SeaWorld Twitter Campaign Blows Up

[The Interpreter]

Busch Gardens has unveiled its 2015 April Fools joke on its official Twitter account: a link to an 8-month-old article about them from The Onion.

https://twitter.com/BuschGardens

I wish I were joking.

Sigh.

This is pathetic.

[coasterfanatic83]

Exec 1: "Hey guys, this will be funny! Let's announce a fake ride that is in no way relevant to anything we are doing at our parks as an April Fools joke!"

Exec 2: "Shouldn't we, ya know, put together an announcement of the actual rides we are building at some point? That way customers will have some sort of intrigue regarding our slowly-dying parks?"

Exec 1: "Shut up, man! This will be hilarious!"

[Leland Wykoff]

Fresh Air, on NPR, with Terry Gross had an interesting interview with John Hargrove, author of Beneath The Surface. Listen to the interview and read a story here:

http://www.npr.org/2015/03/23/394730076/former-orca-trainer-for-seaworld-condemns-its-practices

[RailRider]

And here I was wishing for Busch Gardens Williamsburg to say April Fools regarding Tempesto or whatever they are calling their hideous new addition that they have been embarrassed to announce.

[faeriewench]

John continues in his new fame. I think now he won't be known as the whistle-blower but as the ex-trainer who said the n word. The NAACP issued a statement.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/naacp-ca-statement-on-former-whale-trainer-john-hargroves-use-of-racial-slurs-300060946.html

I absolutely love that he is the trainer representing the face of this anti-SeaWorld cause. He's the worst possible human being for a campaign that disguises itself as "not selfish." John is sure getting his fame now...and making the activists look crazy while he's at it. I love karma. Methinks John should have invested in his own PR agent. And there have already been book stores cancelling his book signing appearances over the video as well. Makes me wonder if Blackfish will even still back him up.

For those who have not followed, this unfolded a few days back. Basically what we have now is a backpedaling John blaming his actions on the "sauce"...well if that is the case you shouldn't be drinking then. Had SeaWorld known he been engaged in such stuff they probably would have fired him.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/tourism/os-seaworld-trainer-video-john-hargrove-20150331-story.html

[The Interpreter]

Methinks you are engaging in wishful thinking. Book sales often increase due to controversy.

[Dieseltech20]

On a side note. People that talk directly into the bottom of their phones annoy me to no end.

[The Interpreter]

Read this:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/whale-trainer-seaworld-leading-smear-campaign/story?id=30047281

Are we SURE Ed Hart is not doing their PR?

This is juvenile, sad and likely will backfire bigtime.

[jsus]

On a side note. People that talk directly into the bottom of their phones annoy me to no end.

Are you sure? That seems more like a bottom note to me.

Also, if not into the microphone, where would you rather one speak? Into the speaker? The screen?

[Dieseltech20]

Hold to your head and talk, the mic will pic up your voice. The fella in the video isn't doing that.

I'm talking about the folks that remove it from the side of their head, hold it front of them and speak directly into the bottom of it. Place it back to face to listen and hold it back in front of them to talk into the bottom. You don't have to do that and it drives me crazy. I'm weird like that.

[RailRider]

Sea World has missed the boat. Attack the "facts" in the book, not the individual writting the book. This makes it seem that you have no response to the "facts" in the book because they are true so the best secondary option is to attack an individuals character.

Well played Sea World, Ed Hart would be proud.

[DJSkyFoxx]

I personally found the Twitter backlash hilarious. Just saying. I also still find it sad that the park still can't answer real questions. Instead they were "spambotting" back with their automated responses. If they could just take like 50 of the real questions and concerns and just answer them HONESTLY that would be great, but they still seem to be trying to cover their behinds from Blackfish, which in turn is not making them look very good.

As some of you may know, I am not a fan of SeaWorld or any marine park for that matter. I am allowed my own thoughts and opinions. And I have felt this way long before Blackfish came on the scene. I just can't understand the human mind sometimes and how disposable people can be of animals. I am NOT speaking for the trainers because I already know some of you might bark back with "but the trainers love their animals". Sure they do. That's why they put their lives on the line to be near these creatures, however the actual companies that own the animals are to me, no better than the horse racing industry or the greyhound racing industry. Its a disposable industry of innocent lives.They take what monetary gain they can get from them and once they are washed up then they move on to the next one. Its no different than how the entertainment industry treats other people in some ways, except people are free to choose their fate while animals are at our mercy each and every day.

But again just my thoughts. I love animals and always want the best for them.