Humankind's fascination with marine mammals, especially dolphins, has a long past. But fame is not always positive - from a revered creature in many societies, the dolphin has in many countries become the prisoner of its own charm.
Many so-called 'marine parks', which we'd rather simply call dolphinaria/aquaria to avoid misunderstandings, have nothing to suggest they are marine except the seawater! In no natural habitat would you find a group of large marine mammals confined in such abominably small space:
"No aquarium, no tank in a marineland, however spacious it may be, can begin to duplicate the conditions of the sea. And no dolphin who inhabits one of those aquaria or one of those marinelands can be considered normal... It is certain that the study of human psychology, if it were undertaken exclusively in prisons, would also lead to misrepresentation and absurd generalisations." -- Jacques Cousteau
The act of capturing and imprisoning a wild animal goes against its very nature and can thus only be classified as a cruel activity. Marine mammals such as dolphins are highly intelligent and social beings living in tightly-knit groups and depend upon this system for their survival. The separation from their social group and family is, to say the least, distressing.
To this day even the actual methods used for capture and the way in which this big business in dolphin trading is conducted raise several concerns. Methods include potentially deadly high-speed boat chases, encircling of dolphins, hoop netting (capturing the dolphins with a collar as they are bowriding), or even worse are the methods used in Japan - the dolphin drive hunts where dolphins are rounded up and most are butchered with knives and spears while the remaining chosen ones are kept alive... and dragged away for dolphinariums.
"Mortality rates of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) captured from the wild shoot up six-fold in the first five days of confinement."* And this from already diminishing populations of wild animals which are supposedly protected locally.
The transportation of these large animals, from places as far off as Cuba, adds more stress to the survivors. From then on, life in a pool is barren, stressful and often dangerous for the life of the dolphin itself. Many claim that dolphins fare better in the sheltered world of a concrete pool, away from pollution etc. Yet, within about a decade, not one, not two but five dolphins - half of all the locally held dolphins in this span of time, have died, some under somewhat unclear circumstances.
In pools they lack the space to roam their habitual 40 miles a day travelling at great speeds and there is nowhere they can use their capabilities of deep-sea diving. A concrete pool is like a hall of mirrors - most dolphins in fact simply abandon communication and lead a silent life as their sensitive hearing cannot withstand the bouncing off of sounds and its sonar from the walls which surround it.
Also harmful is the practice observed at the local dolphinarium where loud noise/music is blasted away both during shows right next to the dolphin pools and even at night during several controversial parties. The whole site is often undergoing heavy infrastructural works, some of which were started illegally, and this adds to the multitude of noise, vibrations and discomfort of these animals.
Wild dolphins held captive are often frustrated and depressed and quite commonly are observed attacking each other and even their trainers or persons who swim with them. They have, after all, nowhere to hide, to escape or to retire to when they are unwell or when they simply need to defend themselves.
What CETFREE is also concerned with is the apparent total lack of guidelines or legislation relating not just to the animals' welfare and transportation but also to that of visitors especially in swim-with-dolphins programmes.
In a report to the US Marine Mammal Commission (MMC), researchers from the University of California highlighted the potential health risks to which humans are exposed through contact with marine mammals such as skin rashes, infections, respiratory diseases (including diseases such as tuberculosis and potential infectious diseases.
The threat of injury is also very real as dolphins captured form the wild are still unpredictable animals no matter how much training or tranquillisers they are subjected to. Broken bones, bites, lacerations and even human deaths have been recorded in dolphinaria worldwide. Dolphins are, after all, very strong and aggressive predators as other large mammals such as the lion - would you risk entering its cage?
The legal loophole for such ventures - which we feel are nothing but commercial entertainment - appears to be the based upon the pretext of such a venture being "educational".
CETFREE believes that learning about dolphins in what is more of a loud circus-act or forced swim-with-programme is nothing but cruelty, exploitation and miseducation while also possibly putting at risk the persons themselves who participate in such activities both as staff and as visitors.
CETFREE's educational campaign is ongoing. This year it includes a nationwide school competition on captivity, interactive educational sessions for summer-school students and public awareness.
CETFREE is a coalition of local and international NGOs committed to educating and creating awareness on the plight of captive dolphins. Visit the website www.cetfree.org, e-mail: ntsec@waldonet.net.mt.
Annalise Falzon is the CETFREE campaign co-ordinator.
* The Case Against Marine Animals in Captivity; The Humane Society of the United States and the World Society for the Protection of Animals; 2006. Annalise Falzon