When Animals Attack-Discovery Channel

Recently Discovery Channel Networks ran afoul of the Bear People in Alaska.

Note: The Bear People are serious contenders in Alaska, you do not want to kick that beehive.

Seems that taking human dummies and enticing Grizzlies to attack them is both disrespectful to bears and a disservice to the general public who's impression of bears is diminished after watching the show. As the story unfolds the production company responsible for the shoot "staged the event" with caged bears...they failed to let the public know this was the case much to the networks chagrin.

Story here Kudo's to MSNBC for breaking this story.

Which leads us to an ongoing problem with Discovery Channel and shark programming. Last year a similar stunt was done with Tiger sharks at Tiger Beach, Bahamas. A dummy was dressed up in full dive gear and the sharks were enticed to attack the dummy. Where does this end?

It begins and ends with the operations that do business with the production companies, who in turn do business with Discovery networks. As operators who take productions companies to find and shoot sharks we have an obligation to inform and help direct the production company into quality pro shark programming. That's a tall order, and sometimes it cannot be done, but the far end of that spectrum is a dummy being attacked by a Tiger shark.

Without revealing who was responsible for that particular shoot, the blow back from it had serious and continuing repercussions for others who use this site:

1. The Bahamian Tourism Ministry were very upset with this shoot. The Bahamas relies on water based tourism and the depiction of Tigers attacking divers is not what they want to see in their waters. Furthermore, when it was discovered that this shoot was done by a US based company the anger grew. The Bahamas are currently wrestling with what they perceive are US based commercial dive interests who give very little back to the Bahamian economy and are doing "bad things" in Bahamian waters. After watching that show you can see why.

2. The Bahamas Film Commission also voiced serious concern for this site and continued filming here.

Often the net result or blow back of "When Animals Attack" programming is seen months or perhaps years after the shoot. Operators need to take the lead here. The reason why programming like this exists is built on the backs of the last 10 production companies who delivered it to Discovery. We can not only break the chain-but we can also show production companies new and better programming that cost less, delivers more, and keep the audience engaged.

It can be done. Great programming with sharks that delivers thrills takes time and dedication and thought. It's not rocket science.

Our Very Own Shark Attack Playset

Must be the holidays again because the parade of shark related gifts from ex shark divers and friends are pouring in. Ahhh, we loves our holiday season.

This nifty present we opened today-thanks Tony, Sheri and Andreas!

As you can see Discovery Channel's "other wing" Animal Planet is behind this interesting and very sharky creation. We'll try and explain what you cannot see in this image. In no particular order:

Animal Planet Shark Attack Playset

"press dorsal fin to move jaws" (huge chomping action white shark)

"I floss everyday" (image of great white mouth open)

"includes diver with accessories, diving cage, great white shark with moving jaws, and smaller tiger shark" (way cool cage design, with diver in rebreather set up)

"say cheese"(another great white mouth open)

"try me!" (reach in and chomp the shark at the diver, hours of fun)

In short we'll rate this almost as cool as one of last years gifts the ever popular "Shark With Frickn' Lazer Beam" still in it's original packaging.

What is this saying to kids 5 and up? Take it up with Discovery Channel if you have a beef. For us we'll just sit back and enjoy the sharky holiday glow of it all. Now with 40% more chomping action!

Whale Wars-Wagging the Conservation Dog

Our Whale Wars post this week has generated a mass of offline and thoughtful emails here at Underwater Thrills. We also got a few hysterical foaming-at-the-mouth diatribes as well.

Here's one example highlighting how Wagging the Conservation Dog harms an entire movement:

Sea Shepherd are not helping whales, they are exacerbating the problem. Every time they clash with the whaling ships in the Antarctic, the Japanese look like the victims, and they spin this for all it's worth at the IWC - "irresponsible NGOs, terrorist organisations" etc. SSCS are gifting the Japanese whalers a bargaining chip to use within the international diplomatic community. Whilst their hearts might be in the right place, and their passion evident, SSCS are sadly out of touch with reality.

Conservation doesn't happen by putting yourself between a harpoon and a whale - although admittedly that is a great way to get publicity. Real conservation happens in international fora - at the IWC, at CITES, within CMS, ACCOBAMS and ASCOBAMS. It's only though negotiation and diplomacy that NGOs can persuade governments and decision-making bodies to lay down new laws that protect wildlife . A £10,000 donation to an NGO that does this kind of work will secure the future of thousands or perhaps millions of whales and dolphins - SSCS would burn through it in a couple of days chasing the Japanese whalers around icebergs, giving just a handful of whales a temporary reprieve.

