James Cameron 'endorsing cruelty of marine parks' by holding Avatar screening at dolphin show, says PETA
TOKYO, JAPAN: Canadian director James Cameron has sparked outrage among animal welfare activists by holding an 'Avatar' sequel press conference at a dolphin show in Japan. The 68-year-old filmmaker has been blamed of "endorsing the cruelty of marine parks" after he took part in the dolphin show as part of the 'Avatar: The Way of Water' publicity tour in Tokyo. Cameron watched the dolphins perform in a small pool at the marine park alongside actors Jon Landau, Zoe Saldaña, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang.
While addressing the fictional world the Avatar films are set in, Cameron introduced the show by saying, "Welcome to Pandora", before dolphins entered the pool with two trainers. The dolphins were seen performing tricks in the water, with the two trainers being lifted into the air by the aquatic mammals. The actors who sat in a row were seen cheering and clapping throughout the show as 'The Way of the Water' played on a screen behind them.
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Cameron joked following the show that he was sure "everybody asked the animals permission to be in the show", which featured more than six dolphins jumping across the pool simultaneously. "I love these animals, I love their intelligence. I love their sociability, their ability to connect with us and to interact with us and learn from us. And I'm sure everybody asked their permission to be in the show," the director said.
Cameron was criticized for attending the controversial dolphin show by animal rights organization PETA. "James Cameron waited 13 years for the development of the right technology to bring the underwater world of Pandora to life," PETA US senior vice president Lisa Lange told Plant Based News. "So why on Earth didn't he pause for just five minutes to consider whether he should have allowed himself to be seen as endorsing the cruelty of marine parks?" Lange added, "Confining far-ranging dolphins to concrete tanks and using them as surfboards – riding on their faces in circus-style shows – is something the villains of Avatar would do. PETA urges him to reject such animal misery outright and encourages everyone to shun these cruel parks."
Another activist, Bailey Mason, said, "James Cameron, as a high profile environmentalist, should never associate himself with the captivity of dolphins. Dolphin shows are cruel, not conservation." According to PETA, dolphins suffer physical and behavioural harm during live shows and confinement in captivity. The most concerning of all is the practice of trainers riding dolphins through the water while standing on their backs and beaks.
The marine mammals' sensitive lower jaws get strained from such stunts in such a way that can damage their hearing, injure joints and muscles and worsen other injuries caused by confinement within holding tanks where the dolphins are kept.