The Joe Rogan Experience - #1297 - Phil Demers

Episode Date: May 15, 2019

Phil Demers is a former professional marine mammal trainer and employee at Marineland in Canada. http://savesmooshi.com ...

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Oh! with an irregular amount of stress. With the walrus right there. Dude, you don't mind my putting it there? No, no, not at all. I'm so happy to come back and see it. No, it stays on the desk. Yeah, that thing's amazing. This means as much to us as anybody, except for you. Well, it's nice to see it. This is my happy place.
Starting point is 00:00:37 This is my safe place. I got to travel across the country to be safe, but it's certainly a pleasure to be here again. And Joe, I always have to thank you. Listen, brother, I thank you too. I was was texting whitney today i said you're a hero you're a legitimate hero for people who don't know what this is all about i'll give everybody the backstory um phil used to work at marine land he was an orca trainer and he also trained a walrus named smooshy and smooshy is still allegedly in captivity at marine land although there's no photographic evidence but you're pretty sure
Starting point is 00:01:12 she's still there i was told that she is still there and she's in good shape and i'm hanging on to that since you came on the podcast the first time which was how many years ago now so six years ago i think that's 2013 so he's been living this lawsuit life for six years trapped in a lawsuit with a gigantic corporation with incredible amounts of money that's been trying to crush him and um they've made up stuff well tell me what's what's happened. Give me your perspective on how it all went down. So back in 2012, I was forced to make a very difficult decision. I elected to speak out against the conditions of which Marineland's animals were living in. I did so knowing the risks, knowing that Marineland was a litigious company, but I did so on
Starting point is 00:02:06 account of the fact that the animals were suffering incredibly. Before quitting, I had an agreement with Marine Land that look, I'm leaving. This is long before I'd spoken out. I'm leaving, but you know, we have to establish that I can maintain this relationship with the walrus because I imprinted on her.
Starting point is 00:02:23 It's important to stress that, that she thinks I'm her mom. She was a baby. She was a baby when she came in. So she was wild caught. And you can imagine, probably witnessed her mother get slaughtered. That's the method of collecting babies by the captors in Russia. And so she comes in traumatic at the age of, we estimate about 18 months of age, which is pretty old, in fact.
Starting point is 00:02:44 So she comes in traumatic at the age of, we estimate about 18 months of age, which is pretty old. In fact, uh, for our, in our experience at Marine lands experience of, of acquiring these wild caught baby walruses. Um, and through a sort of traumatic experience with her that I was there with her, this anomalous thing happened where her brain circuitry opened up and much like in the wild where in the case of herd animals, the babies, uh, become familiar with the mother's sound, sense, look, everything. All the senses are acute. They're, they're aware of who they, of where they are so that they can find each other amidst these thousands of animals.
Starting point is 00:03:14 Well, this happened to her. So the brain circuitry opens, suddenly I'm imprinted on her. I wasn't prepared to leave Marineland unless it was of the understanding that I can continue to help her because historically my relationship with her, you know, had everything to do with her health and wellbeing. I quit with the understanding with Marineland. This was to be the case.
Starting point is 00:03:38 I'd been gone for a month. I come back unannounced. They don't want to let me in. They're hiding something. I get in. I see her. She's in terrible shape. I snap a few photos.
Starting point is 00:03:53 I leave. Now amidst this. When you say terrible shape, what do you mean? She was emaciated. She was bone dry. She hadn't eaten in. My having been gone a month was the longest she and I have ever actually been physically apart.
Starting point is 00:04:06 I'd been trying to wean my presence off of her so that other trainers could be able to maintain a healthy, you know, healthy diet for her, healthy lifestyle. So she was emaciated because she wasn't eating because of stress? I wasn't there for that month, I can't say, but she was certainly not eating.
Starting point is 00:04:21 She was super skinny. They had her, of course, on a bunch of drugs, which include psychotics, Valium, antidepressants. When I saw her, my jaw hit the floor. It's important to note that during this, some newspapers had been calling. They wanted to know why I quit. If we back up a little bit, it should be noted that in 2007,
Starting point is 00:04:42 my relationship with Smushi sort of took off. In the early sort of internet viral days and whatnot. We made front page of like CNN and Jimmy Kimmel did a piece. And so there was sort of that backstory of the, you know, I guess you would call it a fluff celebrity type thing, but nonetheless,
Starting point is 00:04:58 my having left started, people started to ask questions. I started fielding calls from this newspaper who was looking, who was keen on doing an investigation of Marineland. So I wasn't going to participate. I started fielding calls from this newspaper who was looking, who was keen on doing an investigation of Marineland. So I wasn't going to participate. I had no interest, again, stressing Marineland's litigious history.
Starting point is 00:05:12 And also, look, I've got this relationship with the walrus that I sort of have to maintain. I have to, I have to keep this relationship with Marineland healthy enough. So once I'd realized they weren't holding onto that end of the bargain, you know, the panic sets in. I'm a first time mom.
Starting point is 00:05:27 It should be stressed. So I basically called the newspapers and I said, you put my face, my name, it doesn't matter. You just print it. Let's go. Let's get the story out. Story gets out. Well, Marine Land, as expected, starts their lawsuits.
Starting point is 00:05:48 It's like a, it's almost like a scorched earth. They take a scorched earth sort of method. And this was when the original owner was alive. Yes. He's no longer alive. He died. He died last year in June, in fact. So years into this litigation.
Starting point is 00:06:04 So they sued me. They sued me for a million five. They sued my girlfriend. They sued other activists. They sued newspapers. They're suing everybody. The mistake they made is in all of their absurd allegations that they've yet six and a half years into, into litigation yet to prove any of it. They cannot,
Starting point is 00:06:26 it's never going to happen. It doesn't exist. It's a fictitious lawsuit. It's full of lies and bullshit. Bottom line, the mistake they made is they sued me for plotting to steal smooshy. That's where the headlines take off. And they also called me the Kanye West of animal training.
Starting point is 00:06:43 Yeah. I remember we went, that's how I got your attention on the internet. No, no, no. That's not how you got my attention. I sent you a tweet. I sent you a tweet. The Kanye West part didn't get my attention.
Starting point is 00:06:52 Well, no. You said they called you. The tweet was, I said, Joe, you just say when I'll book a flight to come to LA. I sent you the link to the story. The headline was Kanye West of animal training being sued for plotting to steal a walrus. You wrote, they called you the what? And then you slid into the DMs and said, dude, if you're ever in LA, I said, you just say when. Well, I started reading the story.
Starting point is 00:07:11 I wrote a piece a long time ago on my blog. I talked about it in one of my comedy specials that I had a crazy experience with dolphins once when I was really, really high. And I had this, I mean, it sounds silly to even talk about, but I almost feel like I kind of understood that they're like us, but they just don't alter their environment. Well, I realized like when they were playing with us, when they were jumping by the boat and they were looking at you, they were looking at you while they were jumping around with the boat. And I was like, they're playing and they're looking at you like a person would, like a water person. Interacting.
Starting point is 00:07:57 There's almost a language at this point. There's some level of bridged gap in the communication when you get to see that they're expressing themselves in interest in you and whatnot and, and scoping you. And when you get really close and establish a relationship with these animals, that's when things start getting real squirrely because you start to find that happy medium language. And now all of a sudden you are starting to sort of speak, so to say.
Starting point is 00:08:18 Yeah. Well, I started getting really weird feelings about SeaWorld and and and animal captivity like this why do we need that in this day and age like this isn't the dark ages we shouldn't be putting whales and orcas and dolphins putting them in these tanks these fucking water fit swimming pools they're fucking swimming pools and you have these things that are probably as smart as us in some different way like we're so prejudiced in that we only think of intelligence as something that can manipulate its environment that's our problem like we're like look at them
Starting point is 00:08:56 they're bitch-ass world they don't have any houses they can't write a letter they're fucking stupid man stop it they're stupid but the dolphins apparently have a cerebral cortex it's somewhat something around 40 larger than human beings they have super complex languages their emotional intelligence is the mystery and it appears that it's far beyond anything we ourselves can understand as same as orcas they've got that uh they've got another part of the brain in the front which is its function in that the front of the cerebral cortex, that function is to, um, as for communication and
Starting point is 00:09:31 for, and for it, and it, it enhances their emotional capacity to a point where we don't really know the depth of which they are, uh, the power of their emotion, but we know that, uh, they stay with their families for their lifetimes. The males born, uh, from, from the from the mothers will rarely leave the mother's side, quite literally the distance of an orca itself.
Starting point is 00:09:50 The only time that male will go on is when it's matured and it will go to procreate and then back to the mother and it will live its entire life as such. And the sad fact about that is in my experience working with male orcas, one of which caught from the wild, a big bull orca is, he was a mama's boy. You can see something was missing. He was traumatized from something. And of course, even myself as a regarded whale expert in the capacity of working at a fricking place like Marineland, even I would have never known this information when I started this. This is not information that was available to us back in, I started in 2000.
Starting point is 00:10:27 It makes sense now. This animal is traumatized from birth. His will to live is just gone. The male, it appears to me and in my experience, the male sex of, well, I've worked with seals. I've worked with sea lions. I've worked with walruses, dolphins, belugas, and orcas. All of them die younger.
Starting point is 00:10:52 The males die younger. And I think definitely in the orcas and the dolphins cases is they just don't have that will to live without that strong maternal figure in their life. This is what I try to explain to people that don't see it and they think that the dolphins get treated well or the orcas get treated well this is what imagine
Starting point is 00:11:11 if someone stole your son and put him in an air box at the bottom of the ocean and dolphins and whales and fish just came by and stared at him imagine and he lives his life like that with no contact other than with his his dolphin handlers or whoever's taking care of him and he just lives in this box missing his family missing his loved ones missing his life confused lost and with with a language that is especially with orcas and dolphins they have a language that's so complex we haven't been able to really decipher it we don't understand how it works you know john lilly spent they spent i think decades working on trying to get dolphins to speak human noises he had a bunch of studies that he did and um he even had a, it's a crazy story.
Starting point is 00:12:05 I'm sure you've heard of it. The woman who lived with the dolphin, she tried to establish a relationship with the dolphin where they made an apartment that was half underwater. But the dolphin always wanted to fuck. So she just jerked the dolphin off. And when she jerked the dolphin off, that was the only thing that calmed him down. And then she could do her work. So for her, it was just like a technicality. I just got to jerk this dolphin off.
Starting point is 00:12:27 It's an animal. It wants to be rubbed. All the moral stuff that's attached to that is all in my own head. She's like, I'm just going to be a scientist. And they were like, guys, get that fuck. What? I think they were also injecting ketamine into the dolphins or something as well. I do not know if they were doing that into dolphins but i do know that they did some experiments with lsd and that uh john lilly who is one of my
Starting point is 00:12:50 personal heroes he's the creator of the flotation tank this is all john lilly stuff he was a pioneer in interspecies communication he would take acid and think that he was communicating with dolphins did you know you're on the cover of one of his books what yes we're talking about your face is i mean it's it's a spitting image on in one of his books one of lily's books yeah do this have to look this up maybe even a simple google search of traveler shit dude it's in there you are how is that not you man i'm sorry how is that that's fucking that? That's fucking weird, man. That's fucking weird. Yeah. Wow. Uh,
Starting point is 00:13:27 so that's a program. I can't read that. What does it say? Something? The human biocomputer. Yeah. I didn't read that one. I read the deep self though.
