FOR ALL THE ANIMALS
connect with us!
  • PHOTOGRAPHY
    • Contact
    • Private Investigator
    • My Beloved Dog
  • PHOTO BLOG
    • LADYBUG PHOTOS
    • My Mother's Obituary
    • GettingInTouchWithNature BLOG
    • Vietnam on Motorcycle
    • Plant Life
    • Swan Specialist
  • BIO
  • LEARN
    • CLAY ORGAN-PIPE NEST
    • SETTING BULLS ON FIRE??!
    • MOOSE FACTS
    • THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SQUIRRELS & CHIPMUNKS
    • WISE ABOUT BEARS
    • ARE COWS SENTIENT
    • YOU BUY, ELEPHANTS DIE
    • GROW YOUNG WITH YOUR DOG - Best Selling Book
    • ALL ABOUT YAKS IN NEPAL
    • ABOUT CHICKENS
    • THE ART OF DECEPTION
  • MY BOOKS
  • BEE INSPIRED
    • TINY LIFE
    • BEE BLOG
  • Beach Wood
  • Getting In Touch With Nature
  • TIPPI DEGRE - GROWING UP AROUND EXOTIC ANIMALS
  • FIGHTING AGAINST FUR
  • ARCHIVES
    • ABOUT
    • WRITE FOR US
    • OUR STAFF
    • BLOGS >
      • BLOG by Porter
      • BLOG BY NORA
      • BLOG BY VARUN
      • BLOG BY BENDIK
      • BLOG BY KAILYN
      • Blog by SARAH H.
      • LIERRA'S BLOG
      • BLOG BY KABIR
      • BLOG by ZACH
      • ANNA'S BLOG
      • Thoughts by Helen Hu
      • BRAYLIN'S BLOG
      • SARA'S BLOG
      • Blog by Sara Jane
      • BLOG BY JASPER
    • BLOG by ANNE
    • LIZZY'S BLOG
    • Blog by Abu
    • BLOG by Z.K.
    • NEWEST STORIES
    • PETITIONS
  • Blog

HOW I BECAME AN ACTIVIST - Part One

11/21/2014

8 Comments

 
The Beginning:

I always loved and appreciated nature, I've been vegetarian my whole life and will soon be a vegan. I saw Keiko just before he was released when I was two years old in Oregon, my state of birth.

When I moved to San Diego in the third grade, my love for the oceans, especially cetaceans, grew. Free Willy got me started. My passion back then was to become a SeaWorld trainer. I would play with toy Shamus and act like I was riding them. But I never thought about how each individual orca may have felt, how they did feel when performing in real life. I never thought that three of the orcas were captured, that Orkid's parents had died, that they live way shorter in captivity. It was about how much joy I was having, my love for orcas, how I felt when they jumped in the air. Their tricks were all a distraction to what lay behind the curtain.

Picture
What changed me:

At the end of 6th grade, our school had a field trip to SeaWorld and I enrolled in a summer camp there. Much like many of the people who spent their money there that day, I enjoyed my time watching the dolphins perform for me and the hundreds of people sitting all around the stadium. I got all excited and my body started tingling as I saw them leap towards the sky on cue.

The theme park music kept blasting as everybody applauded louder than the sound of thunder. I was almost in a trance, taken over by my adrenaline as the show continued on. I lept out of my seat as a dolphin named Dolly jumped over a 20 ft high rope...I was so amazed that dolphins could jump that high. Just when I thought it could not get any better, a twist was added at the end! Someone fell into the pool and got picked up by a dolphin, who carried her around the tank!

Just as everyone started gasping, they announced that it was another trainer! I started laughing my head off as the whole place erupted with uncontrollable laughter. But in time, the loud noise died down as the show ended and everyone began to leave the stadium to continue their fun day at SeaWorld. My day, however, was finished as my sisters were shockingly whining to go home. How could anyone ever want to leave this place? I thought to myself.

Picture
When our instructor at the camp led us over to Dolphin Point, the small 8-ft deep enclosure next to Shamu Stadium, she told us that we could feed the dolphins. Excitement pierced my mind. As we walked up to the concrete wall, the dolphins greeted us, swimming over in a robotic fashion. I reached my hand out towards one of the dolphins, touched his slippery skin, then tossed him a fish. I walked away then came back again, wanting to relive the experience.

The dolphin approached the wall again, and I reached out my hand and touched him once more, but I did not toss him a fish this time. Having tricked him, the dolphin stared me in the eye with an indescribable intelligence. I shivered, then asked the instructor if the tank was too small. She said that the dolphins were happy. “This tank is eight feet deep and they have plenty of room.”

The rest of the day, I was startled. I awoke from that trance that the shows put me in. On the way home, I was mad, angry and confused.

The next day at camp, we visited the tanks the orcas circle around in when they aren't performing. I asked the same question I did the other day. No answer. During the Believe show, I thought that something isn't right. A piece of bird poop landing in my mouth confirmed that assumption. Needless to say, after camp was over, I never visited SeaWorld again.

Picture
I was always against whaling back then and spread the Whale's Revenge petition around my school in 5th and 6th grade. I never heard about whaling at SeaWorld so I wanted to learn more.

