Stew,
I didn't answer because the facts are already there for all to read. Moreover, I don't think your line of question is about the topic anymore. I will, however, answer your questions for the sake of clarifying a few things.
As far as contacting the involved parties is concerned, the letters were sent to Discovery / the producers of shark week, hence would reach the production companies and even Les Stroud. Les, in turn, responded by appearing in PSA messages touting shark conservation, even going on Larry King to proclaim his conservation stance. Still, he continued working with Guerney on shows like Surviving Shark with Bionic Bob etc. The other posters like Ryan, have been able to glean from the programming that Guerney Productions are clearly not about to change based on criticism but probably want it for controversy to boost ratings.
As Shawn and Ryan has alluded, Dolphin Dream were told of the controversy (even existing customers talked to them regarding their practices) and they made a choice to allow shows like How Sharks Hunt to be shot on the boat. It's clear what their position is.
Funnily enough, you yourself claimed to have sent Dolphin Dream an email as well, questioning what was allowed on the Dolphin Dream and considered it harassment of the sharks! Obviously that was just a video with play acting and clever editing. I fail to see how people play fighting and not actually TOUCHING any sharks was harassment in your view, to the point where you were outraged by Eric's indifference to the video. Yet having an untrained wrangler like Cody to muscle the bait , wrangling the shark with chains and a lead weight, where the shark can damage their skin and loose teeth, and as clearly shown in the video, also endangering the crew, all for the sake of a TV shot, isn't harassment of wildlife?
You claim I'm "constantly" "slagging" (your word not mine) DD whenever I can. I count 4 posts in the last 3-4 years about Dolphin Dream. The 1st post, I was factually recounting what happened on the Dolphin Dream during the production of the programs and the rest discussing what happened. Shark Week is an annual event and programs will be the talking point during or after the week is over, very much like this thread. The programs are all shot within a year or 2 of broadcast and are current. You may find it extraneous but 1200 hits and the various responses proves these topics to be relevant for discussion, which is the point of the forum.
Only in 1 post do I bring up the issue in a thread that was very relevant because I think it's an important one. Judging from the response of posters in this thread, I am not the only one to think that the operators should be more responsible for the shark's well being. The embedded videos show what's going on on the boat during the productions, not the atypical client trips.
I hope this answers your queries sufficiently. I, like Shawn and others, would be very happy if operators like DD and Guerney would stop this sort of antics. Evidently their stance on this is intransigent. Similarly, judging from your recent posts and the shifts in your position, this is less about the topic of the thread and more about personal attack, which is not allowed on WP.
