What do you think of the U.S Navy Marine Mammal Program?

[malinghi]

I just read on Wikipedia about the Navy having a program for training dolphins and seals to do all kind of jobs that humans can't. I can't decide if its adoreable or scary or both.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Na...Mammal_Program

[New York Mermaid]

i am actually researching all of this, i know they used dolphins orcas belugas and seals to name a few animals, to tag mines, divers etc.. i guess if its not harming the animals its okay. Animals are incredible and extrodinary, sometimes they can do many things we are not capable of, I dont see to much bad here, especially If its going to help our troops from any harm.

[SweeteSiren]

It seems risky to train a wild animal that humans are friends and then turn them loose in the open ocean. That puts them in potential danger from any unauthorized person they come across. At least in aquariums the trained animals are never exposed to outsiders who might try to hurt them.

[Lotus]

It's risky, and scary, but the military is in the business of "risky and scary"..... we humans have a huge impact on the oceans, whether we train sea lions and dolphins to mine-sweep or not. I could go on forever about this, but I don't want to sit here on my soap box and preach, so I'll just say that I am on the fence- on the one hand, I think it's good that our military is doing everything it can to save human lives, but I also think that asking an animal with no idea what it's in for to go trip the bomb for you (so to speak) isn't much better than using a child to carry a bomb into a crowded market place. Unfortunately the ones calling the shots on this do not see the life of an animal the same as the life of a person, or the cost of a war ship. Just saying.

[Alveric]

The only way to avoid this sort of thing is to avoid war altogether.

Alveric

[SweeteSiren]

One of the most interesting places I've ever visited is the Marine Mammal Center near San Francisco. They are a non-profit devoted to helping injured animals (mostly sea lions) recover from their injuries and returning them to the wild. Most of the injuries come from getting tangled in fishing lines, and occasionally from tangling with sharks.

[Mermaid Saphira]

it's creepy...adorable and interesting all @ the same time