Starting point is 00:13:35 The deep self is really interesting. Um, and the deep self, I think the deep self is the one that also has, um, diagrams on how to build a tank. He was trying to get people to build tanks he was like listen man i found some shit out you gotta try this the last time i was here
Starting point is 00:13:51 uh not the last time two times ago you actually uh sent me to crash yeah my man crash shout out to crash at the float lab yeah and he uh you know i thought i'd be in there for an hour it turns out i was in there for a couple and when i came out i'm like dude i was waiting for the knock he's just like oh no man let's just let you stay in there i'm hour. It turns out I was in there for a couple. And when I came out, I'm like, dude, I was waiting for the knock. He's just like, oh, no, man. I was just letting you stay in there. I'm like, oh, shit. I'm looking at the time going. Crash is like a legit hippie.
Starting point is 00:14:11 Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. He's great. He's great. He's the mad scientist behind Float Lab. Yeah. That's why those things are so well engineered. When I met him, I was like, what? I was like, because tanks before that.
Starting point is 00:14:23 I first got a tank in like 2002, somewhere around then, 2002, 2003. And it was great, but it was like it would break. Things would go wrong. It flooded my basement. It was like there was disasters. It wasn't. And then my friend who was a tank technician, there's actually tank technicians, he said, listen, you got to check out this guy in Venice.
Starting point is 00:14:48 So some mad scientist down there in Venice was just making these super over-engineered float tanks. And he goes, they look like walk-in meat lockers. Right. I was like, what? And then he showed me. You had like a pod installed? I had, it was a very good tank.
Starting point is 00:15:01 It's just that it just, it wasn't as well constructed it also wasn't nearly as expensive it just he went the distance he went the distance and he still keeps it keeps coming over here i've got to change things we're upgrading we're doing it he's like he's always good for him always trying to enhance the experience for everyone yeah he's always trying to make it better he's the front of the line and when i first started uh working with him like when i first started having him on the podcast and and i hired him to build me a tank and all that jazz like there was no tanks it was it was real rare that you'd find tank centers now they're fucking everywhere man they're everywhere i'll say this the experience i had in his tank versus the one that i there's
Starting point is 00:15:41 a local place uh from where uh where I'm from, was hands down a different experience because he really isolates you there. Whereas this was like a pod that they bought and installed in a room. I mean, it was a great place. Well, his is super insulated. So there's no fucking noise getting in that thing. And he gave me the tour, the whole backstage tour.
Starting point is 00:15:57 I was all back there checking shit out. I was like, wow, man. It's wild, right? Yeah, he's got a serious complex there. It's hard to appreciate. But when he first started making tanks like that, which, again, I think I bought one of his tanks in 2005, I think, somewhere around then.
Starting point is 00:16:11 Dude, there was no one making anything like that. He's making these super high-end, crazy fucking double-wall insulated tanks, and you get in there, it's just nothing. Just nothing. And you just get swallowed into the nowhere. You just get taken into the... And it's a good place to think about the subject that we're talking about today. We've got to stop doing that with dolphins and orcas.
Starting point is 00:16:38 It's going to be thought of the same way we think about slavery today. That it's horrific, we can't understand it, and we can't believe that compassionate human beings would be willing to isolate members of a super social highly intelligent animal species and just put them in swimming pools it's fucking barbaric it's crazy it's torture it's it's what's sad, you know, we're years removed from the documentary Blackfish. Yeah. And you know, that was really impactful.
Starting point is 00:17:07 I mean, arguably responsible for the paradigm shift that we're, that we're experiencing here in North America and other places, of course. But maybe it's time for people to revisit it. I know SeaWorld, their stock and their value is sort of going up now. Granted they, you know, they change their
Starting point is 00:17:22 numbers, they skew it, they have free beer day, they pump the numbers up, you know, they have all these, they skew it, they have free beer day, they pump the numbers up, you know, they have all these different promotions, whatever. I mean, everything that comes out of these, these facilities, these, assume it to be all bullshit, by the way, it's all bullshit, but not enough people question them on it.
Starting point is 00:17:35 But as we speak, while we're amidst sort of a paradigm shift here, and I mean, I can speak to it because, I mean, I'm very happy to say that we have very effectively decimated marine land and we'll talk more about that. But over in China, this is now a burgeoning business and I, and I did, we discussed this a year and a half ago and it's, it's tenfold now. It's happening very quickly.
Starting point is 00:17:54 And I'm sure you're familiar with the whale jail situation in Russia. Have you seen that? No, I have not. They've got enclosed in this bay, they've got over a hundred wild caught belugas and orcas. So there's about 10 orcas, if I'm not mistaken. And, uh, some activists flew a drone over it.
Starting point is 00:18:15 This got worldwide attention, uh, a lot of outcry, a lot of, uh, anger, of course. Um, so what happened was. Jamie showing it to us right now for the folks that are listening. And we're looking down at what looks like swimming pools with, I guess those are belugas? Those have all been sold.
Starting point is 00:18:33 Those are essentially sold and ready to go to China. Jesus. But on account of the fact that the activists got this and created a real worldwide stink, all the negative press that came of it, they've now resolved that they want to try to, well, they've hard considered releases.
Starting point is 00:18:52 The governor in the area signed a intent to release agreement with the Whale Sanctuary Project who sent a team to assess the animal's health and whatnot. And this was all of like three weeks ago. It's not a long time ago. And they assessed that all these animals should be released.
Starting point is 00:19:08 It's a couple of issues. There's a couple of things that, that are becoming conflicting. A, it's going to require a lot of cost if it's done responsibly. B, it appears. Okay. So what's happened is as we know, Russia is
Starting point is 00:19:24 not exactly a democratic uh environment only one person makes the decisions on account of what becomes of these whales whereas there was some pr stunts to say hey we're gonna we want to release them we want to do this to sort of mitigate the global outrage the captors have propagandized this entire effort to free these whales as a means for the West to undermine Russia's economy, so the whale trade economy. Here's where Marineland comes into play, in a theory at this point, but it has these very intense implications.
Starting point is 00:19:59 What we know about what Marineland is doing currently in their transition from brilliantly successful business to virtually decimated, thank you, is they're shipping their whales out. We know two are going out. If it's not this week, it'll be very soon. I'll be shocked if they're not out. I'm in LA, so I can't say that it's happening right now. I think it may very well be happening this week. They're going to Spain.
Starting point is 00:20:26 We know that five other permits have been requested to send these animals now to the States. So is it they're liquidating? They're liquidating. But the issue is, if in fact Russia catches wind that Marine Land is sending their whales, let's use the worst case scenario to China. It validates the Russian captors propaganda and concerns.
Starting point is 00:20:53 Suddenly what we're concerned is going to happen is those animals, suddenly Putin says, forget it, sell them, ship them out. That's, that's a scenario. Why would you do that? Because again, the captors of propaganda is that the West wants to cripple Russia's economy, their wild whale sale economy. So if Marineland is selling whales to China from Canada, then suddenly the captors have a point. They'll say to Putin, look, they're selling whales. Why is it such an outrage that Russia's doing it when Marineland's doing it?
Starting point is 00:21:22 So there's that concern. is doing it when Marine land's doing it. So there's that concern. The other one, and this just came up within the last 20 hours, is it appears rather than go the most responsible route, which we know is going to be a costly endeavor, but you know, we're game and we're ready, is they're now considering just dropping the nets and
Starting point is 00:21:40 saying, see you later. And letting all the animals go. Here's what we suspect. They're going to let the orcas go because they were captured illegally. There's some gray area as to whether the beluga whales have been captured illegally or not. So I think it'll probably start with the orcas.
Starting point is 00:21:59 Rather than move them to where they were at the same time of year when they were captured so that they can be next to their, their trend, uh, transient pods or their, their, their,
Starting point is 00:22:10 um, their pods. They just want to drop this, this net and say, see you later. Well, that's as irresponsible as it can get, but that's crazy.
Starting point is 00:22:17 It's like making someone a slave for how many years? Well, it's about a year somewhere on the planet, but imagine their hope you can imagine would be oh see it didn't work oh jesus there's a lot of there's a this is a big issue uh we're on it there's a there's a great uh team of activists over there would it be accurate to say that maybe what these groups are doing right now is recognizing that there's probably going to be some radical changes in the way these things are permitted what's legal what's not legal and what people
Starting point is 00:22:51 are tolerating is just not the same as it was 10 years ago catch them and sell them as fast as you can yeah just get out while you can because it might come a point in time when not only could they not sell it but they might be responsible for doing exactly what you said and bringing it back to the area where its family would be, which would be an incredible cost. It would be an incredible cost. It would be an undertaking unlike any other rescue that we know of. How much would something like that cost?
Starting point is 00:23:16 I can't even imagine. I mean, I would be the wrong person to ask. I can't put a figure on it. I just know that it would take a lot of time. There would be a lot of dedicated. I mean, we would need dedicated uh i mean we would need to track the pods yeah you'd have to figure it out that would be able to to bring the whales out i mean and you would have to be able to somehow or another get it close enough to the other whales without freaking them out it's a whole thing but it's possible i mean that's the important part fuck man the whole it's just
Starting point is 00:23:43 one of those things that i really think as people we're going to look back on and we're going to go, man, how did we in 2019 not know that that was insane? That is not a chicken. You know what I'm saying? I mean, that's not like something you could just keep in a cage. So let's back up to, as you know, for well over four and a half years, five years now, I've been advocating for Bill S-203, which is a ban against, which is a national Canada-wide ban against whale and dolphin and porpoise captivity. So that would include no more breeding, no more import, no more export, any of that. Okay. During these, this, by the way, is going down as the longest bill ever researched in Canadian history, because it's been a lot of issues from opposition. One senator in particular, in fact, and if I can have a moment to just give Senator Don
Starting point is 00:24:33 Plett a big ol', I win you piece of shit. Which camera do I look at for that? I win you piece of shit. Sorry, I should be more humble. Was that the other guy? The lawyer on the other side? No, no. This is the senator that has put every possible block in front of the passage of this bill. He's tried to kill it silently forever. I mean, this is an epic, epic story.
Starting point is 00:24:54 We've had to, as activists and the community at large, and again, I have to stress how much you've had a hand in this, is I've had to have these campaigns where we literally flood the Senate servers to the point of crashing it on a couple of instances where they were going to kill the bill very silently through a sort of procedure. His role is called the Senate whip. So he actually yields a lot of influence and power. He creates the committees where people do the studies and everything. He sets the dates for the committees. I mean, he had this thing studied for like 17 straight months it was absurd again the longest tenure in uh in uh canadian legislative history it appears but this guy was
Starting point is 00:25:35 you know doing his his uh so he was to kill it do you think that what do you think like why was he doing that he's one of these guys who looks at this bill and he sees it as a activist sort of left wing, um, liberal, you know, liberal sort of fluff bill. He doesn't see that it's necessary.
Starting point is 00:25:55 He went to Marine land as an invited guest. Uh, he's very, uh, publicly declared his friendships for John Holder. I don't want to speculate as to whether there's been any, uh, money exchanges, but I know he's certainly very interested in killing this bill.
