Should dolphins be employed to help the military?
Don't bring them into our battles
Rachel Matecki
Issue date: 4/6/07 Section: Opinion
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The Navy also claims that its dolphin/sea lion proposal is the best technology available. If our officials truly believe this, I am deeply concerned. According to CNET News, a company created by Lemelson-MIT student prizewinner Carl Dietrich and colleagues at MIT's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics is aiming to show off the "personal air vehicle," which resembles an SUV with retractable wings, designed for 100- to 500-mile jumps with room for two people.
Is the Navy trying to tell me that we have the expertise to create a flying car but an inability to produce technology stronger than that of a sea lion or dolphin? I find this very hard to believe. What about our own combat swimmers, or perhaps some sort of remote-controlled vehicle to patrol the water lines? Are these impossible? You've seen the Navy commercials. They're Navy SEALS - not sea lions.
If we begin to use sea lions and dolphins in the force, who's to say we won't recruit other animals as well? Why not grab some pigeons and stick them in the Air Force or train some foxes for the Army? This is really nothing more than a manipulation of animals for our own good. Are we really desperate enough to put national security in the hands, well, fins, of a dolphin or sea lion? Let's face it; animals just don't make the cut. If you remember, bomb-sniffing dogs performed inadequately in the first World Trade Center bombing. I think it's time we start relying on ourselves. We need to protect these animals, not drop them in the middle of our problems.
Is the Navy trying to tell me that we have the expertise to create a flying car but an inability to produce technology stronger than that of a sea lion or dolphin? I find this very hard to believe. What about our own combat swimmers, or perhaps some sort of remote-controlled vehicle to patrol the water lines? Are these impossible? You've seen the Navy commercials. They're Navy SEALS - not sea lions.
If we begin to use sea lions and dolphins in the force, who's to say we won't recruit other animals as well? Why not grab some pigeons and stick them in the Air Force or train some foxes for the Army? This is really nothing more than a manipulation of animals for our own good. Are we really desperate enough to put national security in the hands, well, fins, of a dolphin or sea lion? Let's face it; animals just don't make the cut. If you remember, bomb-sniffing dogs performed inadequately in the first World Trade Center bombing. I think it's time we start relying on ourselves. We need to protect these animals, not drop them in the middle of our problems.
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