The sadness is everywhere from landlocked to ocean coasts cities and that is the hard part of traveling as an animal advocate. The grand look on these situations is astonishing and makes you feel sick to your stomach the thought of the animals you didn't see being sold and the animals you didn't see being brutally poached. From the sites of the wild to the sites of the captive its everywhere and sadly anywhere you thought is suppose to be relaxing is ownly a perception of the reality.
It was 2 years ago that I went on my first trip ever outside of Canada and yes it was for relaxing. I flew to Cuba and have to say I did have my moments of relaxation however the trips outside of the resort were the ones I will remember. The animals were as poor as the people but they did live in harmony in some manners but the marks I seen on some of the animals were atrocious! I witnessed a horse with so many brands from numbers to silly stupid heart shapes. Another horse that was wounded on its neck and blood dripping off it while the sun beat down on him/her. Then you see the dogs and cats bonding with a family for whatever scraps they can give them. One family I spoke with had a cat, I asked what the cat's name was and the man said "Gato" (Not sure of the spelling in Spanish). My friend said to me that Gato means Cat so I laughed and the man understood me and laughed as well. Another man later was carrying a live chicken around in a manner that this chicken was going to be killed soon for his and his family's dinner later. Cuba was beautiful and they too had marine parks, starving animals, wild and free, and the people themselves were struggling to survive as well.
I visited Australia just over a year ago and witnessed so much beauty here too! Surfers at every beach you went to and shark warning bells back at the buildings. I seen caged animals from their own kangaroos to others I had no idea existed. The country was not hurting like Cuba however they did look like the cities over here in North America with levels of poverty to well off people and caging animals for people to view that did not want to travel and see them in their normal habitat. Here I was able to see humpback whales migrate past with their young and local resident dolphins that swam with the boat and I was able to catch his eye. The eye of a happy wild dolpin is so much more alive than seeing the misread captive dolphin's eye at any dolphinarium around the world. Even with the same similarities of caging animals there were also people that were trying to protect the animals especially the nets around some beaches against sharks. I know a great lady in the southern part of Florida who protects sharks with the use of a helicoptor and a newly patented designed buoy mechanism that sharks will attach to and this engages them to get people out of the water and safely away from an incoming shark attack. Nets around beaches kill thousands of animals not only sharks and with this organization`s tireless efforts I believe they are on the right path!
Now, I have been to Florida about 4 times from north to south and I have witnessed many amazing creatures from the wild to the captive industry. Seen my first wild sharks here off the coast of the Florida Keys too. Florida to me resonates amazing energy within me from a very strong vibration to so much confusion at times. I absolutely love the sun, the ocean, the free wildlife but then there is the marine life that is captured and displayed. The alligator farms that kill them for meat and put their heads on display to be sold for a mere $20. I know I`m in a new region from my own and that the animals are all treated the same just a different type of animal that is horrifically used. However at times I believe that Florida and all coastal regions would care about the ocean more than any other animal but sadly for the most part they do not.
What really bothers me the most is a gorgeous coastal state taking the marine mammals and caging them in the concrete pools for life. I have been to many places now around the world and no matter landlocked to coastal they all seem to have these types of establishments but to me seeing the ocean in the background with a marine prison at its edge is horrific. It does not help the person who says, its a way to see them when we normally may never see them in the wild. In this case the dolphins for one are trapped in a concrete pool and only a hop, skip and a jump a way is wild dolphins playing and willing to interact with you. It was in St. Augustine - Florida that I was sharing my story with the lady at the front desk of our hotel about the dolphins. She said oh yes the dolphins like to come up but I get scared and get out of the water. I was shocked to hear this person who lives and works right beside the gorgeous Atlantic Ocean was afraid of dolphins. I told her they won`t hurt you. She continued to say, but they have teeth and that is enough for me to be scared. I was in shock and just didn`t want to believe that someone so close to the ocean would be terrified about dolphins! If we could just bring this world of animals to the classroom to protection and love our world would be on the way to a more balanced and peaceful world.
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