Starting point is 00:26:09 And by virtue alone of activists pressuring and exposing all of his, his efforts, we actually saved this bill on a number of occasions. The most notable of which was just a few weeks ago where in the House of Commons, it appeared this bill was going to die. And literally at the 11th hour, I packed up, we drove to Ottawa.
Starting point is 00:26:29 I had a tweet storm set up. We put pressure on, I tweeted individual senators or rather individual members of, uh, of parliament. And, uh, I promised them, and you know, this is a sensitive time in Canadian politics for Justin Trudeau, the leader of the, of the liberal party.
Starting point is 00:26:44 I promised them if this bill dies on account of the fact that what was happening was the liberals were going to propose amendments to the bill at the last second, that would send it back to the Senate for further review. At which point we know Don Plett was waiting in line to kill it. There was nothing we could do at this point.
Starting point is 00:26:58 This was going to be his to kill. The fact that this was being facilitated by liberals was really an infuriating thing, but nonetheless, we applied an incredible amount of pressure. I drove my ass down there. I got there and I stood in front of every which one of them.
Starting point is 00:27:09 And I looked them all in the eyes. I'm just like, I'm going to make you famous. I'm going to make you famous. And I'm going to make you famous. And I'm going to make you famous. And I don't want to speculate if that's what, if that's what saved the day. Although it was mentioned in the House of
Starting point is 00:27:23 Commons that special interests pressured them at the last second. in a in a last is that legal can you say that to someone i'm gonna make you famous i think it's it's my most it's my most effective tool it's like a scene from uh like uh what's that what was the cowboy movie where val kilmer played uh What was the cowboy movie where Val Kilmer played Doc Holliday? Remember? Tombstone? Yeah. Sounds like a line in Tombstone, right?
Starting point is 00:27:53 No, you know what it's from? The one with the Bon Jovi song. You know, those shot down in a blaze of glory. You know those cute guys in the, was it the 80s or 90s that weres that did a Western movie together? Young Guns. Yes, that's it. It's from that. I'm going to make you famous. Oh, shit.
Starting point is 00:28:11 Sorry. I knew I'd heard it from somewhere. I think it's from that. I'd hoped it was my line, but nonetheless. Remember Emilio Estevez? This was arguably the campiest, cheesiest of the cowboy movies. Right? Is it the campiest?
Starting point is 00:28:28 I don't know. Today? I didn't see it. I don't know. They're all handsome. Handsome devils. Sorry. So I show up.
Starting point is 00:28:36 So you show up. Literally, right before the meeting starts, the entire committee stands up and leaves the room. Now, we're there and we're prepared for this to die. I'm there for a funeral. They come back in the conservative members of the committee, propose their amendments, the liberals,
Starting point is 00:28:53 which outweigh the, the conservatives are, you know, they're all voting. So they're just knocking these things down, knocking them down, knocking them down. And then suddenly it comes to the liberals time to propose their amendments. first guy comes up and he says i'd like to withdraw my amendment
Starting point is 00:29:08 noted on the record sits down okay we'll go to number two i'd like to withdraw my amendment sits down number three i'd like to withdraw my amendment we're like holy shit i'm looking back you know i've got some we've got some people there that obviously with this of of this with the same interest as me and, you know, I don't even know exactly what's going on at this point. I just know that their faces are indicative that this, we might win this thing.
Starting point is 00:29:34 And the fourth member of parliament stands up, he withdraws the amendment and we save this thing in the last second. And I absolutely know it was a pressure campaign because like I said, I was going to come on this podcast. I'd already had this date written for some time. And this was going to have political implications
Starting point is 00:29:54 that I don't know that the liberal party could have sustained. It's a really bad time. I think this came from the top down. Whereas efforts to kill it came from the bottom up. This came from the top down. You're not killing that bill. I think people are understanding what dolphin captivity really is what orca captivity
Starting point is 00:30:10 really is i think they're understanding that now and i think it's just one of those things that exists because it's always existed but if it didn't exist now there's no fucking way anybody would ever let you do it if there was no captive dolphins and orcas if someone just went around and kidnapped them with what scientists know now about their social structure and their community dude they're so complex the way they they have fucking dialects right it's they have dialects orcas have uh um they have they share languages in different regions and actually have a different accent of sorts. I mean, it's, it's really remarkable stuff.
Starting point is 00:30:49 Yeah, right. It would be a global outrage if today as day one, someone said, Hey, look at this thing. Let's put this in this box.
Starting point is 00:30:56 But because we have them already. Well, because we have them and there's some legacy businesses that have been around for a long time. That's a great way of putting it. You know, they have the means to fight.
Starting point is 00:31:05 They know now that, look, this is not going so well. If you can, you can see it in all the advertising, uh, these days, uh,
Starting point is 00:31:11 uh, SeaWorld almost rarely shows any orcas in their commercials. Although it seems the industry is, uh, sort of switching to baby walruses. In fact, they're, they're,
Starting point is 00:31:22 they're the new orcas. They're sort of the new brandable cute. Um, really? Yeah, it really is. It's happening all over. It's happening in Canada as well. In fact, they're the new orcas. They're sort of the new brandable cute. Really? Yeah, it really is. It's happening all over. It's happening in Canada as well. The Vancouver Aquarium is running with it. Yeah, and same as SeaWorld.
Starting point is 00:31:33 If you go to their Twitter, it's, you know, I can't say that present day. It's like literally the case today. But yeah, a lot of baby walrus stuff. It's where it's going. It's just they know that they can run with that at least for the time being. What's crazy in all this is here, this bill
Starting point is 00:31:49 is passing. Now we know it's going to pass. It's a, it should be, it should get Royal Ascent come second week of June. Shy of some, some catastrophe, this thing will become law. That's why Marineland is trying to get rid of these whales as quickly as they can.
Starting point is 00:32:04 They got to get them out of here because at least now they can just, well, it sounds like two export permits have been approved. So two beluga whales are going to Spain. You know, now granted that's being facilitated through the Vancouver Aquarium. This becomes an ugly mess here because when it comes to zoos, they're all part of these
Starting point is 00:32:23 associations. Okay. And these are, these are industry voices. Anything that's, anytime you're told, wow, this is an AZA accredited facility, you know, most schools, for instance, or, or general people would say, oh, well, it's accredited. It's a good place.
Starting point is 00:32:34 No, no, no, no, no. What that means is these places facilitate animal transfers and whatnot to other member facilities. It's really just a club. And this club protects the interests of these parks and keeps any type of oversight, their lobby groups, basically.
Starting point is 00:32:52 So what's happened is now through the Vancouver Aquarium, Marineland, so Marineland is sending these whales to Spain, but they're claiming them to be Vancouver Aquarium whales, which is not true. They were never on these animals inventory or rather this facility's inventory list. There's never been any knowledge of any of this,
Starting point is 00:33:10 but what's happened is because Vancouver Aquarium is accredited and has an affiliation with the AZA. So in Canada, we call it CASA, the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquarium and Marine Land is in fact not, they no longer have their accreditation. They didn't have the best of relationships shortly after all of our revelations.
Starting point is 00:33:28 Um, it's all just right now. It's just the industry as a whole is breaking all of its own rules to facilitate getting these beluga whales. Marine land has 51 of them. Okay. There's five born every year, but they always have 51 and they don't, they haven't shipped an
Starting point is 00:33:44 orca out in nearly a decade at this point. Um, I mean, you do the math that what's going on exactly. So they're dying? They always have 51. They don't ship them anywhere else. I can attest that.
Starting point is 00:33:55 Yes. Uh, when I was there and in my experience, and you don't have to watch my words because I know Marineland's lawyer, Andrew Burns is listening. Hi, Andrew. I'll see you next week. In my experience, yeah, you're, for as many
Starting point is 00:34:10 animals are born, you're just about losing as many. So you'll lose two old ones. You'll lose three young ones. Not all the ones that are born are going to be successful. Just about half are. So, so what's happening now is the industry
Starting point is 00:34:21 wants that bloodline. There's 51 captive orcas, whereas, you know, there's a lot of controversy in importing animals from other places. The States can't, in fact, they can't bring them in from Russia without a public consult period. It might still be the case with Canada.
Starting point is 00:34:32 So actually the public might actually be consulted about the import of these five belugas that Marine Land is seeking permit for to export. So that's something that certainly as an activist level, I'll be, I'll be, you know, helping to guide towards the proper resolution. But yeah, that's something that certainly as an activist level, I'll be, I'll be, you know, helping to guide towards the proper resolution. But yeah, that's all happening.
Starting point is 00:34:49 It is a race right now to, to get rid of Marineland's animals. And, uh, it is a wild time. It's, it's a wild time to be inside the doors at Marineland, as I can imagine in the fences. as I can imagine in the fences. And it's, it's a most wild time for me to be on the outside because I've never in the last six and a half years of, of litigation and just of my advocacy and being sort of, you know, basically being engaged in war with Marineland.
Starting point is 00:35:15 I've never seen them work harder to suppress me and to try to silence me than they are now. As breaking news just today, Marineland had built this fence aptly named Phil's fence around the park. And just today we found out they blacked it all out with tarps because come this Saturday, May 18th, and certainly I'm inviting everyone
Starting point is 00:35:40 to come join me. I'll be joining as an, as a guest, a big demonstration outside of Marineland, and we're going to protest it as they're anticipating, because on account of my coming on this show, they worked very hard to try to keep me from A, coming, B, speaking of anything,
Starting point is 00:36:00 C, certainly not promoting this event. So I certainly hope that this event is a well-attended. How did they try to do that? Well well because we're in litigation what happens in litigation is you come to a point where you start to negotiate and so there's things that they want from me there's things they really want from me they want my silence the problem is really want from me. They want my silence.
Starting point is 00:36:28 The problem is they're never going to silence me. It's not an option. I've said it before. I'll say it again. They can offer me a million dollars to shut up, go away. It's not going to happen. I'm not going to delete my Twitter.
Starting point is 00:36:44 I'm not going to delete any of my tweets that have the word Marineland in them. Is this a request? These, this is layers and layers and there have been layers of requests. Basically they'd hope that I wouldn't come here. They'd hope something could be worked out. In our litigation, we have, so now I chased
Starting point is 00:37:01 Marineland. So back when Marineland's owner was still alive, I put forth a huge campaign to try to get him to be examined legally by my lawyer, much like I've, uh, had to sort of submit myself to. Um,
Starting point is 00:37:12 but as these lawsuits and as, as litigation continues to reveal itself as just a perfect method of abuse, you know, that they're just the only resolve these things appear to serve is to exhaust both parties and have them come together with a resolution.
Starting point is 00:37:31 So after six and a half years, uh, Marineland seems intent on a resolution. They don't want to go to examinations. So while we were in, so while I was there to be examined a couple of weeks ago, my lawyer said, take a walk. And the two lawyers began their talks. We put off the examination because we
Starting point is 00:37:49 believed there could be some good faith that could be shown between parties. Um, it became quite evident that it was not the case. And when we were to resume our examinations, which was to be last week, Marine land on account of the fact that I was coming on this show through an absolute tirade and said, we are not doing this.
