Seventeen countries have outlawed keeping dolphins in captivity including Britain, France, Mexico, Canada, Switzerland, Hungary, Chile and India. Sea World parks across the world have suffered financially over growing public concerns about animal cruelty.
LATIKA BOURKE: ‘Sea World has been forced to cancel two of its performing dolphin shows in a dramatic day on the Gold Coast, where protesters invaded the pools as part of a co-ordinated sting, leading to several arrests. Two groups of activists from the Justice for Captives organisation targeted Saturday morning’s dolphin show on the Gold Coast, unfurling banners saying “Animals are not entertainment,” “Google Blackfish”, “Dolphins belong in the ocean”, and “Captivity is cruelty”… Later, a third group of 10 demonstrators who targeted the performing seal show were removed from the park by police wearing plain clothes. The mid-afternoon dolphin show was also cancelled when a further 15 protesters halted the event. Several arrests were made…
Sev Avedis, an optical clinician from Cairns, said he joined the protest because many people attending Sea World shows wouldn’t realise the harm they were perpetuating to one of nature’s most intelligent animals. “Dolphins have incredibly complex social skills and display emotional awareness just like humans,” he said. “Keeping them in captivity for any reason is unjust to their existence as they are unable to socialise or communicate with each other naturally. “Dolphins are not commodities, they are individuals – commonly sighted on coastal shorelines, it is not necessary to pay to see these suffering animals perform in unnatural enclosures”…
Seventeen countries have outlawed keeping dolphins in captivity including Britain, France, Mexico, Canada, Switzerland, Hungary, Chile and India. Sea World parks across the world have suffered financially over growing public concerns about animal cruelty. This year, the British travel company Thomas Cook stopped selling tickets to two parks that still keep killer whales in captivity. The firm said 90 per cent of its customers said they wanted to holiday without contributing to animal abuses’. SOURCE…
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