala Lumpur to Penang and Johore for the next three months. Imagine the ordeal the animals have to put up with during the transportation from one place to another.
Rio and Karon are forced to perform three shows a day on weekdays and five a day on weekends and public holidays. Even human beings feel ‘tired’ if forced to work extra hours doing work they’re not suppose too. These animals have feelings, and im sure they feel the strain performing for selfish humans non stop. Unfortunately, the fact is that the dolphins face muscles are fixed, whether tired, sad or ill, the smile will always stay no matter what they’re feeling. At least humans get paid, were not trapped and confined, these dolphins? They’re fed dead fish, which they hate. Dolphins eat fresh fish not dead ones! There is absolutely no educational input to the children who make up most of the audience and the whole thing is like a circus with loud music, dancing and ridiculous jokes by the emcee of the event. At the end of each show, what seems to me like an endless number of people paid an extra MR15 to touch, kiss and take photos with the dolphins which creates high levels of stress for the animals. This contrasts very strongly with the dolphin show in Australia at Sea World, where the pools are huge and only one selected person can pat the dolphins at the end of the show. The reason? They wanted to protect the dolphin from feeling stressed. Stress causes the dolphins intestine to crumble, as a result they will die.
Rio and Karon are kept in a small tank which is clearly inadequate and inappropriate. Dolphins in nature, dive up to 150 feet and travel massive distances in the ocean. How can they do that in the tiny tank? How would you feel being trapped in a small jail like that? According to the staff, the sea lions cage is even worse. Yes they’re kept in a cage! I feel that the mistreatment of these intelligent mammals shows that Malaysia has a long way to go to really achieve developed nation status. I was absolutely disgusted at the show and came away with a feeling of revulsion. Unfortunately the coverage in the print and electronic media failed to highlight the torment and abuse these animals are subjected
Rio and Karon were abducted from the Java Sea and the so called owners or trainers in my interpretation should rightfully be called criminals. Dolphins live in pods and have a very close-knit family relation, when a family member is captured, reports states that at least one other family member will die due to stress of the separation. Captive dolphins suffer severe mental and physical stress they lose one of their most remarkable gifts, that of eco-location. This is lost in a man made construction when there is no fish to catch and their environment is featureless and redundant, it also creates unbearable noise pollution when their sonar signals bounces back at them.
This horrible and inhumane treatment of these animals will continue unless decent and humane people reading this letter take action to put a stop to it and protect these animals. These are not disposable animals for a disposable society. They are not objects to entertain us human beings. Dolphins belong in the sea, in the wild with the family.
---------------------------------
In addition to this i would like to add a bloggers comment by Nick Josh Karean who shared two very interesting websites for everyone to watch
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/captive_marine/
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/circuses_entertainment/
thank you very much Nick Josh Karean
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
More like a Dolphin abuse to me
Yesterday I accompanied my sister and her kids to a dolphin and sea lion show at sunway pyramid and i was very eager to see how a dolphin show would be hosted in Malaysia and compare it to the shows at sea world Australia...
much to my may amazement a tiny enclosure was used to house the dolphin for shows and for their long stay in this hot Malaysia till February. Every day the animals are required to perform 3 shows with each show lasting about an hour and 5 shows on weekends, think about us humans if we can ever work that hard every single day.
these dolphins were captured from the java sea and were trained to entertain us humans and for a group of people to gain millions of dollars from capturing these innocent animals... i felt so sorry for them thus we planned to take some action rather than just sit and do nothing thus my sister wrote a letter emailing it to various organizations so someone with power in this country will do something pertaining to this matter. but to no avail, the show is still a top destination for families during this school holidays. Remember if there is no demand there wont be supply.
The host was ridiculously dumb!! his attire was not presentable for kids , his jokes were dumb.. he talked nonsense and not a single educational information were delivered throughout the show.... some basic information about dolphins and sea lions would be very good for the kids.... this show was all about entertaining humans, making them laugh and none about delivering information so the kids would go back home and understand the animals and how we should love and care for them..... please.... to make a show interesting it doesn't have to have jokes 24/7 ...
just like the ridiculous kursus perkahwinan i had to attend ... completing the 2 day kursus i came back with no information that was intelligent enough for me to use for my marriage... they should cut the lame jokes short and focus about how the prophet treated his wives, with honour and respect..
much to my may amazement a tiny enclosure was used to house the dolphin for shows and for their long stay in this hot Malaysia till February. Every day the animals are required to perform 3 shows with each show lasting about an hour and 5 shows on weekends, think about us humans if we can ever work that hard every single day.
these dolphins were captured from the java sea and were trained to entertain us humans and for a group of people to gain millions of dollars from capturing these innocent animals... i felt so sorry for them thus we planned to take some action rather than just sit and do nothing thus my sister wrote a letter emailing it to various organizations so someone with power in this country will do something pertaining to this matter. but to no avail, the show is still a top destination for families during this school holidays. Remember if there is no demand there wont be supply.