Starting point is 00:38:09 Now bear in mind, this is a court ordered examination date. I've got a, a trial coordinator who is trying to nudge this thing forward because I mean, that's something that's a, that's a motion I had to win in the litigation itself is to try to get someone to look at this thing so that it can actually move forward.
Starting point is 00:38:24 Like let's get someone to manage it. So we're, we're in case management. So that case management judge has issued a very aggressive schedule. It's in back in February, we had a court date of which thank you very much. I won a handedly Marine land had to pick up just a little more than $12,000 of my legal
Starting point is 00:38:40 bill, which is really on this particular motion in this event, uh, kind of a drop in the pan, but, um, nonetheless, uh, a, a, a, a sound victory in court. Um, you know, we have a case conference call next week now. I don't know where this stands because now Marine Land has breached the court's order.
Starting point is 00:39:02 So we went, they didn't show up to the examination. I got, uh, a fourth, uh, what's called a, um, has breached the court's order. So we went, they didn't show up to the examination. I got a fourth, what's called a certificate of non-attendance. It means the person that was supposed to be examined that day didn't show up. Marine Land's owner, John Holder, who's now passed away, didn't show up to two of his
Starting point is 00:39:17 examinations knowing full well that I'd have to pick up the 1700 bucks to just to be there to get the certificate. And he's just not going to show up. No big deal. There doesn't seem to be any punitive damage at their end. They, they,
Starting point is 00:39:28 I mean, we're almost seven years into this thing and they're still like brutalizing me, but we're at a point where they're actually in a very uncomfortable position of having to keep this thing. If you don't want this litigation to be on the public record and transcripts and evidence and everything, you have to stop it. It seems to me the courts appear to facilitate
Starting point is 00:39:48 resolutions of that sort. They like settlements. I was promised a trial on day one. It's what kept me going. They're lying about me. They're lying about everything. Everything they're saying. And they're trying to exhaust you financially.
Starting point is 00:40:03 Well, of course they are. I mean, that's the premise is- And are you countersuing them as well? I'm countersuing. The premise of my countersuit is so that they couldn't merely drop the lawsuit against me over a period of time and then that just be it. And that I would then have to actually file a motion to get some costs back. I'd be lucky to get 50% and everything. In the early days, my lawyer said, let's sue them back.
Starting point is 00:40:23 And so we did. I'm suing them for abuse of process. They're using the court's time resources. They, I mean, even for that matter, we can extend that to the police and other, you know, departments and organizations. They're exhausting these things in bad faith. They're doing it because they just want to try
Starting point is 00:40:41 to, basically they want to take away my right to free expression, which is a Canadian chartered right. I mean, I'm protecting my own history here. I mean, this is insanity. I can't even believe that after six and a half years, I'm still here at risk of being silenced. That the fact that, I mean, look, full
Starting point is 00:40:57 disclosure, I'm out of money. The last time I was on this show, we raised, I mean, and again, thank you so much. 60, maybe almost 70,000. That's in a year and a half. That's gone. I spent my last penny last month. It was a very aggressive last three months.
Starting point is 00:41:13 Do you have a GoFundMe? I have a GoFundMe. Give us the information. Yes, please. What is it? It's, if you go to savesmooshy.com, S-A-V-E-S-M-O-O-S-H-I.com, you can go there. There's a small documentary. It's a little dated now, but on account of the
Starting point is 00:41:27 fact that legislation, nothing's really moved forward in the lawsuit and the legislation is only just wrapping up. It's still very current. So please spend the 14 minutes to sort of appreciate the story more. I guess you'll get a better, more context to it. There's, you know, some, some footage in there,
Starting point is 00:41:43 some back backstage stuff stuff some you know it tells the tale quite well it's a it's a it's a good piece yeah folks if you're if you're hearing this please help it out if you can you know just say it all the time it's the thing i hate to do most is ask for help it really makes me well your intentions are pure you know you really are a person who is going about this because you feel like you are uniquely qualified to talk about it. You have the actual information. You know what's wrong. You know.
Starting point is 00:42:12 And you are part of the system. You understand it better than anybody on the outside. And they have my walrus. And they have your walrus. Still, we think. And so when in the litigation, my lawyer says, well, here's what Marine Land's prepared to offer. I say to my lawyer, well, what about the walrus? And he says to me, dude, we talked about this.
Starting point is 00:42:33 This is crazy. You're not getting a walrus. And I said to Marine Land, I don't want no money, not a penny. I want the walrus. There's two left. Three have died in the last, really in mere months. Secretly, I find out. What would you do with her?
Starting point is 00:42:52 I mean, ideally what I would like is, I just want her transferred at this point to another facility. I would love to see her transferred to the Vancouver Aquarium or there's a facility in Quebec as well. I just want to be a, I just want to possibly be in her life. If she needs me, which we, I mean, there's a reason she's one of two still alive. If I would have commented, listen. Would you move to Vancouver? If suddenly Dan Bilzerian gets on the
Starting point is 00:43:14 horse, it's Phil, I got this. Well, actually, well, wait, there's a backstory to that too. I actually got some beef with him inadvertently, but we'll get back to that. But you know, if he were to suddenly say, hey, I got this Arctic beachfront home and dude, I'll buy you a walrus.
Starting point is 00:43:28 Yeah, I'll move. Absolutely. I mean, she's got another 10 years of her life. Dude, there's only one way I want this story. You would move to the Arctic to be with this walrus? Play the music. Is there a better end to this story?
Starting point is 00:43:39 I mean, really, it all sounds so crazy, Joe, but here's six and a half years ago, I was like, I want the walrus. Right. Suddenly here I am negotiating for a walrus. Call me crazy, Joe, but here's six and a half years ago, I was like, I want the walrus. Right. Suddenly here I am negotiating for a walrus. Call me crazy, but look at this. So are they willing to negotiate for the walrus? Is this actually in consideration?
Starting point is 00:43:53 Yes. Yes. Not without layers and layers and layers of compromise. And, but bear in mind, not in the capacity that I see it. More of a, yeah, maybe, maybe we won't send her to China. How's that? Maybe we'll send her somewhere and not deter that facility from you visiting. Maybe we could do that for you. That's what, I mean, it's, it's really bad faith negotiated. The problem with the thing that I have a hard
Starting point is 00:44:18 time dealing with is look, we're in litigation and you know, in, in litigation, you have to exercise a certain amount of decorum and it's not exactly my strong point it's just not i find decorum to be just a thick layer of bullshit i just do yeah you want to hope that there's going to be some type of good faith negotiation i i i want that marine land negotiates with additional hostilities and threats it's not worked for them in six and a half years. What makes you think it's going to work now? So here, I think we're going down a path of possibly good faith negotiations.
Starting point is 00:44:52 The owner, the villain of the story is gone. He's out of the picture. The new president who is the widow, the wife is a wonderful woman. I mean, listen, I honestly and truly believe if the lawyer himself wasn't the controlling mind of the business now, he's got sort of facilitating this transfer of, of, of the business as it was to just being sold off,
Starting point is 00:45:14 pieced off and, and, you know, distribute the wealth to the, to the remaining family members. I think that we could, I think the story ends on a good note. I mean,
Starting point is 00:45:22 I have no hostilities. You know, I have every reason in the world to despise the man who sued me and i don't i don't even think about him it was never about that they made every case in the world every argument that this was personal between me and him and well that's because you look in the camera and say fuck you to people it's personal between me and don plet you bet your ass that's a different story But you know what I'm saying? Did I make them famous? Well, you've... In a way. Maybe. So where do you stand right now?
Starting point is 00:45:52 Well, I don't know. So next week we're having a case management. The case manager is going to talk and we're going to see what becomes of Marine Land's once again skipped examination. It's so hard to believe this is still going on. Dude, welcome to my from the from the time you first came on the podcast to now that this has been just a scratch and claw every day of my life i live with this looming uh cloud of uh threat of like there's people out there that really want me i'm not talking talking physical threat. Okay. They, they did, they played their games. You know, I called every one of their bluffs
Starting point is 00:46:27 every, at every corner of this thing. But you know, there's something about. When you say they played their games. Oh, they sent goons to my house. Yeah. There's video. In fact, there's on that documentary, you'll see these, they send some tough guys.
Starting point is 00:46:39 I mean, they were sending people at 6am harassing my girlfriend while she's taking the garbage out. I mean, it really got pretty intense. But we stood our ground. I was like, this is not going to go down like this. It's like, you're fucking with the wrong
Starting point is 00:46:50 guy, dude. Like, listen, I come from a place called Welland, Ontario. I don't know that you're familiar with it. I'm going to assume not. Probably few people are, unless you're an avid hockey fan, because we have produced some pretty, uh, amazing, uh, NHL talent.
Starting point is 00:47:02 But, um, you know, this population of like 50,000, I'm a Wellander. I don't know any other, and I'm Frenchman. I mean, it's probably another thing to stress, but I don't know any other way to deal with things other than to sort of fight it out. You know, you don't cower and run. You don't, you know, you stare the threat, especially when you're on the right side of
Starting point is 00:47:21 things. I'm not going to sit there and take shit. I'm not going to, it's not going to work for them to continuously try to threaten me because dude, I'm invested and I'm not talking money. I mean, it's like a hostage situation. It's how it started. My only interest is ending the hostage situation. Not my only interest.
Starting point is 00:47:42 I shouldn't say that. Of course not. I have interest in, you know, I've been advocating for bills and obviously advocating, letting people know, sort of taking the veil off the bullshit that the industry purports to be. But you feel like you're negotiating for a hostage in Smushi. They're using her as that type of chip. Yeah. That's their bargaining chip. That's what they got. And they're keeping this as that type of chip. Yeah. That's their bargaining chip. That's what they got.
Starting point is 00:48:07 And they're keeping this constant pressure on you. This constant financial pressure. Additional threats, constant, like my lawyer, in fact, and this is where it gets kind of weird because, listen, I don't understand. He's supposed to be representing me. The answer is no to everything. Fight, fight, fight.
Starting point is 00:48:21 I want a trial. He instead is coming with, listen, this is not how litigation ends, Phil. Like you don't seem to understand how this ends. You don't have a grip of how litigation works. And I'm just like, I'm glad that I don't, because my guess is I'm representative of about
Starting point is 00:48:33 90% of the population that don't know. And it's important that we find out. I was promised a trial because they said I was this, this, this, this, this. Well, let's get to that fucking trial. This is what I've been doing. This doesn't end with negotiations. I want the trial.
Starting point is 00:48:45 Yeah. I don't understand. Like what, doesn't end with negotiations. I want the trial. Yeah. I don't understand. Like what, why would you sue me unless you want the trial? Oh, because it's a bullshit lawsuit. Well, then I want the trial because I need to show that. I need that on my record. I want that. I want the truth.
Starting point is 00:48:56 They fucked with the wrong guy. I hate to say it. I'm the only, of all the lawsuits they've launched, they launched in, you know, in excess of like 12 and threatened. And, and it's important to note, I've been threatened and I'm constantly under threat of additional litigation. I'm the only one left. I'm the only lawsuit that's – I'm the only person who hasn't had to compromise their free expression. It's a dirty secret about the legal business, right? That this is a loophole.
