Tag Archives: dolphin captivity

Mexico City Bill Outlaws Whale And Dolphin Performances

Mexico City, Mexico – In Defense of Animals has welcomed a landmark bill that prohibits the use of dolphins for entertainment. The Legislative Assembly of Mexico City passed a bill on Tuesday August 1, 2017, that outlaws cetacean performances and training, as well as whale and dolphin use in research or therapy.

“This landmark ban will spare generations of animals from cruelty and sends a clear message that the public increasingly rejects dolphin captivity,” said Dr. Toni Frohoff, Cetacean Scientist for In Defense of Animals. “We thank Mexico City officials for recognizing our Ten Worst Tanks list and acting swiftly to end the abuse. We urge Six Flags to retire the dolphins at a seaside sanctuary where they may recover.”

Mexico City Six Flags photo: Martin Lewison

Dolphin advocate Yolanda Alaniz, of Comarino Mexico, held a press conference with Environment Commission President, Xavier López Adame. “All parties, from rights to strong lefts voted just as one,” said Alaniz. “Deputies recognized dolphins as sentient beings who suffer living in concrete tanks. Politics spoke with ethics, and marked a new way to follow for our country, and we will follow this path.”

Two bottlenose dolphins and two sea lions will be directly affected by the new law. The dolphins are confined to a barren tank set in the middle of the Six Flags Mexico amusement park, the only facility in Mexico City that currently holds cetaceans captive. Previously known as Reino Aventura, the park is infamous for holding Keiko, the now-deceased orca used in the film “Free Willy”. The park ranked second worst in Mexico and sixth place overall on In Defense of Animals Ten Worst Tanks list.

photo: Martin Lewison
Dr. Toni Frohoff

For years, the dolphins have been regularly forced to perform circus acts as loud music blares. The dolphins have also been used for swim-with programs, where they are trained to perform contrived behaviors that simulate affection and sociability toward the paying public. The animals are coerced to give rides where people grab and hang onto their dorsal and pectoral fins and to give “kisses,” “hugs” and “handshakes.”

Six Flags Mexico is owned by Dolphin Discovery, a Mexican company that runs at least 24 captive dolphin facilities internationally.  For the Silo, Toni Frohoff, Ph.D.

For more information, please see www.idausa.org/10worsttanks

Featured image- Martin Lewison.

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a 30-year history of fighting for animals, people and the environment through education, campaigns and hands-on rescue facilities in India, Africa, and rural Mississippi.

IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS • 3010 KERNER BLVD. • SAN RAFAEL, CA 94901 • 415-448-0048 Please mention the Silo when contacting.

 

Animal Organizations Plead For Dolphins Exclusion In New Mississippi Aquarium

Gulfport, Miss. – Last week,  19 international animal protection organizations  joined forces for World Oceans Day  to plead for dolphins to be excluded from the new Mississippi Aquarium, slated to open in 2019. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Born Free Foundation, and Sonar are among the organizations that signed In Defense of Animals’ letter on behalf of the dolphins to Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes and Gulfport Redevelopment Commission Chairperson, Carole Lynn Meadows. Over 175,000 people have now spoken out against the plans to keep captive dolphins at the Mississippi Aquarium.

“Animal organizations are uniting on World Oceans Day to urge Mayor Hewes to keep dolphins in the oceans where they belong,” said In Defense of Animals cetacean scientist, Dr. Toni Frohoff. “There is simply no justification for keeping these highly intelligent and sensitive animals captive. Animal entertainment  is quickly going out of fashion, making any new investment into it a very bad idea.”

Major public opposition has been building against the planned dolphin exhibit at the Mississippi Aquarium in recent months. Over 15,000 In Defense of Animals supporters have written to Hewes and Meadows since the plans were revealed. A former dolphin trainer at Gulfport’s Marine Life Oceanarium has amassed almost 160,000 supporters for her petition calling on Mississippi Governor Bryant not to redirect $17 million of BP deepwater drilling disaster restoration funds to build the Aquarium.

Mississippi Aquarium’s choice of President, David Kimmel (formerly CEO of the Georgia Aquarium) is almost as controversial as the plan to display captive dolphins. Under Kimmel’s tenure, Georgia Aquarium made an extremely controversial attempt to capture and import 18 wild beluga whales from Russia.

“So long as Mississippi Aquarium plans to exploit dolphins, opposition will continue to grow,” said Dr. Frohoff. “City planners should heed the alarm bells before it is too late. The Aquarium is burdened with a controversial President, questionable ability to find funding, competition with existing and new aquariums, and is relying on roughly $57usd million of taxpayer dollars before it has even opened its doors. Keeping dolphins alive in captivity presents a significant financial burden, and in light of declining revenues at SeaWorld, it is simply not worth gambling away Gulfport money.”

While opposition to dolphin captivity grows in Mississippi, a sea-change is being felt across the country and around the world. SeaWorld ended orca breeding last year and announced that it is phasing out orca captivity in all three of its parks in Florida, Texas, and California. Last month, the Vancouver Aquarium was banned from keeping or breeding cetaceans, and now the Canadian Senate is considering a nationwide ban on cetacean captivity. France and India are among several countries that have put laws in place to protect dolphins and other cetaceans from being held captive in recent years. For the Silo, Fleur Dawes.

For more information, please visit www.idausa.org/dolphins

Featured image: travelblog.org

How do you feel about dolphins and other sea life being held and displayed in aquariums and other indoor/outdoor stadiums? Leave your comments below.

www.idausa.org/10WorstTanks

www.thepetitionsite.com/353/506/007