The host was ridiculously dumb!! his attire was not presentable for kids , his jokes were dumb.. he talked nonsense and not a single educational information were delivered throughout the show.... some basic information about dolphins and sea lions would be very good for the kids.... this show was all about entertaining humans, making them laugh and none about delivering information so the kids would go back home and understand the animals and how we should love and care for them..... please.... to make a show interesting it doesn't have to have jokes 24/7 ...
just like the ridiculous kursus perkahwinan i had to attend ... completing the 2 day kursus i came back with no information that was intelligent enough for me to use for my marriage... they should cut the lame jokes short and focus about how the prophet treated his wives, with honour and respect..
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Canon G10 tutorial
I just came to know about this video posted on Youtube and i have to share it with EVERYONE, by everyone i mean everyone who has a G10 camera and is still wondering how to use all the functions.. this guy is pretty good.Just by watching part 1 I learned A LOT... enjoy!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Veni, vidi, vici (I came, I saw, I conquered)
Well I didn't really conquer Rome last month but hopefully I will on my next trip :). I managed to spend 2 whole days exploring Rome and the Vatican and since I arrived on an early Sunday morning, Vatican was my 1st destination.
Day one – Vatican city - Saint Peter’s square
To start off the day, i walked roughly 5 minutes to Eur Magliana train station from Sheraton hotel. Bought a 1 euro train pass that’s valid for 75minutes to travel on metro A and B, you can also opt for the 4 euro train pass which is valid all day through going in and out of the train station.
To reach the Vatican we took the train that was heading to Battistini, changed platform at termini and stop at Ottaviano (Vatican city). Walked for 5 minutes to reach the Vatican and toured around for 3 hours.
Upon arrival we went straight in the queue to enter the Basilica of St Peter which offers an amazingly beautiful interior, no matter where your head turns this place is just astoundingly beautiful.
After exploring the Basilica, we went below the Basilica that houses the Vatican crypts which contains a collection of numerous tombs of Popes.
Then, we entered the Cupola which had a long queue despite having to pay 5 euro per entrance and climb 551 steps or pay 7euro and take the elevator halfway after which you would have to climb 321 steps to reach the top of Saint Peter’s Basilica. We took the 5euro option and had a great morning workout : ) and not to mention the view from the cupola was just wonderful.
View half way through
View from the top
Our grumbled tummies lead us over to a nearby kebab stall where we grab a vegetarian pizza for 5 euro.
We head back to the train station and decided to spend the rest of the day just walking around Rome city .
Day 2 – Tour Rome city
We started our day early and took the bus from our hotel to Rome city to start our colosseum tour at 9am.
The ticket price to enter the Coloseum is 12euro and 10 euro if you would like to hire a guide. It is advisable to get a guide, not knowing the history would make you think that the colosseum is just one boring building. Anyway, audiphones are also for rent for 5 euro.
We arrived at the Colosseum and a lady approached us offering 22euro for entrance fee for the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum which a tour guide. The benefits are that you will get direct entrance meaning you don’t have to queue and this ticket is valid for 2 days. Tour for the colosseum is at 12pm and to choose between 12pm or 3 pm for the tour to the Roman forum and Palatine Hill.
It’s best if you could find out other offers that would probably be better than what we experienced, nevertheless my guide did an excellent job giving us insights to this historical place. Before I forget, please find out about Roma pass its 23 euro, 10 euro for the guide and you get free transportation for 3 days as well as free entrance to the Roman Forum, Palatine Hillt and colessum. I came to know about this because someone in my group had it.
thats a photo of one of the many displays at the exhibition, try nit to miss this free exhibition on the Colosseum to get a little bit more idea on this ancient structure and what it was used for.
At 12pm we had our Palatine hill and Roman forum tour. The Palatine hill at its time is the Hollywood of today, it’s where many famous personalities of the time built their houses on this hill.
In this photo is the large stadium built by Domitian, which is know as the Dominican private stadium, it was used for horse racing decorated with marble statues and later used as a garden.
From the Palatine hill we descended to enter The Roman Forum where we walked to the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, mind you that the door is the original door of that time.
We then found a great spot to perform our prayer
and later exited the Roman Forum and head to the Victor Emanuel Monument which was dedicated to the memory of Italy’s first king Victor Emanuel II.
Next we went on a time machine which brought us 2750 years ago covering the history of Rome which the time elevator. my opinion on this is that it was okay, not remarkable but ok.. if you have that extra cash and need a little more information on Rome than this will do.. it basically gives a movie like view on Roman history and if you are interested check the show time before you decide to go.
And the back of the time elevator ticket is a 5Euro discount on tour Vatican museums and Sistine chapel Or Tour colosseum, Roman forum and the palatine hill Or walking tours of the city.
Price:- 12 Euro
Location:- via dei ss.Apostpli, 20-00187 Roma
www.time-elevator.it
Opening hours:- everyday 10.30 am – 7.30pm
Each shows lasts 45 minutes
Next we walked to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps. When it got dark, we walked over to Termini station and found a Halal shop..… so there we go, our meal for the night.
that was 6euro
and mine was 4euro (I like to reveal the prices of what i had done and what i had eaten so if you guys plan to go to this particular place you can roughly estimate how much you would have to spend)
After our big dinner we headed back to the hotel by bus and got ready for our departure to Malaysia the next morning. I do hope ill say hello to Rome for the second time in the future!