Starting point is 00:49:23 It's a dirty secret about the legal business, right? That this is a loophole. This is something people can do to people to silence them, just to drag them through hell for six years. Maybe 10. Who knows how long this goes. Right. And this is a case managed. I mean, I had to fight in court at great expenditure to get this case management. And if you put this up to the general public and have them look at what the actual facts are and had them look at what these
Starting point is 00:49:45 people what their business is what they're actually doing it's game over it's game over it's a real problem for them the real problem is it's an indefensible activity having those animals in swimming pools for people's enjoyment like but to follow that up with trying to crush people. Oh yeah. Trying to crush my fiscal sovereignty. I mean, look. No, there's nothing good on their side.
Starting point is 00:50:09 For what they tried to do to you, for what the business is, it's all bad. I like to operate in full sort of transparency because look, I'm, I guess I'm sort of sponsored by the public. So I feel like a level of transparency and all this, but you know, I had a little bit of money. I'd won a TV show called Wipeout and I had 50,000 Canadian dollars tax-free in the bank,
Starting point is 00:50:29 which I sat on because I didn't know precisely what it is I was going to do with it. And I felt like there was the potential of a rainy day around the corner. Yeah. It took that in the first six months to six months to hire lawyers for everybody. Everyone that was getting sued, I was cutting $5,000 retainers for going, there's a purpose for this money. I only have it because I got on the show because of my relationship with the Walrus.
Starting point is 00:50:51 So I'm in for a good chunk of change here. It's crazy the lengths of which and the ability corporations have to destroy individuals. The fact that the court corporations have to destroy individuals. The fact that the court is there to facilitate it is precisely why I want to go to trial. I've been told the figures are, and please don't quote me and I'd love the facts, but I've been told that something in the area of like 90% of lawsuits get settled without going to discovery.
Starting point is 00:51:21 Well, I want to be, I want to be the 10% or less. I want it. I want a resolution by I want to be the 10% or less. I want it. I want a resolution by the, by the judge. I can sleep at night if the judge says, okay, it ends with this Phil,
Starting point is 00:51:32 you get a $50,000 of your, at this point in excess of 200,000 in legal bills and Marine land, you lost. So, you know, you, you got to eat the shame and walk away. I would assume be more comfortable with that than if Marine land said,
Starting point is 00:51:45 here's a hundred thousand dollars. Don't talk about the, I mean, let's say in the best scenario, they said, here's a chunk of change. Let's just use a hundred thousand dollars and said, just don't talk about the terms of the settlement. But other than that, you have no impeded speech.
Starting point is 00:51:58 You can just be free. I would be more comfortable with the judge's decision than that hundred K, because then at least I know exactly what it is that I went through. I, the world can find out what function these courts have and what their version of justice is.
Starting point is 00:52:12 I mean, I'm just still, I'm trying not to be jaded because obviously it's a heavy load to carry as in your day to day. It's, uh, you know, I've been on the cusp of crazy. Um, I'm thankful for plant medicine for sort of keeping me uh grounded and keeping me in uh with the proper perspective but plant medicine listen to you hippie
Starting point is 00:52:30 they do try to call me hippie a lot too that's interesting i mean a little bit of a of a different version of hippie i suppose i mean i don't mind war well your um your guy cares about these marine mammals now walrus is like my daughter dude it sounds crazy i hate to stress it but as soon as you consider that factor you're just like dude that he's got they've got your daughter that's a mess just try to put yourself in the perspective that if they had your dog your neighbor's got your dog and is uh was unimped, by your definition, abusing or neglecting their life. And you're there to just watch silently.
Starting point is 00:53:08 I mean, that's disgusting. That's a disgusting scenario. This is the poison that I live with. I, I need, I need a proper closure. I'm relying on there being a level of justice so that one day I can live in this world without being just that old jaded dude.
Starting point is 00:53:26 Look, last time I was here, it was not nearly as fucking gray. Like I'm starting to feel the effects of long-term litigation. You don't have a podcast, do you? I want to do a podcast. I'm urged to do a podcast. Who's urging you?
Starting point is 00:53:38 Well, people, you know, they just, you know, Phil, you really should have a podcast, do a podcast. And I have given it quite a bit of thought. It'd be a real simple thing for you to do. I know. I'm running out of excuses. And you got a lot to say and you're a great talker. Do a podcast. And I have given it quite a bit of thought. It'd be a real simple thing for you to do. I know. I'm running out of excuses. And you've got a lot to say, and you're a great talker.
Starting point is 00:53:47 Thanks, Joe. I appreciate that. Why don't you do it? I am considering it, yeah. I really am. People get mad at me that I keep suggesting that people get podcasts. They're like, stop, bro. Stop doing that.
Starting point is 00:53:57 You know, you said to me when we were in Toronto at dinner, you said, you should be a comedian. I said, ah, I've heard that before. You could be a comedian, for sure. That's funny, because I've heard you mention that on the show a number of times that too i've said to people well there's so few of us on there's more podcasters than there are comedians for sure like it's not even close there's like um i think there's more than 600 000 podcasts now on itunes so yeah there's not 600 000 comics there's like that's a big pool to wade in you know but i mean i'm in i'm indifferent if i did it would be for my own purposes you know i would be there's
Starting point is 00:54:29 categories of course and for someone new i guess you'd probably be in is conservation a category or wildlife or something like that you know you would you would launch pretty quickly and it would be fascinating for people to did have you ever um heard like one of the really well-produced uh npr podcasts like uh the dropout was it did npr do the dropout the one on elizabeth holmes and the theranos controversy the blood scanning stuff anyway it's uh an amazing multi-part series that describes how these people made this phony blood testing technology and sold it and made millions of dollars and was they were worth valued at billions and now they're literally virtually worth nothing so it's by abc radio that's who did it nightline that's what it was
Starting point is 00:55:19 abc news nightline but something like that could if someone wanted to follow this and and document it from the beginning in a podcast form this is something that really could be like six one hour episodes yeah if you were talking about your history with training orcas what you thought it was when you first got in and we went into that in several of the other episodes but think about this you and I have talked now. How many times have you been on now? This is my fourth. Okay.
Starting point is 00:55:48 So each time has been like three hours. So all those hours of discussion, if you condense that into your story, I think it would be super compelling. And then you could also update people on the case. You could update people on the state of marine mammal captivity legislation. And because there are countries that are right now waking up and realizing this is crazy. Like this is almost like human slavery.
Starting point is 00:56:18 It's like finding aliens and just keeping them in a cage somewhere. I mean, the timing's right. I don't doubt that. So, yeah, I mean, it's perfect. Again, with the looming litigation, I do get a little bit sort of a tongue shy because this is just going to be, I'll be sued again, man. It's kind of freaks me out.
Starting point is 00:56:34 I really want, you know, it's the same premise of writing a book. It's like, great, write a book, but it's like, I can't do anything with it because I'll be sued. I'll be sued. I can see it's a virtual guarantee. Now the, the, the, the, the bright side is it seems to me like Marineland is not going to be around for a terribly long time.
Starting point is 00:56:53 Once they're dissolved, oh, you bet your ass I got lots to talk about. I mean, I would love if I could speak of everything without having to sort of watch. I really do have to keep from saying a lot of stuff, not on account of it being illegal, but just on account of the fact that it will virtually guarantee me additional hostilities and legal issues. I completely understand.
Starting point is 00:57:20 I do look forward to that day where I'm sort of free and unencumbered and can just be fucking me again. Yeah, well, if you're in that business right now, you've got to be looking at the future going, we've got to get out. We've got to get out before they take us out. That's precisely what's happening. So the speculation is Marineland's lawyer is now the sole controlling mind, and that's precisely what his job is to transition this from. We know that they've sold property. They sold the golf course.
Starting point is 00:57:44 They sold the campground. We know now that they're, they're I'll say, I'll use the word selling. It might not be the right term because Marine land claims there'll be no financial exchanges, but you know, that that's yet to be seen.
Starting point is 00:57:58 Yeah. The writing's on the wall. They're going to be gone. I don't think the wife has any interest. What I mean, she's, she's pushing 70 something. She probably doesn't want to be a part of this.
Starting point is 00:58:10 She's never really had a heavy hand in it. I mean, she had her, she had, she sort of took care of the cash business aspect of it. She sort of, she had her role in it,
Starting point is 00:58:17 but it wasn't like a management position, making decisions on animals, health, importing, exporting things like this. Like it's just beyond her. So what, what,
Starting point is 00:58:24 what we've been told is that, health, importing, exporting, things like this. Like it's just beyond her. So what, what, what we've been told is that uh, Marineland's owner in his final days, there's a wishlist. This is what happens to the park. This is what happens with this. This is what happens with this. And you can bet your ass that there's something about a walrus and there's
Starting point is 00:58:40 something about me in there. What it is, at least that I know of right now is obviously hostilities till the end. I think that what's happening is the lawyer is fulfilling John Holder's wishes with me. I think it's in the books that he can't just end this thing. I don't know. It's a very precarious time.
Starting point is 00:59:03 I know. The guy's dead. Let it go, folks. The lawyer doesn't like me. Of course. We can't be in the same room. You talk a very precarious time. I know. The guy's dead. Let it go, folks. The lawyer doesn't like me. Of course. We can't be in the same room. You talk a lot of shit, bro. You know what he actually said?
Starting point is 00:59:11 He stared at the camera. Told him to go fuck himself or whatever he said. That's going to be in court document. I didn't say that. I said that to a senator. But he'll run with that. That's okay. Will it be in court documents?
Starting point is 00:59:20 Oh, he's watching. He's listening. I mean, I sort of half hope that he sues you, Joe. I hate to say that, but I sort of half hope. Shut the fuck up, bro. Sorry. I don't wish that on my best of friends, but man, that would be something. It's not going to happen.
Starting point is 00:59:35 How the fuck do you know it's not going to happen? No, you're just talking shit. You just put it out there, man. It's bad juju. We talked about this last time, too. I think that what they do in terms of that business, for their own sake, they should stop. For everyone that's profiting off that, you've got to find an exit strategy. And I don't just mean Marine Land.
Starting point is 00:59:55 I mean anyone who understands my language, that's hearing my words, you should stop. This is not the future. You can't do that anymore this is going you this is going to look horrible just a few years from now where people who've seen blackfish people who do understand what those things are the more we find out about dolphins and orcas the more we understand them it's going to be more and more it's not like oh wait a minute we just did some tests we found they're like crabs bro they're dumb as fuck like you just eat them that's not gonna happen man we're more and more impressed with them the more we study them i am more than happy to negotiate with marine land
Starting point is 01:00:36 that rather than signing any type of non-disparagement because i don't want my speech virtually locked in a uh in a in a legal document um i'm a forgiving person i don't want my speech virtually locked in a legal document. I'm a forgiving person. I don't need, I'm only responding in kind to their hostilities. They come at me with war. I bring it back. I don't want to. I have to.
Starting point is 01:00:57 Yeah. I take it right back up to where they bring it. Then they do this. I got to do this. Then they do this. I'm like, what are you fucking thinking? It's like if they would just dial it back. I can be a happy, smiley, not got to do this. Then they do this. I'm like, what are you fucking thinking? It's like, if they would just dial it back, I can be a happy, smiley, not chirping
Starting point is 01:01:07 Marineland guy. I don't have to be, I don't have to do that. I've done what I've had to, to be where I am. The man who was, who created this scenario was gone. We don't need the hostilities anymore. So what is the lawyer's motives exactly? I don't know, but I can assure you now that
Starting point is 01:01:22 they've blacked out the fence, they're doing everything they can to suppress our information. They've bought up all the billboards in all the available billboards in Niagara Falls so that they've got Marineland signs because we have put up like as activists, activists have put up billboards, one of which was like right at the entrance of Marineland last year.
