Dottie, a bottlenose dolphin who lived 39 years at SeaWorld, died this week without ever feeling the rhythm of the ocean, or the freedom she deserved.
SeaWorld describes Dottie as a devoted mother of four calves, but they separated her from every single one of them. That is not devotion, that is the reality of captivity, where profit determines family bonds.
Dottie was born into concrete tanks and died in them. She never experienced the open sea. She spent her life performing for tourists, not because it was natural or enriching, but because SeaWorld's business model depends on it.
SeaWorld positions itself as an institution rooted in marine science. They know, because the science is unambiguous, that cetaceans are highly intelligent, wide-ranging, socially complex animals. They know that no tank, however large, can meet the physical or psychological needs of a dolphin. And yet they continue their breeding program, ensuring that more animals like Dottie will be born into the same captive cycle, never knowing the life they were meant to live.
Dottie's story should not end with a tribute post. It should end with change.
SeaWorld must end its dolphin breeding program now. No more calves born into captivity. No more mothers separated from their young. No more lives defined by performance and concrete walls.
Dottie deserved better. The dolphins who come after her deserve better.
A bricklayer in East Yorkshire has spent 35 years putting up barn owl nest boxes on weekends. This year, the region saw 308 owlets hatch.
His name is Robert Salter. He's 56 and does bricklaying full time. In 1990, he saw a piece on the news about a man in Lincolnshire installing barn owl boxes, and decided he'd do the same. He started with five.
He now has more than 350 boxes scattered across fields, farms, outbuildings, and trees in East Yorkshire. Every June, he takes four weeks off from bricklaying and visits them with his wife Sue. Scrambling up ladders, ringing chicks, cleaning boxes, repairing the ones the weather got to. He's a licensed bird ringer for the British Trust for Ornithology.
In 2024, the region ringed 95 owlets. In 2025, the count was 308. The Barn Owl Trust says that nationally, this year was "pretty poor" for barn owl breeding, but east Yorkshire is the exception, and it's the exception because of one man with a ladder.
The barn owl population in the UK was estimated at 4,000 pairs in the mid-2000s and crashed to roughly 1,000 by the early 2010s. The species is still recovering.
Most of conservation is one person who refuses to give up.
"Benjamin taught us that poetry can change how we see the world โ even how we see turkeys
Talking Turkeys continues to speak love, justice and compassion."
#BenjaminZephaniah#CarryTheRhythm
I am delighted that our forthcoming release of the beautiful ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ film of ๐๐ ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ is starting to get some healthy bookings coming in. Directors Selina Cadell and Eliza Thompson have created something beautifully filmic and totally accessible for opera fans and newcomers alike.
Thereโs a serious situation happening right now. 16 cows need our help to stay fed during this drought. Please consider donating or sharing to support them. Every little bit counts. https://t.co/lJCGIr3vMG
Dulu greta bener bener dielu-elukan ampe masuk bbc dan banyak media talking about climate, then once she speaks about palestine.. no more media talking about her anymore. I am glad that she still speak up about the truth ๐ฅบ๐ซถ๐ป
What did we learn from Reformโs conference?
First, delegates seem not to realise we have a king now, not a queen - as they โmis-sangโ the national anthem. We wonโt be taking lessons in patriotism from them then.
Second, Nadine Dorries is a catch - who knew? Farage bigged up this latest defection of, frankly, a nobody, like it was really something. Her only claim to fame seems to have been as an architect of Britainโs online safety act - the same act Farage has vowed to scrap. Does Dorries or Farage care about that lack of consistency or integrity - I suspect not.
Third, Reform is a party that welcomes and celebrates criminals - in this case someone just out of jail for inciting racial hatred and extreme violence (arson in fact). Iโm all for rehabilitation, but this was not that.
Fourth - Reform is the home of quack science. The person helping them write their Health policy - is an anti-vaxxer, who claimed that the Royal familyโs recent cancers were caused by the Covid vaccine.
And finally - we shouldnโt overlook the rank hypocrisy of Farage having been in the US just days earlier claiming the UK has no free speech - while his party bans journalists they donโt like and others, like me - from attending their conference.
This is Farageโs free speech Britain.
Extreme handsome Henry with his cute little nose would be delighted to welcome some more #pigoneers ๐ทโค๏ธ
Please support @BTWsanctuary, become a #pigoneer & help care for Henry & his friends ๐ทโค๏ธโฌ๏ธ
๐ฆกWe are deeply disappointed the @GOVUKย has approved the continuation of badger culls despite @UKLabour's own manifesto commitment to end this โineffectiveโ policy. (1/2)
I've signed this open letter calling on the Prime Minister to give more time for the #CANBill debateโand deliver the #REALChange we need. We need action for a greener, healthier, happier futureโwhere people & nature can thrive. Add your name: https://t.co/NDKpHmw0rq @zerohour_uk