World Week of Action for Captive Dolphins
01 - 07 Jul 2009
World Day of Action for Captive Dolphins (4 July)
Don't let your dream holiday become part of a dolphin's nightmare.
A week of action to highlight the suffering of dolphins and whales in captivity.
Cetacea Defence came up with the concept of organising a World Day of Action for Captive Dolphins (4 July) in 1992, and the following year the last dolphinarium in the UK closed down. However, many British tourists still visit whale and dolphins shows while on holiday abroad and, in addition to supporting campaigns in countries where dolphinariums exist, Cetacea Defence is encouraging people to act as 'compassionate travellers' and avoid funding animal cruelty while on holiday.
Behind the dolphin's 'smile' lies a world of horror. Most dolphins in captive shows have been taken from the wild, ripped from their families, often as part of the notorious 'dolphin drives' where some dolphins are killed for their flesh and others sold live to zoos.
Once in captivity, the dolphin's whole life is reduced to performing in concrete tanks that prevent them from communicating or diving properly.The opportunity to swim with dolphins in captivity causes even greater risks to the animals as well as to people.
World Day for Captive Dolphins is on July 4th each year - find out more here.To learn about the cruelties of dolphinariums and swimming with captive dolphins, see Marine Connection's informative website.
A week of action to highlight the suffering of dolphins and whales in captivity.
Cetacea Defence came up with the concept of organising a World Day of Action for Captive Dolphins (4 July) in 1992, and the following year the last dolphinarium in the UK closed down. However, many British tourists still visit whale and dolphins shows while on holiday abroad and, in addition to supporting campaigns in countries where dolphinariums exist, Cetacea Defence is encouraging people to act as 'compassionate travellers' and avoid funding animal cruelty while on holiday.
Behind the dolphin's 'smile' lies a world of horror. Most dolphins in captive shows have been taken from the wild, ripped from their families, often as part of the notorious 'dolphin drives' where some dolphins are killed for their flesh and others sold live to zoos.
Once in captivity, the dolphin's whole life is reduced to performing in concrete tanks that prevent them from communicating or diving properly.The opportunity to swim with dolphins in captivity causes even greater risks to the animals as well as to people.
World Day for Captive Dolphins is on July 4th each year - find out more here.To learn about the cruelties of dolphinariums and swimming with captive dolphins, see Marine Connection's informative website.
Sir David Attenborough once said, "It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living."
Lets try not to reduce our appreciation of the natural world to a few lonely, captive individuals in an artificial environment, or worse; pictures in history books.
Right political rant over, the safari is off out to survey the local butterfly populations before it starts raining again and hopefullly before the Horse Flies (aka Cleggs - Tabanidae) have got hungry!!!!!!!
In the meantime let us know what's biting in your outback.
5 comments:
Well Ranted Dave. I agree totally!
Thanks Warren - nowt like s good rant to clear the tubes!!!!
In the case of orcas, captivity arguably played an important role in our understanding of them. Prior to the 1960s when live captures began, they were viewed as a ferocious blood-thirsty predator to be killed at all costs. Indeed, the US Military used to use local populations for target practice. Once the first whale was captured, however, a transformation in our understanding of them took place. They became the intelligent, highly social animals we recognize them to be today.
In my not so humble opinion, though, I totally agree with you that any benefits from having cetaceans in captivity have passed. Killer whales rarely survive more than a few years in captivity, and are deprived of not only their families but often any contact with other members of their species at all, not to mention the lack of space and area to swim. Now that whale-watching has taken off, people should take advantage of seeing these amazing creatures in their natural habitat. I, like so many others, first saw an orca in captivity. But I'll never go back into a marine park that houses orcas.
End of my own rant... :)
Must say I am not opposed to zoos, I think they have a vital conservation and educational role to play, just that some species are not suited to captivity, cetaceans are one of those groups. Now if our local zoo would let us release their captive bred otters in to the nature reserve a top predator would be restored to its rightful place in the eco-system.
I definitely agree about zoos and their benefits too - some species just aren't meant to be kept there.
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