Starting point is 01:01:39 It was a thing of beauty. So they, you know, they bought all these things up. They really don't want bad PR right now. My guess is trying to get rid of the animals, mitigate the PR losses because it's already a sound foundation of it, of bad PR and sell the property, get rid of it all.
Starting point is 01:01:56 And I think, you know, they're trying to fast track an accreditation so that they can facilitate animal movements and whatnot. My greatest weapon right now, unfortunately, is that I can assure them a great deal of financial risk. I have, and I certainly can and am right now. They need to take that into consideration. When you consider the price of a walrus,
Starting point is 01:02:22 and let's just use the number 100,000, which is a grossly inflated number for a walrus and let's say marine land were to say hypothetically well why would we give you a hundred thousand dollar asset when it's going to cost us less than that just to finish this litigation and we'll owe you 25k at the end of some shit why would we do that doesn't make sense and i say to them it's because i'm going to make that walrus cost you tens of millions consider that that. Lose the hostilities. I'll make you guys heroes. We can do that too.
Starting point is 01:02:48 The narrative, this narrative doesn't have to continue. The narrative of war can end with, with the dead owner. It could have ended, but. Well, they're all invested in it.
Starting point is 01:02:57 And one of the things about lawsuits, it's like people, when they get it started, there's a game going on. You're trying to win. You're trying to win, trying to get the other side to cave. I mean,
Starting point is 01:03:07 this is a lot of what this is all. And obviously you've taken this very personally. This is all part of you now. Can I explain something really messed up? Yeah. I now, because we're coming to an end, the law that I've been advocating for is going to pass.
Starting point is 01:03:24 This lawsuit is going to end. The animals will, I mean, we're going to find out what's going to happen to them in the near future. We already know what's becoming of some. I don't know what it's going to be like to live without a lawsuit. Once the prospect of not. It's going to be nice, bro. You're going to be on the beach, your feet up. When the prospect came around of me not having
Starting point is 01:03:45 one anymore that's not how i saw it it's weird i'm oddly connected strangely addicted and married to a fucking lawsuit i can't you'll be fast it listen we'll get you through you need more of that plant medicine i'm gonna look at that bag right there it says insane i'm like yeah no that's about right that's be real stuff that stuff will will put you on the planet that's outside Pluto that we haven't discovered yet. And I see you've got the Tyson Ranch box there. Oh, yeah, man. I got a Tyson Ranch box.
Starting point is 01:04:12 He hooked me up. And then that big box is from, what is the company that gave us the big box? It was Speedweed that helped, but I think the extracts company, ABX Extracts, or I'm not sure who. I honestly don't know who helped them. We should help them.
Starting point is 01:04:25 Shout out that company. A couple of different things in there. I had, I was elbow deep in all those boxes. They're the best. And they're, they're fucking, they brought me a war chest.
Starting point is 01:04:34 So get in there. I'm actually going to be on, uh, on Tyson's podcast tomorrow. Are you really? I'm stoked. I was supposed to do it yesterday and I was kind of stoked. And then it,
Starting point is 01:04:41 it, it got postponed to Thursday and I'm, I'm really, I, in what world am I sitting down smoking a bunch of weed with mike tyson well it's the one that was created on account of these crazy decisions that i've made the fact alone that we've come together like this dude i'm talking with with whitney who's you know she she says to you that i'm a hero now she's my fucking hero man like i say it that crazy lady drove all the way to texas with a fucking pig
Starting point is 01:05:06 she tried to like help this pig out that she found she fed the pig and then drove all the way to texas with it i love her level of crazy i think it's just fucking perfect it fits exactly what this needs uh and again i'm blessed that you that you sort of uh turned her on to to me and i know she was she was looking to have a conversation with you with regards to some legislation with dolphins and whale captivity and whatnot. And you sort of steered her in my direction. Yeah. Let me touch on the Dan Bilzerian thing.
Starting point is 01:05:34 Is he coming here in May? Is that right? On the podcast? Not that I know of. Okay. Someone had said to me, oh, I hear Dan Bilzerian's going to be on the podcast. He's been on before though. Yeah, I know that he has.
Starting point is 01:05:43 I thought that he was coming on soon. It kind of made me nervous. Why? A couple weeks ago, Whitney's just drilling Dan Bilzerian on Instagram for having this polar bear. Right? There's a video of a polar bear at a fucking party, and he's feeding it. What?
Starting point is 01:05:57 A polar bear at a party? Yeah, I don't know. It was a big brown bear, like grizzly. It was a big grizzly bear at a party. Really? Yeah, on an electric fence around and everything else. Where was he? Probably one of his crazy.
Starting point is 01:06:07 At his house? Yeah. He had a fucking... Oh, Jesus, Dan Bilzerian! What the fuck, bro? Oh, my God. He had a fucking brown bear at his house. Look at the size of that thing.
Starting point is 01:06:21 Oh, my God, I'm getting anxiety. Did he ever see the fucking what was the yeah what was that yeah the one where the bear ripped the guy's throat apart that was one in a movie too wasn't no the bear was in a movie the bear was in a football movie what was that movie basketball with was it basketball i think he's been in a few movies but with uh will ferrell where he's playing basketball and he like wrestled him in the middle of the basketball game. Was that the bear? Yeah, I think so. Well, there was a bear that had been in movies and had done stunts in movies
Starting point is 01:06:50 and this guy, the video was awful because the guy is literally just standing there and the bear just goes up to him and just decides to attack and rips his throat out in a second. It's exactly that video minus the this, which can happen at any freaking time, only you've got 45 girls the back, scantily clad.
Starting point is 01:07:08 Easily could happen. And what's really crazy is that bear that killed that guy, they went back to training him. They're not going to kill an animal that has value. It's the same as the orca that killed all the trainers. They're not going to kill him. It's just not going to happen. But they were trying to figure out whether or not he was going to do it again. Like, Jesus Christ. What are you, a soothsayer? How are you going to figure out what a bear is going to kill him. It's just not going to happen. But they were trying to figure out whether or not he was going to do it again. Like, Jesus Christ.
Starting point is 01:07:25 What are you, a soothsayer? How are you going to figure out what a bear is going to do? It's going to be a bear, asshole. It's going to do bear stuff. The people that are trying to have you interact with these animals like that, they're relying on the animal's shock factor, the shock and awe. They're bringing these animals in close proximity to scare you. That's a fucked up thing, man.
Starting point is 01:07:48 That's the bear right there. Look at that. Oh my god throat apart so so horrific so back to the the whitney thing so whitney's just just harping on dan bill's energy he's deleting the comments as quick as she's tossing them so i decide okay well i'm gonna weigh in now right so i throw a comment in and i forget about it i turn the cut i go off do my thing and then that night i'm on the phil defranco show. Not me personally, but he actually takes the comment because, you know, he's got a lot of likes and stuff. I said something to the effect of, you know, that's an abused animal, blah, blah, blah, this and that. I said something, you know, smoke more weed.
Starting point is 01:08:14 Anyways, they put the comment up. Oh, by the way, the guy who handles the animal, he was sort of, he was using some legal sort of jargon with me as if he maybe was talking about lawsuit. And I said, fuck it, sue me. Legal jargon. Oh, he he maybe was talking about lawsuit. And I said, fuck it, sue me. Legal jargon. Oh, he went right into the guy who trained the bear.
Starting point is 01:08:28 Oh, because I said, that's a starved, abused animal. I mean, I know how to, I know how, in the history of wild animals,
Starting point is 01:08:34 when has a bear ever walked out and said, Hey, I'm going to become a fuck friends with someone today. You know, fuck this bear shit. I'm going to start them out when they're a little cubs. You know that. Of course.
Starting point is 01:08:41 Right. So they starve them. They abuse them. They have, I mean, but my definition of abuse. But do they have to do that to train them? I know there are people who claim to love bears, that train bears, that take care of bears.
Starting point is 01:08:53 And I guarantee you they don't all do that. It says big no-no. There's nothing fun about abusing a drug-starved animal. Delete this and your penchant for animal exploitation. Smoke more weed. I don't know if smoke more weed is going to help that but it wasn't a chirp though it went the way uh phil defranco said it was like i was like smoke more weed you fool i was just like no no smoke more weed like go inside more okay got it yeah no it wasn't a chirp yeah it see i feel like
Starting point is 01:09:18 there are people that have bears that raise them i'm not in any way shape or form endorsing keeping bears in captivity. But what I see is people that have these sort of intimate relationships with these really well-fed bears. They're big and happy and they feed them and they get in the pool with them and it looks ridiculous. But I don't think they're starving that bear and I don't think they're abusing that bear and I don't think you have to do that. I don't think they're starving that bear. And I don't think they're abusing that bear. And I don't think you have to do that. I don't think you can automatically assume that a bear is starved and abused. So I assume the starved part, I certainly can't say. But it's a big bear. That was a fat bear.
Starting point is 01:09:55 Well, he's feeding it. It might be hungry that day. I mean, it's more tame. Well, look at the body on the bear. Oh, big, not emaciated. That's a well-fed bear. You can have a well-fed animal that's hungry for a week. There's no question about that.
Starting point is 01:10:06 But it's not likely that that thing starved. And my definition of abuse is there's an electric fence around that fucking thing. Is there? Yeah, you can see it at about the ankle. There's a fucking electric fence at Dan Bilzerian's house? Well, I'm sure whoever- Go back to that picture. I'm sure whatever installation the person who brought this thing does has to keep the animal within confines of oh my god can't just imagine if it just went on a model killing rampage like
Starting point is 01:10:29 that's an electric face i that's again an assumption i'll say but again i don't see how that wouldn't be what the hell does that serve as a barrier it's just a trip line otherwise for dude that is so that's a well-fed bear though son look at that thing that motherfucker eats that is a big ass fat bear. If you want to get an animal to do something, if you want it to be docile, you have to train it. You have to sort of, there's breaking the animal in many cases. But I'll assure you, Joe, that food deprivation in training is your most effective tool. It just is.
Starting point is 01:10:59 You can find a healthy balance, right? But food deprivation is number one. You've talked about this, particularly with dolphins. To be fair, in my experience of wild animals, it is with marine mammals. So I've not worked with bears. There are bears at Marineland.
