Pictures of this only make most of us want to avert our eyes - and thoughts. Thus raising millions to build tanks and to transport Keiko is relatively easy. Keiko is a lovable whale. He has a name. His cousins in the sea, the nameless ones, do not fare as well against the harpoons, the nets, pollution, and rifles.
Some groups raise support for wild whales by setting up so-called whale adoption programs.
In recent years attention has also centered on captive dolphins held by oceanariums. They can be seen. Any dissent within the movement, i.e., any questioning of the overall strategy and tactics, is stifled. Those who champion the captive animals become the good guys, no matter what, and those who keep the animals are the bad guys. Reality is, of course, never so simple.