"There is about as much educational benefit to be gained in studying dolphins in captivity as there would be studying mankind by only observing prisoners held in solitary confinement"- Jacques Cousteau
The dolphin captivity industry is one that relies on a misguided public view. They claim to be educational, that their dolphins are the “ambassadors” of their species, but there is in fact, nothing educational about it. The performances are far from natural, and trainers do not discuss the behaviors of wild dolphin pods in shows. The only thing the captivity industry teaches is that it is OK to exploit and abuse animals for our own entertainment.
The first dolphin show opened in Florida in 1938, and wild dolphin capture became a routine event. In 1964 the Vancouver Aquarium commissioned a sculptor to kill a wild orca so that he could construct a life sized model for the aquarium (very educational). The killer whale was harpooned, and did not immediately die. It was towed to a harbor and kept captive for 87 days.
Aquariums claim to serve conservational purposes, but they have done more harm than good. Among countless dolphins, they are responsible for the removal of 58 orcas from a community in the Salish Sea, a population that is now an endangered species with only 83 members.
Capture of dolphins is an extremely violent process. Many drown in nets, and the calves are dragged literally kicking and screaming onto land, kidnapped from their families. Capture in the U.S. was banned in 1974 with the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
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In other parts of the world, dolphins are captured in what is known as dolphin drive hunts. Pods are slaughtered one by one in shallow water, and amongst the scream of dolphins and the blood red water, calves are separated and sold to aquariums around the world. This brutal massacre now fuels the captivity industry. Please visit my friend Ripcurl to learn more about dolphin drive hunts.
A dolphin is not “lucky” to be in captivity under the care of humans as many people think. Dolphins in captivity typically have much shorter life spans than that of wild dolphins, and none survive longer than their wild counterpart.
It is not quantity of life that we argue for however, but quality of life. In the ocean, dolphins travel between 100 and 200 miles a day with no boundaries. Scenery changes, and they use their highly evolved echolocation to “see” the world around them, and hunt for their prey of choice. This sense is no longer of use to them once in captivity, their surroundings never change. Tanks are shallow and in warm locations there is no escape from the heat. Some suffer from sunburns. Should they follow their trainers command, they are fed whatever dead fish is tossed to them. Hunting no longer keeps them active.
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Behaviors they are taught to do are unnatural, and the daily shows monotonous. Their ears are sensitive to detect echolocation clicks and the loud stadium music and constant pounding of children’s hands on glass surely affects them. In the wild, sick or injured dolphins will beach themselves. No longer supported by the water, the sheer body weight is painful and takes a toll on the animal. Trainers command dolphins to do this regularly, with the relief only coming after the sound of the whistle.
Some animals are housed alone, others with a few tank mates. Many species of dolphins live in fluid pods in the wild, choosing new ones as they please. In captivity, they are forced with each other and do not always get along. Orcas live in very structured family groups, and stay with their mothers and extended relatives their entire lives. Culture is important, and females pass on wisdom from generation to generation. This is the lifestyle they clearly prefer. It is extremely lonely for them in captivity, without their family for constant communication and interaction.
Bottom line, captivity is abuse. This does not mean the trainers to not care for the animals to the best of their abilities; it means that the basic act of dolphin confinement is torture. No tank, no matter how expensive, can simulate the ocean. Dolphins are extremely intelligent and social animals, and should not be imprisoned.
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Educational?
Looks more like a pompous display of dominance!
This includes swim with dolphin programs, where disease transmission puts both the dolphins and humans at risk. This also includes “research” programs. We can only learn about captive dolphins through captive research. Wild dolphin research is much more beneficial in the fight to protect them. There is also no compelling scientific evidence in therapeutic dolphin programs as well. Furthermore, it seems that the irregularity of the stimulus is more harmful then helpful. Captive bred dolphins are not any better off then wild caught dolphins. They still have wild needs and tendencies, which cannot be fulfilled in a tank. Many babies are removed from their mothers, and do not properly learn to nurse. This can affect future calves they may have, and leads to a higher mortality rate.
The only way to end the exploitation of these amazing creatures is to refuse to support it. DO NOT buy tickets to aquariums, swim with dolphin programs, etc. Instead, support wild research programs, and learn about dolphins through the Internet, books, videos, and wild dolphin tours. Please do your part help keep us dolphins wild and free.
Heroes
Silver's Details
Status:
Single
Here for:
Friends
Body type:
7' 0" / Athletic
Ethnicity:
Other
Zodiac Sign:
Leo
Occupation:
Having Fun!
Silver Have you seen my cool new pledge badge on my profile? Click on it to get YOUR fishy ribbon!! Posted at 7:37 PM Oct 15 view more
About me: I'm Silver, a bottlenose dolphin calf. I am still nursing from my mommy, but I'm learning to fish for myself, and have fun chasing and playing with the reef fishies! My pod and I spend a lot of time on the west side of Oahu, Hawaii, where our friends at the Wild Dolphin Foundation can keep an eye on us.
I love my life in the ocean, in fact, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else! My pod keeps me close, but sometimes I get adventurous and can't help but wander away to explore my ever-changing surroundings. There are just so many things to see, to eat, and animals to meet out here! Sometimes it can be scary, but my pod always protects me and takes care of each other. I’m such a lucky dolphin to have them!