Starting point is 01:11:14 It's a really, it's a disgusting display. It's archaic. It looks like it's out of the 1800s even. I mean, it really is a disgusting place. But the practice was to starve them. And what people do there is they pay like, I think it's a buck and they get like this, this little cup full of corn pops and the bears are
Starting point is 01:11:33 like waving. Yeah. Historically, there's been bears. I mean, he's got, they've got like 40 or 50 bears in this little confined space. I mean, there's nothing, there's no more, no greater abomination of nature than I can imagine than a solitary, largely solitary
Starting point is 01:11:46 animal sort of confined to a bunch of them of the species. And then historically they have ripped each other apart in the. Oh, it's dude, it's crazy. I can actually delve into Marine lands history deeper than I can. You get to hear the full spectrum of some of
Starting point is 01:11:59 the things that happened and bear in mind, and it's important to note, it was a different time, different times, different things happen. And that's just, that was the, that was the, that was the norm. It's, it's important to note, it was a different time. Different times, different things happen. And that's just, that was the norm. It's starkly contrasting time to when Marineland started. So, but the stories are like really,
Starting point is 01:12:13 it's jaw dropping. It's really jaw dropping stuff. But on one hand, when you have children and you bring a child to the zoo, on one hand, it's really fascinating to watch this little person look at all these different animals and freak out and see how amazing it is. But that's the only pro is introducing human beings, like little human beings in particular, to these animals. Everything else is a con, except for the animals that are like really endangered, and they protect them and help breed them, and then sometimes they're responsible for some reintroduction efforts. But other than that, it's an animal prison, man.
Starting point is 01:12:58 It's weird. I don't take the position or ideology. I'm not this person that's trying to represent an ideology necessarily. I'm not against all zoos, but I have to say that there's nothing more sad than seeing elephants uh cats bears i mean cats man the cats when they're pacing back and forth i mean just get them out of there who who serve whose purpose are you serving is that good for you i mean seeing an animal that's got zookosis i mean it's uh it's it's it's a mental case and we don't know what the fuck's going on in their head so we have no idea Most people just watch and think this is just maybe normal or something, right?
Starting point is 01:13:27 A lot of people, we're not, see, because the veil is only now sort of coming off and people are sort of now getting the truth on the matters, you start to see things for what they are. I watched a video on YouTube some weeks ago, and it was Marineland in the 70s, and man, was this place busy. And the people were just, I mean, they were, they were climbing over each other to be next to the pool. I've never seen anything like it. I worked there 12 years. I'd never seen the amount of people that this thing had. And when you looked in the pool, there's a bull orca who's, he spans the literal length of the pool that he's in on the side with his, his dorsal fin over. And he's literally staring at the wall, not moving. And then you got two other massive orcas that are in this pool, like maybe five times the
Starting point is 01:14:07 size of this room kind of thing. And the people are celebrating like it's, and the video has like this sort of quirky music and it's kind of funny and fun. And I'm watching this going, what a disconnect of time, like where this, you're looking at exactly what you see today in terms of the animals and the conditions that they're in.
Starting point is 01:14:21 And yet here, these people having, knowing nothing about it, just in the awe, the beauty, the majesty of these animals, the majestic nature of these animals. And yet we couldn't see for ourselves whatsoever how abusive and gross this was. It's, it was really a weird and strange thing. But that's, um, you know, Marine Land's a
Starting point is 01:14:39 legacy business. They built, uh, they built themselves on, uh, on having people come and experience the shock and awe of these animals and they did very very well uh but that time is long gone now long gone i think we're gonna come to a time in the future where people think the same way about zoos i think it's uh we're just we're gonna realize like i get that you want to see them i get it i get you want to see them i get i i want i want to see them too but god damn we gotta stop doing that like this is no way also for you the problem is humans don't have any real experience with animals we have experience
Starting point is 01:15:18 with dogs and cats which are these domesticated weird weird little fluffy friends. They are not animals. We don't have much experience with real animals. And even the animals that you have experience with, they're urbanized. You know, like pigeons that you can feed or squirrels that take peanuts from you. You get out into the world and the world of the wild, of forests and mountains, and you see actual real animals, and it's almost psychedelic. There's like a weird, like paradigm shift that goes through when you see a wild animal in the,
Starting point is 01:15:55 in the actual wild, like, Oh, this is where it's supposed to be. It kind of feels weird because you're in their world. You would be in that because now you're like, Oh, what?
Starting point is 01:16:01 Because that, that the series of, um, of, uh, of, of uh of of tools that that animal has in its world that doesn't translate in in captivity for instance is like wait a second that thing can spring on me climb up now like like i'm in its world now it's to me that's the awe of the experience of witnessing animals because since the year and a half that expired
Starting point is 01:16:23 that that from our last show, you know, I had the, the gift of seeing, uh, dolphins in the wild. I went down to, um, I can't remember what beach it was, but it was while I was in California. And that was my first experience. In fact, again, I'm from a small place. Uh, and then this year I was able to go to
Starting point is 01:16:37 Washington state and see orcas in the wild. Now I've jumped off orcas rostrums into the air so high that you're looking down into Dixie Cup to land. I mean, that's pretty awesome. But there's nothing like having seen a fucking bull orca with an eight-foot mass on his back swimming next to his mother. My heart sunk into my stomach. I'd never seen anything more majestic. Wow.
Starting point is 01:17:02 Wow. Yeah. more majestic. Wow. Wow. Yeah. Do you know anything about what's going on in the Pacific Northwest where there's a pod of orcas that exists primarily on Chinook salmon
Starting point is 01:17:11 and they're starving? So that's the, so in fact, it's important. I'm glad you mentioned that because just yesterday and today, a bunch of different protections are being announced for the Southern resident killer whales, which are in the Salish Sea sea so it's going to impede sort of vessel uh you know they're really focusing on doing what they can what's happening there is they've got this snake river dam system that needs to be what happens they put this system in and the chinook are just dying they
Starting point is 01:17:38 can't get through the flow is gone so they put the system in a long time a long time ago so it's virtually over time has been decimating these populations. No one really knew why, but we're at the point now that we know that these orcas exclusively eat Chinook and there's just not enough. And whereas they used to be massive ones, now they've got these little tiny ones. And you know, there was a, I mean, the plight of
Starting point is 01:17:56 the Southern resident killer whales is really, I'm glad that it's gotten, getting global attention. I'm sure you're familiar with the mother who lost its calf and mourned for an excess of like 40 days and carried her on her head in the type of vigil. I mean, this was, this captivated the world.
Starting point is 01:18:12 I mean, you can't look at an animal capable of such suffering without being acutely aware of the damage you're doing when you separate them from their family, the natural environment. Let me explain the difference. When bears see their cubs dead, they eat them. Yeah. That's a difference.
Starting point is 01:18:31 Yeah. This is, you're talking about something that's insanely emotional. It's a different kind of animal. That's the thing that we're learning is the most notable aspect of these animals is their social, is their emotional intelligence capacity. I'm afraid of what it is, the depth of which we're going to find out that they're capable
Starting point is 01:18:49 of, uh, of bond because. Well, particularly if there's ever some sort of a way of translating communication, if they figure out a way of breaking down those sounds and expressions into something that we can decipher. We, right now they don't, I don't think they know much. I've been underwater with orcas and dolphins, and I've heard them, you know, I've heard, forget, I can't even tell you the sounds.
Starting point is 01:19:11 I mean, they've got a wide array of sounds. But, you know, I could, you know, to the best of my abilities, I could tell you when an animal was excited based on their sounds they were making. Like when our orca,ca Neosha was pushing me underwater to do a rocket ride, which is when you jump off into the air and you do this big majestic jump, you knew it was going to be a good one when she let out this squawk at the bottom
Starting point is 01:19:36 of the pool before pumping her tail and launch. You just knew it, man. This, she was on, she was on fire. And then there was other times that you just, you just knew she wasn't into it. And I could just, I could know by the sounds. You could really determine underwater sound alone, you could really get to know your animal.
Starting point is 01:19:49 Again, I was there 12 years. I mean, I really got to experience a lot of things other people could never really truly understand, which is really why it's important that, really important that I'm able to speak to these things because, I mean, even when it comes to the legislation that is passing, I've had my name mentioned in the House of Commons.
Starting point is 01:20:04 I mean, this is a national stage. I've had my name mentioned in the house of commons. I mean, this is a national stage. I've had it mentioned in the Senate. I mean, people care about what is coming up just, yes, just a few days ago and a Niagara MP, um, actually this would be a great video. If you could, if you could pull it up, it'll be on my Twitter. It's one of the things I retweeted with the
Starting point is 01:20:22 MP, the local MP, He bashes Marineland. I mean, that is a thing of absolute beauty. I'm glad that I'm able to talk and explain to people what it is that my experience has shown me and the things that I know. If people know, they'll do better. Problem with that video is if we play that video, it gets claimed. Oh, really? It's a House of Commons video It's public It's a government thing
Starting point is 01:20:48 Those usually are okay But I don't know If it's up to you Is it from a news source Oh but you know what The group that put it up They might have it Because they
Starting point is 01:20:56 Yeah okay Sorry about that If you go to my Twitter And you check it It's something to marvel It's beautiful You have to be really careful With YouTube
Starting point is 01:21:01 We've had a shit load of problems Niagara region I can assure you this animal justice will have no problem with you doing this i'm good friends with that's okay can be a lab chuck but we'll just tell people how to get to it but just put that back up so i can read that um it says uh marine land an unfortunate place with horrible conditions okay yeah he's i mean this is a member of of parliament this is uh on the net on you know this is the this is the big stage right here and he's i mean this is a member of of parliament this is uh on the net on you know this is the this is the big stage right here and he's finally it took a long time for people anyone in in the in in public policy to ever wade into this subject now we got people outright
Starting point is 01:21:36 saying like this place is a hole i mean wow what what how far we've come in the last six and a half years the world is changing my friend very It's changing whether people like it or not. And this is one that I think it's unavoidable. This discussion and this resolution, this has to be, we have to come to grips with what that is. It's just all kinds of wrong, man. It's all kinds of wrong. And the fact that they're still suing you after all these fucking years. As if they think it's working, as if it's serving them any purpose.
Starting point is 01:22:11 And here I am again on the fucking JRE. Like, are you kidding me, dudes? You don't even know the favor you're doing me. You don't even know what you've done. Like, come on. What do you want to accomplish? What have you failed in accomplishing? And what do you what do you want to accomplish what have you failed in accomplishing and what do you think you're going to accomplish by by continuing i mean this is the
Starting point is 01:22:29 virtual definition of insanity it's not a good move jamie who was it that was on the podcast who was explaining the um the processes in place of reintroduction into the wild they were going to have stages and nets and stuff like that. And these big outdoor areas where they can transmit dolphins and orcas to. Who was that? Do you remember? Too many goddamn conversations. Was that me?
Starting point is 01:22:55 Was it you? We spoke of the whale sanctuary project. I mean, that would be, I mean, that's essentially the basis of it and the goal. Was that, maybe it was you. Was it discussing how there's places where they're going to have like intermediate steps? Yeah, absolutely. Maybe you guys expanded on it with someone else,
Starting point is 01:23:12 but no, that is the basis of this project. And I mean, the good news is the Whale Sanctuary Project, I mean, this thing is going to happen. It is the future. They're well into the process of finding a site. Considerations are being made for a Washington States site, a Vancouver site, but it appears as
Starting point is 01:23:30 though they're settled on maybe Nova Scotia. The community there at large is looking to work with them. That's a wonderful, that's wonderful news. And I'll tell you something, Joe, once this law gets Royal Ascension, becomes law, what happens is Marineland is not able to export the animals unless the minister of the DFO, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, concurs that it's in the animals' best interests. Well, if such a site exists and Marineland is keen on getting rid of their animals, we'll have a place for them. I told you last time I was here that my dream
Starting point is 01:24:07 is to save whales. This might happen. Additionally, if there's a real concerted effort, a real effort to rescue those animals in Russia, I may very well be a part of that team. So where six and a half years ago. I was talking to, I was speaking of a crazy dream where there was no blueprint.