Accommodation
Sheraton Roma Hotel & conference
Viale del pattinaggio, 100-00144 Roma, Italia
Sheraton Roma provides bus service from the hotel to the city but Departures from the hotel wold require you to make a reservation and the bill will be charged to your hotel bill
But Departures from the city center back to the hotel is free
Day one – Vatican city - Saint Peter’s square
To start off the day, i walked roughly 5 minutes to Eur Magliana train station from Sheraton hotel. Bought a 1 euro train pass that’s valid for 75minutes to travel on metro A and B, you can also opt for the 4 euro train pass which is valid all day through going in and out of the train station.
To reach the Vatican we took the train that was heading to Battistini, changed platform at termini and stop at Ottaviano (Vatican city). Walked for 5 minutes to reach the Vatican and toured around for 3 hours.
Upon arrival we went straight in the queue to enter the Basilica of St Peter which offers an amazingly beautiful interior, no matter where your head turns this place is just astoundingly beautiful.
After exploring the Basilica, we went below the Basilica that houses the Vatican crypts which contains a collection of numerous tombs of Popes.
Then, we entered the Cupola which had a long queue despite having to pay 5 euro per entrance and climb 551 steps or pay 7euro and take the elevator halfway after which you would have to climb 321 steps to reach the top of Saint Peter’s Basilica. We took the 5euro option and had a great morning workout : ) and not to mention the view from the cupola was just wonderful.
View half way through
View from the top
Our grumbled tummies lead us over to a nearby kebab stall where we grab a vegetarian pizza for 5 euro.
We head back to the train station and decided to spend the rest of the day just walking around Rome city .
Day 2 – Tour Rome city
We started our day early and took the bus from our hotel to Rome city to start our colosseum tour at 9am.
The ticket price to enter the Coloseum is 12euro and 10 euro if you would like to hire a guide. It is advisable to get a guide, not knowing the history would make you think that the colosseum is just one boring building. Anyway, audiphones are also for rent for 5 euro.
We arrived at the Colosseum and a lady approached us offering 22euro for entrance fee for the Colosseum, Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum which a tour guide. The benefits are that you will get direct entrance meaning you don’t have to queue and this ticket is valid for 2 days. Tour for the colosseum is at 12pm and to choose between 12pm or 3 pm for the tour to the Roman forum and Palatine Hill.
It’s best if you could find out other offers that would probably be better than what we experienced, nevertheless my guide did an excellent job giving us insights to this historical place. Before I forget, please find out about Roma pass its 23 euro, 10 euro for the guide and you get free transportation for 3 days as well as free entrance to the Roman Forum, Palatine Hillt and colessum. I came to know about this because someone in my group had it.
thats a photo of one of the many displays at the exhibition, try nit to miss this free exhibition on the Colosseum to get a little bit more idea on this ancient structure and what it was used for.
At 12pm we had our Palatine hill and Roman forum tour. The Palatine hill at its time is the Hollywood of today, it’s where many famous personalities of the time built their houses on this hill.
In this photo is the large stadium built by Domitian, which is know as the Dominican private stadium, it was used for horse racing decorated with marble statues and later used as a garden.
From the Palatine hill we descended to enter The Roman Forum where we walked to the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, mind you that the door is the original door of that time.
We then found a great spot to perform our prayer
and later exited the Roman Forum and head to the Victor Emanuel Monument which was dedicated to the memory of Italy’s first king Victor Emanuel II.
Next we went on a time machine which brought us 2750 years ago covering the history of Rome which the time elevator. my opinion on this is that it was okay, not remarkable but ok.. if you have that extra cash and need a little more information on Rome than this will do.. it basically gives a movie like view on Roman history and if you are interested check the show time before you decide to go.
And the back of the time elevator ticket is a 5Euro discount on tour Vatican museums and Sistine chapel Or Tour colosseum, Roman forum and the palatine hill Or walking tours of the city.
Price:- 12 Euro
Location:- via dei ss.Apostpli, 20-00187 Roma
www.time-elevator.it
Opening hours:- everyday 10.30 am – 7.30pm
Each shows lasts 45 minutes
Next we walked to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps. When it got dark, we walked over to Termini station and found a Halal shop..… so there we go, our meal for the night.
that was 6euro
and mine was 4euro (I like to reveal the prices of what i had done and what i had eaten so if you guys plan to go to this particular place you can roughly estimate how much you would have to spend)
After our big dinner we headed back to the hotel by bus and got ready for our departure to Malaysia the next morning. I do hope ill say hello to Rome for the second time in the future!
Accommodation
Sheraton Roma Hotel & conference
Viale del pattinaggio, 100-00144 Roma, Italia
Sheraton Roma provides bus service from the hotel to the city but Departures from the hotel wold require you to make a reservation and the bill will be charged to your hotel bill
But Departures from the city center back to the hotel is free
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