It's a shame it was in the Mail, but it's about time a mainstream paper covered this

[ArielThePiraticalMermaid]

This is barbaric, revolting and upsetting and I don't like linking to DM articles, but it needs to be said and talked about and spread. People have been bravely campaigning against this atrocity for years yet it continues. Please be assured that every time you visit a place like SeaWorld that, no matter what they tell you, you are helping perpetuate this hideous, hideous trade.

I have talked about this on MN before and have had outraged mummies telling me I am trying to spoil their children's fun

but these countries seem to have a very unfeeling population.

I think it's all too easy for us in the west to say, "oh the Japanese, cruel race" whereas it's the demand driven by European and North American and Middle Eastern marine parks and aquaria which drives the market. And actually until very, very recently the huge majority if Japanese had no idea this was happening in their country. There is footage showing some of their reactions when they find out about the Taiji hunts and they are horrified. In fact there has recently been a demo in Tokyo against the practice.

It's a horribly sad and barbaric practice whichever way you look at it. Somehow, we have to stop it from happening.

I agree that this is terrible, however the article does say that these dolphins are not sent to the US or Europe. Also i believe that sea world funds a lot of marine research and also the trainers there are marine biologists they also practice animal enrichment to ensure that the animals are kept stimulated, if a lot of the animals in sea world were released into the wild they wouldnt be able to survive as they have been born and raised into captivity.

Sorry, but bollocks. Reseach can be done in the wild and plenty of marine biologists are doing so. The level of successful breeding in captive facilites is tiny compared to breeding success in the wild because of the stresses they are under on a daily basis. Most captive dolphins are taken from the wild. This is true. The purpose of these places is entertainment not research.

Captive dolphins CAN be successfully released into the wild. The last two dolphins in aquaria in the UK were released into the wild, who had been living in a pool by Brighton pier.

And as for the location of where they are being sent, I don't see that this is relevant. Plenty of places are opening up in places like Dubai which are full of European tourists.

Sorry to post three times in row, but the market really is driven by the demand. If the demand is taken away the practice would diminish. Demand drives everything. Look at the tuna fishing industry - there are warehouses in the Far East which are stockpiling bluefin tuna so that when it becomes extinct as it inevitably will, they will be able to release the supplies slowly and charge a premium. It will be like gold. All because of the insatiable desire for tuna.

As for research, there is a woman in New Zealand, who I met recently, called Ingrid Visser who is conducting amazing research on orcas in the wild. Thanks to her, more and more is being made known about the NZ population and they orcas can only benefit. How could this be done in a pool?

As I said I do agree that this is barbaric, as for mentioning the locations they were being sent to, I only mentioned this as posters started saying about the US and European parks, I thought I would just point out that the dolphins mentioned in the article are not being sent to those areas.

How many animals would now be extinct due to over hunting etc if it wasn't for Zoos etc?

Yes there are plenty of parks opening up in Dubai etc, but surely it is these that need to be boycotted and not the ones that are trying to do some good?

(puts on flame proof suit)

This needs to be stopped and therefore people need to speak as one. Slaughter hundreds of animals in order to get a few is wrong, no matter how much research they say they are doing in marine parks. I'm sure you believe that. At the moment dolphins are not endangered. They will be if this carries on. And it's not just a case of them being in a "zoo". It's a case of them being kept hungry so they will perform tricks for rewards i.e. fish, it's them being kept in restrictive tanks when they are used to travelling tens or hundreds of miles in a day, it's them swimming around in their own faeces, its them dying of infections and diseases brought about through enclosed water, it's them being defeaned by the pool filtration systems day after day after day. In the name of entertainment. Christ, no wonder some of them commit suicide. It really isn't like breeding programmes of endangered species in zoos.

These places are not "trying to do some good". They are trying to make money in a terribly inethical and inhumane way.

Wheely, you really need to do some more research and educate yourself if you think places like Sea World are trying to do some good. They are driven by profit, not good.

The 'environmental work' they do is a marketing ploy, nothing more. And marine animals wouldn't be at risk of extinction if they were left alone!

Of course these places employ marine biologists to try to maintain the animals, they're not going to want to waste the money they have just spent capturing and transporting the animals only for them to die in a couple of months are they? Whales and dolphins don't need people to stimulate them when they have the ocean to live in!

Thanks for that Clouds. I was starting to feel ranty.

At the moment dolphins are not endangered.

Sorry that was a stupid thing to say. At the moment many species are not endangered overall. Certain populations and species are critrically endangered because of conflicts with fishermen and habitat destruction. The Yangtze dolphin was declared extinct in 2006. But that's another thread...

Sea world of hurt

Death at Sea World

Just to get you started.

The Yangtze dolphin was declared extinct in 2006.

I didn't know that

It was a river dolphin. It's range had shrunk and shrunk because of the dam building that went on up and down the Yangtze. This meant it coudn't use its usual range to hunt, and as time went on, the dolphins which were left couldn't breed successfully, and also the river is incredibly polluted. An extensive search in 2006 found no signs of them left. So sad.

Cloud and Ariel I concede, I must admit I have been brainwashed by Seaworld etc propaganda, From now on I will also be boycotting, I'm sorry ariel if I put you in a ranting mood that was not my intention, cloud thank you for the links provided very informative. It's been nice to have a bit of a debate, as stated thank you. Also found this which may be of interest if you don't already know of it.

WheelybodsDH

Ariel, thanks so much for this thread. It's a subject close to my heart too.

If I wanted to take a holiday to see dolphins, I'd go to Monkey Mia in West Australia, where for decades now, wild dolphins have visited the beach every day (carefully supervised by wildlife rangers).

Yay! We have a convert! Thanks Wheely.

Thanks as well Wheely.

Don't worry about making me rant. It's my default setting anyway.

Bore, you could see them a lot closer to home than that!

But I guess if an excuse was needed to go to Aus....

Ariel

Do you feel able to say what line of work you are in? Am assuming it must be marine-y/conservation-y.

Quite understand if you feel would be TMI

Erm...not really . But you're on the right lines.

Say no more, Ariel.

A nod's as good as a wink to a blind jellyfish...

Wink wink. Nudge nudge. Does she sir? Does she?

Well done on starting this thread Ariel.

Since I was a child I have had a keen interest in whales, dolphins and sharks. Sharks really were my thing as a kid - I remember having lots of arguments about them with classmates and fighting their corner! I've sailed around the west coast of Scotland and seen close hand examples of each of these stunning creatures, and it doesn't come close to watching them in captivity.

A colleague I work with has just announced she is going on holiday to Florida and wants to do the Dolphin Cove thing. It wasn't the right time to speak up at work, but I will be making sure that she is fully updated about the practice of these places and hope she decides not to visit. As was mentioned up-thread, she can turn a blind eye if she wants but she can't say she doesn't know.

And my favourite dolphin story happened on holiday on one of the Hebriddean islands about 20 years ago. My cousin and I were sitting high up on some rocks above a beach, enjoying watching some younger children jumping into the sea and swimming from the rocks below us, when they started screaming "shark! shark!" and they all came bolting out of the water. We jumped up in time to see a dolphin, who had come along for a nosy gander, making her way back out to sea! And of course started shouting "dolphin! dolphin!" and grabbed our cameras - too late, all we got were photos of the sea! I've had all my whale, dolphin and shark experiences around the Hebrides, I'm very lucky!