Starting point is 01:24:30 There was no foundation. I just, I'd sort of threw myself into the universe and said, I'm just going to hang my hat on a dream. I'm watching in real time as it's materializing. That's a hell of a perspective. Humbling. That is amazing. This thing that we were talking about with the pacific northwest um there are it's the resident population that has an issue
Starting point is 01:24:54 because they only eat chinook salmon but then there isn't there a another pod that comes through there's transients and they're thriving because they eat everything. The transients are, they're, they're giving birth, they're doing quite well. They eat marine animals. They eat marine animals. It's correct. Yeah. In fact, while I was there.
Starting point is 01:25:10 They eat nice seals and stuff. When I was there, the guy that was with us literally said, can you smell that? I'm like, no, what is that? He's like, smell that sort of oily weird. She's like, a seal is getting eaten somewhere. Whoa. She could smell it.
Starting point is 01:25:21 Next thing we know, we saw the activity, you know, the dorsals and everything. And yeah, sure as shit, there's a pot of a certain smell she could smell that uh that the seal was being eaten why can't they teach these smart whales to fucking eat what their friends are eating why do they have to be rude you know what it is it's like they won't eat chinese food fuck chinese food are you starving to death no i want a burger it's a occasion, but there's something called a super pod where it's actually a congregation of all the different families of orcas into this, into this event where they all,
Starting point is 01:25:52 they congregate and it's a big social event. And, and there's a conference that happens every two years in Washington state called super pod, which is organized by a good friend of mine, Jeff Ventry. It's an, it's an amazing event. I look forward to being there again and speaking.
Starting point is 01:26:04 I get to another place for me to speak and, and, and roam about with experts and whatnot and learn a great deal of things. But, um, I was, we were on the cusp of that almost happening because the boats are radioing to each other. Like, okay, well, we've got a family going this, we got a family going this.
Starting point is 01:26:17 It's like, wait a sec, there's three families going in the same, same directions. Like there's gonna be a crossing of paths. And this is where the boaters get real excited, either at the prospect of a super pod of sorts or conflict. Do they have conflict? Yeah, they could be.
Starting point is 01:26:32 But I mean, for the most part, it's verbal. They just tell you like, stay away from it. Fuck you. Yeah. I imagine their messages are quite clear. And you've got a 15,000 pound bull male orca giving you the bird. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:26:44 You're going to listen. Fuck yeah. Especially a transient. Their. You're going to listen. Fuck. Yeah. Especially a transient. Their mouths, man. Oh yeah. When you see their mouths wide open and see their teeth, you're like, what the fuck are you?
Starting point is 01:26:54 Why, why don't they start eating mammals? And I wonder if anybody's ever studied the difference in the behavior between the transient pods that eat the marine mammals versus the behavior of the ones that only exist on salmon. Like maybe they have a different, maybe they're like, you know, like Avatar, like there's different kinds of people up there. My go-to source is Ingrid Visser. She is a top. She's the woman in New Zealand that swims with orcas, rescues orcas.
Starting point is 01:27:21 I mean, she is a top, really the global spectrum of wild orcas, uh, uh, scientists. She'd be the one to talk to you about that. I mean, you want to talk about a fascinating person to talk to. Holy shit, the wealth of knowledge she has. And, and she is a, uh, she's a very passionate advocate and I'm very proud to have done some
Starting point is 01:27:37 very, very good work with her. I'd love to talk to her. Oh, I want to have her on the show. Yeah. I would love to talk to her. I'm so curious about those things. She would blow your mind. She would probably know if there was a difference at all in behavior.
Starting point is 01:27:50 If you were to invite her on the podcast, she would get on the next flight from New Zealand and come here. I can assure you that. Well, don't speak for her, bro. She's like, I like being home. Fuck you, Phil Demers. I'll tell you what, I think she may have actually told me that. Maybe she told me that. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:28:04 They're amazing animals. I've always said that, I mean, and this is coming from a self-admitted Bigfoot dork. I'm a Bigfoot dork. I really wish Bigfoot was a real thing. Sure. But if Bigfoot was a real thing, it wouldn't be nearly as cool as an orca. No. Like if we found some big, stupid, stinky ape that's been hiding from people forever,
Starting point is 01:28:23 we'd be like, wow, that's cool. But is it much cooler than a chimp or a gorilla? What, just because it's bigger? No, what an orca is, is really cool. That is a super intelligent super killer that eats sharks. Stealth killing machine. That has great whites tucking tail and running. Just fuck up a great white shark.
Starting point is 01:28:40 Like it has no business being in the ocean with it. They're the perfect weapon in their world. I mean, there's nothing that touches them. They're literally at zero risk. They have no predators. I mean, they're just too damn strong and too damn smart and coordinated. They do their kills as teams.
Starting point is 01:28:54 I mean, you're literally up against an army out there. Try to be a 500 pound seal and that would be a big seal. An army of 13,000 pound killer whales. Who has a, who sort of enjoy playing with you a little bit before you die. I mean, I'll interpret it as play, but more often than not, it's training the young ones on how to kill and stuff.
Starting point is 01:29:10 It could be a brutal thing. I mean, I don't love watching it personally because I've worked with seals as well. I take team orca all day. Yeah, me too. You're not getting great odds, but put the house on it and you'll get some returns. You'll win every time. One of the most amazing videos I ever saw was an orca with a beached seal. The seal, he had bitten it and tossed it through the air and the seal had made its way to the shore.
Starting point is 01:29:34 And it was actually on the land just with a little bit of water. And the orca beached itself, grabbed a hold of the seal and just start smashing it in the water there. And you see the water just flood red with blood. And then it hops back and wiggles itself back into water and swims away. And you're like, holy fuck. Holy fuck. These things would beach themselves. That thing's 15,000 pounds.
Starting point is 01:29:59 It's so big. Now, do they ever get stuck? Yeah, they do. They do in New Zealand. In fact, that's where Ingrid's work is, uh, is really beast that that is. Now, do they ever get stuck? Yeah, they do. They do in New Zealand, in fact. That's where Ingrid's work is really special.
Starting point is 01:30:10 Dude, this is a crazy story. I have a friend that I grew up with, Matt Harrison. He went on to be involved in the army. He's like decades into the army now. He was on a training mission in New Zealand. They were doing this training on a beach. And didn't they get called to go perform an orca rescue? He's just like, oh, what? So now he's running and now they've got shovels.
Starting point is 01:30:28 They're trying to figure this thing out. And now Ingrid shows up as the, you know, she's the person to call. And now there's a photograph. I'm waking up in the morning to a photograph of Ingrid at this end of an orca and my friend, Matt Harris from the same place as me, a little town in Welland at the other end
Starting point is 01:30:41 of the orca. And I'm like, you gotta be fucking kidding me. And I got to reunite the two of them back in, in, uh, Niagara Falls in the summer. Cause Ingrid had come down again. And, uh, dude, it's, these are blessings that I couldn't have even ever imagined. And yet here he was and, you know, and he'd be the first to tell you when he came back, it changed his world. It changed them.
Starting point is 01:30:59 Never again. Marineland done. Whereas before it might've been, you know, it wasn't necessarily the case. He's, he was part of this rescue. He's changed, man. Like he's just, I mean, now he's fascinated with Orcas.'t necessarily the case. He's, he was part of this rescue. He's changed man. Like he's just, I mean, now he's fascinated with orcas.
Starting point is 01:31:06 Like you can't imagine he's, he got the bug now. That's amazing. Um, listen, is there anything else? Probably a million things, but no,
Starting point is 01:31:15 no, we're done for sure. I, uh, I'd like to give a couple of shout outs. Please do give your shout outs to the Kanye West of marine mammals. What'd they call you? The Kanye West of what?
Starting point is 01:31:24 Kanye West of animal training. Oh, there you go? The Kanye West of what? Kanye West of animal training. Oh, there you go. Absurd. So Animal Justice Canada, I got to do a shout out to Camille, who's an excellent lawyer. Wait, they're calling you the Kanye West of... Yeah, there it is. That's it. From November...
Starting point is 01:31:35 Wow, bro. 2013. That started it all, man. I say, wait, they're calling you the Kanye... Wow. The Kanye West of walrus training. Thoughts to defend himself against a $1.5 million lawsuit. Wow. Wow.
Starting point is 01:31:46 Yeah. Yeah, shout out. Listen, man, it's been an honor to be your friend. Oh, dude, you've changed the landscape of all of this, by the way. I know you don't, look, I get
Starting point is 01:31:55 it. I can do this all day. The first shout out is to you, the last one's to you, the one in the middle's to you, every one of them. Like, you've changed my world personally, but you've really
Starting point is 01:32:02 changed the landscape of this entire thing. Whitney said it best today. She goes, you know, Joe really is the guy to move the needle on this thing. And I'm like,
Starting point is 01:32:08 you're damn right. So like a couple of fuck sea worlds out there as often as you can, and just, you know, keep this stuff up because you, you've had a heavy hand in all this along with, for instance,
Starting point is 01:32:18 Senator, Senator Wilfred, Wilfred Moore, who's the person who, uh, who tabled this piece of legislation, Murray Sinclair. Uh, I got to extend a thanks to the leader of the Green Party, Elizabeth May,
Starting point is 01:32:31 who's really taken this thing, it's her baby, and processed this thing through. And, yeah, if you didn't hear me shout out your name, sorry. Can't do it for everyone. There's some very satisfying things about having a podcast and one of the really satisfying things is being able to let people know about something that for them is very important like there's many people that are listening to this there's many people that are hearing this that are trying to understand with your busy life with your bills and your
Starting point is 01:33:03 relationships and your work and you're you're also living in a world where something is happening that most likely would be thought of as a horrendous act in just a decade or two decades and then we're going to be looking back saying how the fuck did we let this slide how did we do this slide? How did we do this? And I think guys like you, if it's not for your sacrifice, many millions of people don't understand this as well. And that's real. That's you. That's 100% you, your sacrifice, your ability to describe it so eloquently, and your courage to keep fighting this. This is very important. It's very important for the human race i've had faith through and through and it's not right it's not failed me listen you're right you're right when
Starting point is 01:33:49 it comes to this you're right when it comes to these marine animals that are super intelligent being stuck in swimming pools it's fucked up it's got to stop yeah it's got to stop while we understand what it is you can't keep your head in the sand with this. This is madness. This is a terrible, terrible thing. And we need to stop it. Well, as much as I've had a hand in it, thank you, Joe. My pleasure. Listen, thank you.
Starting point is 01:34:17 Walrus Whisperer on Twitter. Instagram, yeah. I'm just learning Instagram, but I'm getting pretty good. Is it all Walrus Whisperer? Well, the one on Instagram has got a little it's got a little bit of a different
Starting point is 01:34:28 but I'm you know it's it's attached to my Twitter there but if you look up Phil Demers you'll find it all it's easy enough to find
Starting point is 01:34:33 you're a bad motherfucker Phil thanks my friend bye everybody see ya you

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