The Case against Marine Mammals in Captivity - The Humane ...

In fact, The HSUS and WSPA maintain that exposure to captivemarine mammals does exactly the opposite of what the industryrhetoric claims: instead of sensitizing visitors to marine mammalsand their habitat, it desensitizes humans to the cruelty inherentin removing these animals from their natural habitats and holdingthem captive. 24 Repeated exposure to a dolphin swimming in apool or a polar bear (Ursus maritimus) pacing in a concrete enclosureencourages people to consider wildlife as isolated objects oras servants to human needs and desires 25 rather than as integralelements of an ecosystem with their own intrinsic value. 26THE CONSERVATION FALLACYStranded cetaceans who do not die on the beach or are notpushed back into the ocean alive may be taken into captivityfor rehabilitation, where survival is uncertain. Photo: WSPAclosing of the mouth and the slapping of the water surface withthe tail flukes or flippers—are actually displays that in wild animalswould usually be considered aggressive, 20 akin to a doggrowling or snarling.When public display facilities assert their educational effectiveness,they frequently cite annual attendance figures, apparentlyconvinced that visitors learn about marine mammals simply bywalking through a turnstile. In fact, the actual provision of educationalmaterials is often limited. A recent study found that less thanhalf of dolphinaria exhibiting orcas provided any information onconservation. More worrying, less than half provided educationalmaterials for children or teachers. 21The HSUS and WSPA maintain that exposure to captive marinemammals does exactly the opposite of what the industry rhetoricclaims: instead of sensitizing visitors to marine mammals and theirhabitat, it desensitizes humans to the cruelty inherent in removingthese animals from their natural habitats and holding them captive.The response that is elicited by mere exposure to live captiveanimals does not translate directly into practical action or evenheightened ecological awareness, as public display rhetoricclaims. 22 Some in the display industry recognize this; the presidentof the Zoological Society of Philadelphia stated in a welcomingspeech to a conference on education: “The surveys we have conducted... show that the overwhelming majority of our visitors leaveus without increasing either their knowledge of the natural worldor their empathy for it. There are even times when I wonder if wedon’t make things worse by reinforcing the idea that man is onlyan observer of nature and not a part of it.” 23Public display facilities have increasingly promoted themselves asconservation centers, in some cases changing their names to reinforcethis image. Through skillful marketing and public relations,they miss no opportunity to emphasize their role as modern arks,hedges against the extinction of endangered species in the wild.Most public display facilities, however, do no more than producemultiple generations of a limited group of species and do notmaintain true conservation programs at all.The claim that conservation is a primary purpose of the public displayindustry as a whole is highly misleading at best. Fewer than five to 10percent of zoos, dolphinaria, and aquaria are involved in substantialconservation programs either in natural habitat or in captive settings,and the amount spent on these programs is a mere fraction of theincome generated by the facilities.While several zoos have programs to breed endangered species incaptivity with the intention that these animals be used in restockingdepleted populations, 27 this is not the case with cetaceans. In recentyears, only one facility attempted a captive breeding program forbaiji or Yangtze river dolphins (Lipotes vexillifer), 28 a species thatrecently became the first cetacean to be declared extinct. 29 Therehave been no attempts at captive breeding for the vaquita (Phocoenasinus), 30 a small porpoise found in Mexico that is now theworld’s most endangered cetacean species. 31 In fact, only onemember of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums(AMMPA)—an industry association that represents selected dolphinaria—routinelyprovides funding or grants to promote the conservationof critically endangered river dolphin species. 32Public display facilities with the financial resources, staff capability,and commitment to engage in or support conservation programsfor any animal species have always been few in number.The requirements of providing the public with a satisfying recreationalexperience are often incompatible with those of operatinga research or breeding facility (this is the reason for the developmentof the off-premises breeding facilities associated with a handfulof zoos). The claim that conservation is a primary purpose ofthe public display industry as a whole is highly misleading at best. 33Fewer than five to 10 percent of zoos, dolphinaria, and aquaria areinvolved in substantial conservation programs either in natural4