Some dolphins aren't so lucky though. Some are herded into coves by boats, then people net the babies like me, and kidnap them from their families, right out of the ocean! Their pods are extremely heartbroken and confused by this! We never knew what happened to them, until a killer whale named Keiko appeared. He told tales of where he had been, what he had seen, what he had eaten, and boy was it awful! His stories quickly spread and reached our pod in the Pacific Ocean.
This poor orca spent many years in a very small concrete swimming pool, under a very hot sun. This led him to develop a very itchy and painful skin disease. He was fed some sort of smelly dead fish, as a reward for performing at his trainers command. Eventually he was moved to a larger swimming pool in a cooler climate. He even started getting real fish again. This was better, but it certainly wasn't the ocean. He didn't like his concrete boundaries, and was still very lonely. At night he gathered up all his pool toys, and went to bed with them surrounding him. Before he was kidnapped his pod would all rest together in a very tight formation - his toys were the closest thing to "pod" he had.
Keiko taught us about the horrors of captivity, and it is with a heavy heart we realize all of our lost pod members must be in this same sort of prison. I have come here to teach you a bit about it, and ask you to please help us end this torture, and keep us dolphins wild! Please do not buy tickets to aquariums and zoos that have dolphins on display, please do not support captivity!
Adopt Silver for yourself or as a gift and
watch her grow over the years.
Be a Wild Dolphin Advocate! Teach your friends and family the truth about dolphin captivity. Write to aquariums and tell them you will not support them until they no longer imprison cetaceans. Here is a toolkit from the WSPA and Ric O’Barry to help you effectively fight for the dolphins!
Who I'd like to meet: Captured in 1970, Lolita is imprisoned at the Miami Seaquarium in the oldest and smallest tank in the U.S. - a tank that is illegal by government standards
These regulations are outdated and need to be changed!
It is completely ridiculous to say that a killer whale (who can reach up to 32’ in length) needs an enclosure no larger than 12’ deep, 48’ across. The dimensions of Lolita’s tank are 80’ x 35’ (horizontal) x 20’ (depth) at its deepest point. This is clearly in violation of APHIS Regulations, however they seem to not care. The Miami Seaquarium has not been accepted into the Association of Zoos and Aquariums because of Lolita’s illegal tank.
Should we...
Make them jump through hoops, give rides to humans, and perform dangerous stunts all for the blow of a whistle and the toss of dead fish?
-OR-
let them play at their own will, catch their own preferred fish, and socialize within their chosen pod?
Let dolphins live in peace the way nature intended!
This is As real as it gets?! I bet it felt pretty real when they were violently capturing dolphins right out of the ocean! Sorry Sea World, having an orca follow your every demand is not real, unless the real your referring to is animal exploitation! Want it as real as it gets? Go on a whale or dolphin watching tour!
How you can help WILD dolphins stay safe:
Plastic bags kill over 100,000 marine animals every year. They can become entangled by it and suffocate, or mistake it for food and ingest it. Help keep plastic bags out of the ocean, choose reusable bags instead! Visit Hoku to learn more about the problems with plastic and trash in the ocean.
Plastic does not biodegrade, but instead photo-degrades, which means it breaks down into smaller, more toxic pieces. This contributes to ocean pollution as it works it way through the food chain in bioaccumulation. Arieanne can tell you all about toxins and oil spills.
We can help keep the ocean clean by keeping our beaches clean! Join a local beach clean up program, or start your own! Visit Two-V for tips!
We also need a steady supply of food, and a safe environment in which to hunt. The tuna industry no longer targets dolphins as a means to find fish, but thousands are still killed annually as bycatch in fishing nets. Help Kiko spread the word!
Thanks for the add and listening my music. New blues album available on my myspace page : Entre chien et loup You can listen it and buy it with paypal.
The Mind Of Doktah Soose The (Hip-)Hopenhagen Ambassador Our mother, the Earth Was born from the sun Discover your birth The thorns are her thumb Her finger the vine The nails are the leaf I think you will find That whales are the feet Hail to the chief! But some do not know That she is our mother Must love her as so The shrub on her toe Now broken and fading Our mother won’t grow She copin’ in ‘hagen I scope out the lake and Make green in my mission I hope that we’re making More cleaner emission Wishin’ for this Now wishin’ for that Wishin’ you’d listen Persistent I rap I’m raising my voice I’m making it clear I am your choice R. Baker is here I shake with a tear And quake with a fear We need to wake up And shake up the whole sphere Here is my plea I plead that you heed it I’ve planted a seed I believe that we need it
I send you this wish… I wish you joy beyond compare, success in all you do. I wish your goals within your reach, friendships true and strong. I wish you gracious wisdom and forgiveness, when you're wrong. I wish you nights of wonderous rest. I wish you strength and courage, and persistence to be your best. And most of all, I wish for you more love than most will find, the grandest love in all the world, the everlasting kind! Wishing you blessings and love for you and your loved ones today and always!
Thanks for having joined the Scuba Diving Community as a friend. I hope to see you online soon in our community and share your experience with other divers as well as take advantage of all the information we have about scuba diving on the 3000+ pages. I wish you lots of safe and fun dives. Patrik
The mission of Green Cross International is to help ensure a just, sustainable and secure future for all by fostering a value shift and cultivating a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility in humanity's relationship with nature.
Silver, you would be so proud of your adopted momma. I bought frozen WILD salmon today, and told the guy behind the counter that I would NOT buy farm raised even though it was "fresh, not frozen." (I ignored his "sales pitch.")
See, you make a difference in people's awareness. Together we will change the world.
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