DOLPHINS IN CAPTIVITY
July 4th will sees the launch of one of the biggest campaigns to end the opening of the Dolphinariums within EU countries as well as the possible closure of the current operating dolphin shows.
WDCS, WSPA, OCEANCARE, BORN FREE FOUNDATION, PRO-WILDLIFE, ENDCAP, ROBIN DE BOIS, KRAX-CH, SAD AND DOLPHIN DAYS IRELAND have teamed up to create awareness and to bring about positive change.
There are currently 60 dolphinariums through out Europe and about 50 of those are located in EU countries. Turkeya nd Switzerland are hoping to open more Dolphariums in 2010. They must be stopped!
Dolphins are miserbale in captivity. They are forced to swim endlessly around a white tank, when they are used to travelling thousands of miles through vast oceans which iscruel. Their sonar becomes confused and uncomfortable for them as it bounces back off the walls of the tank.
And many dolphins develop serious illness as a result of the chemically treated water they are forced to live in.
They are forced to perform tricks that can be painful for them to do and they are made to interact with paying swimmers.
The dolphins cannot leave and cannot say stop and sadly their fixed smile has deceived many a paying customer into thinking they are healthy and happy.
Dolphins are very intelligent and social creatures and do not do well in captivity. Dolphinariums often display larger animals such as orcas, beluga whales and pilot whales. These animals need to be free.
DOLPHIN DEALER
As dolphin intereactive swims are becoming increasingly popular around the globe and more and more tourists seem quite happy to pay alot of money to marine parks to interact with dolphins. One man has seen this as an oportunity to make himself a greedy profit.
Christopher Porter, an ex vancouver Dolphin trainer, is in the business of capturing dolphins off the coast of the Soloman islands, which will be shipped by air to various marine parks in Europe & the Far East.
On February 8th 2009 Porter shipped 12 bottlenose dolphins to Turkey & the Phillipines for interactive programmes.
Many dolphins have starved and died in Porters so called care. Some have even been abandaoned by Porter and left in a enclosure in the Soloman Islands with no food, until such time as Porter takes it upon himself to return from Canada.
I am proud to say that Ireland has no Dolphinariums and I hope it stays that way. Let Ireland set an example to the rest of the globe. If you want to see Dolphins in Ireland there is only one way to do so. Go out to sea.