I got into the TV show “Whale Wars” and after talking on an online discussion with somebody, I found myself becoming an administrator for an organization called Global Wildlife Warriors. I also wrote several articles for the organization and met several friends who are still close to me today. This allowed me to research topics and find out about more issues, like the dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan and the full truth behind SeaWorld.
I saw wild dolphins for the first time in Savannah, Georgia (as far as I can remember – I saw wild orcas when I was two but have no memory of it) in the middle of 7th grade. I went on a whale watching boat and bottlenosed dolphins came right up to the boat. One even looked me in the eye. I couldn't help but notice their grace and beauty.

But it was only when I snorkeled with wild dolphins in Hawaii that summer that I began to fully realize why keeping sentient beings in captivity is so wrong.
Picture
The tropical, salty waters of Hawaii kept me afloat as I ducked my head beneath the surface. Spinner Dolphins gracefully swam 10-20 feet below, caressing and nudging each other. I took in a big breath of air as they let us right in to the middle of their pod, as if we were one of them. Babies swam next to their mothers, effortlessly riding the slip stream as we flopped about above, unaware and unable to match their grace.

Suddenly, about a few hundred yards away, one of them leaped from the surface, spinning and twirling his/her body through the air. It looked so much more different than what I had seen at SeaWorld. The ambient ocean sounds fluttered into my ears, along with the enigmatic language of the dolphins. I had always wondered what they were saying below, what they thought of us.

Picture
I had already begun to turn against SeaWorld, but I never really fully understood why until I saw those dolphins swimming below me. The freedom they showed, seeing them communicate and caress each other, and simply their utter grace and speed in the ocean, made me realize that there was more to these animals than jumping high or smiling all the time, as SeaWorld too often stereotypes them. Seeing them in captivity was no comparison to my experience in the wild. I could feel their sonar bouncing through my skin as if they were looking through me and all of my mistakes. Seeing me who I really was, still forgiving and loving me.

My whole trip in Hawaii made me realize how beautiful the ocean is, and how much we need to protect it. Seeing people kick off pieces of coral on other snorkeling trips just shocked me. Watching the sun sink beneath the waves each night gave me the chills. Learning how to surf taught me how powerful and vast the ocean is.
My next blog is about my first protest. Stay tuned ....
8 Comments
Kuzi Haleb
11/22/2014 09:36:59

Thank you! There is hope after all. With that love change must come and the dolphins will go home to the ocean free and safe.

Reply
Zach Affolter
11/22/2014 13:59:27

Thanks for your feedback! Change will come...I feel the tides shifting <3 <3 <3

Reply
Laura Seeton
11/22/2014 21:19:00

You're very descriptive. I got lost in your story. Felt like I was right there with you in the ocean. I've never been in the water with whales nearby. I think I now have an idea of what that would feel like. I have always loved the sounds of whales and dolphins. So tranquil. So beautiful. I recently turned vegan. I still make slip ups, I forget how much animal products are in a lot of stuff. I can't wait to read more from you. In solidarity.

Reply
Jana
11/22/2014 22:26:16

Zach, what a wonderful story. As you write you bring your readers in with you.If you can bring your stories to other children what a movement you can lead. Keep it up amazing animal warrior.

Reply
Gayle.mandi
11/23/2014 09:48:02

You are such an inspiration to so many and educating the youngsters.
Awesome , never give up.

Reply
Beverly
11/23/2014 12:32:16

I too love dolphins and had a similar experience feeling excited but later sad about a dolphin I met in captivity. Thank you for your activism.

Reply
Lynn Lawrence
11/23/2014 21:17:07

Your compassion is amazing. With young people like you around, it gives me hope that things will change. You have a heart of gold.

Reply
Marty Kossoff
11/24/2014 00:12:42

Beautifully written Zach!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    BLOG by 
    ZACH AFFOLTER
    Picture
    Zach Affolter is a freshman at Humboldt State University, majoring in Marine Biology with a minor in Wildlife and Scientific Diving. He has been a passionate animal advocate since his first year of high school and has earned recognition from local and national media for his efforts. Zach currently is a Youth Ambassador for Dolphin Project, a paid writer at For All The Animals and was on Peta2's Youth Advisory Board for the past year. Zach has accomplished much in the activist realm, from helping to organize the largest protest for a captive cetacean ever to petitioning his school board to seek more humane and educational alternatives instead of holding field trips at SeaWorld. He also volunteered with Earthrace, for which he also served as a youth advisory, and Pretoma last summer in Costa Rica to protect sea turtle eggs from poachers.

    Zach also is a passionate writer/film producer and is currently working on two novels. One such book, "Breaking Through The Clouds," is about the captive orca Lolita held in an illegally sized tank at the Miami Seaquarium. He has written articles for local papers and well-established animal rights organizations, such as Dolphin Project. His efforts earned him PETA's Libby (for liberation) Award last year. Through his activism, writing, and video productions, Zach hopes to spread awareness about important issues, educate people about how beautiful nature is, and why it needs to be protected.

    RSS Feed

    Subscribe to BLOG by ZACH by Email

    Archives

    June 2016
    October 2015
    July 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014

    Categories

    All
    An Animal Activist's Toolbox
    An Elephant's Tear
    An Elephant Stolen
    A Poem By Zach Affolter
    A WAVERING SUN - A Poem About The Dolphin Slaughter In Taji
    Black Water - A Short Story About Kiska
    BREAKING THROUGH THE CLOUDS A Film By Zach Affolter
    How I Became An Activist - Part 3
    Part 2 How I Became An Activist
    Raju's Story
    War On Planet Earth
    Zach Affolter Works Tirelessly To Free Kiska

    RSS Feed

If you love bees, check out my other website.
Picture