Background to the trial of SeaWorld Here are a few facts and figures about Tilikum and other orcas in captivity. * There are currently 42 orcas in captivity worldwide. More than half of them are owned by marine circuses in the U.S. * The largest male orca in captivity is Tilikum. He’s 22 feet long and weighs approximately 12,500 pounds. Tilikum was captured in 1983 near Iceland, taken to Sealand in Canada, an…

Just when environmentalists and animal rights advocates were beginning to see a light at the end of the deep, dark and disgraceful tunnel known as the Canadian seal hunt, Canada's very own Sarah Palin, Fisheries Minister Gail Shea, announced last month that restrictions on exporting seal meat to China had been lifted. With the recent European Union ban on seal products in place, Shea and her cronies in Ott…

A growing number of consumers want to eat seafood without feeling guilty. Enter the Marine Stewardship Council(MSC), which purports to certify sustainable fisheries and provides a label for sustainable products to “promote the best environmental choice in seafood”. The MSC is growing rap- idly; the organization is also rapidly failing on its promise. The MSC has become the world’s most estab- lished fisheries c…