SSCS are attracting a lot of attention for their antics, and this is diverting funds from the organisations that can really make the difference. The environmental NGO community has come a long, long way in the past 20 years, and we've got inside governments and international fora to a point where we affect REAL change. By tackling the economics of whaling and trade, creating legal frameworks, working with industry and governance - we are making a huge difference to the conservation and welfare of these animals worldwide.

SSCS are alienating and undermining the conservation movement, not helping it. Funders should think long and hard before giving money to SSCS, and question the true value of what they get in return.

Whales Wars-Wagging the Conservation Dog

“WHALE WARS is an epic adventure that looks at the consequences of taking a stand on an issue,” declares Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet. “It’s so important that WHALE WARS calls Animal Planet its home. It’s truly compelling television, and it’s entertainment with a conservation message infused to its core.”

Perhaps one of the most chilling departures from the entire 40 year global eco movement was this year when Sea Shepherd traded it's last shred of dignity and credibility for the cameras of Animal Planet and thus began Eco-Edutainment Television-where the message and outright fabrication of events have subsumed the horrors of actual whaling. Where dead whales and story lines are traded with advertisements for SUV's and laundry detergent. This is a meeting of eco media and horror that never should have happened and now that it has will change the landscape of the global eco movement for years to come.

Sea Shepherds anti whaling operation last season was one of unrelenting and breathless press release after press release. Sea Shepherd members were "taken hostage" by evil Japanese whalers. Sea Shepherd members were "harassed", titular head of the organization Paul Watson was "shot in the chest".

The fact is none of this actually happened the way it was portrayed and 90% of it was fabricated for Animal Planet's cameras creating for the first time a hybrid media organization that,truth be told, is becoming more horrific than actual whaling. Even Discovery Networks are backing away from Watsons "attempted assassination claim" realising their exposure to it might have a negative blow back for the network.

The question most credible NGO's are asking themselves these days, what is worse? Killing whales for bogus research, or exploiting the killing of whales for television ratings and eco donations from a well meaning and ill informed public?

Paul Watson and Sea Shepherd, like the Republican Party, are out of fresh ideas, and out of a true game plan to stop whaling in the Antarctic. One might even suggest this is not the real agenda here. It is well known that Watson hates, with a passion reserved only for the mentally unbalanced, his fellow anti whaling rivals Greenpeace. By allowing reality television crews and cameras aboard his vessel Watson creates his own reality and 20 million unwitting viewers go along for the ride not knowing events are not as they seem. Worldwide Sea Shepherd has all but painted itself into a corner, with fewer and fewer countries and ports allowing his brand of hysterical eco activism into their waters.

Sea Shepherd has chosen, in lieu of actual action, to Wag the Conservation Dog. Where this goes from here is any ones guess. What other NGO's should be doing right now is taking a hard stance against for profit reality television shows like Whale Wars. In the final summation will this stop whaling? No, sadly it will not.

Will it cause dollars to flow into Sea Shepherds coffers and away from other NGO's who are doing real conservation work? Sadly yes, it will, and that's the true horror of Wagging the Conservation Dog.

Sea Shepherd Whale Wars-Sinking to New Depths

Observing Sea Shepherd these days is like watching the last days of any long running television series. The final shows are just tragically anemic versions of the original.

And so it goes with Sea Shepherd whose messaging has seemingly become more important than actual boots on the ground efforts.

Case in point the heroically poor "performance art" that is the ongoing Antarctic Whale Defense Campaign. While accomplishing very little in 2008 the entire campaign did manage to globally embarrass the NGO community at large this spring and was punctuated by a series of high seas stunts culminating in the "Fabrication heard round the world" that of Paul Watson being shot by Japanese Whalers.

As a point of order we are strongly against whaling of any kind and do not side with nor condone the Japanese "scientific whaling" in any form.

Now it turns out the eco-antics of the 2008 whale season were driven in some part by an on board film crew who are now launching a 7 episode series called Whale Wars on Animal Planet.

Animal Planet's programming is known for "reality style" television, plot driven with little focus towards facts. It is little surprise that Watson chose this programming outlet to team up with.

Allowing a reality televsion film crew to essentially direct eco protests is a new low for Sea Shepherd and highlights a rudderless organization whose primary eco focus has been turned into "big media at any costs".

To say that Sea Shepherd has strayed off the NGO reservation is an understatement and for those camp followers who think this is a good thing it is not.

Eco enforcement is serious work-not stunt work-and those few that heed the call to the world of front line eco protest are professionals-not reality television stage actors-for a television series whose mandate is ratings and not long lasting and effective action.