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

person who procured these animals for Ocean Adventures wasan American. 51 The problem, however, is not confined to Asia—atleast 20 false killer whales caught by this method were importedinto the United States. However, since 1993 no permits have beenissued to U.S. facilities to import cetaceans collected fromJapanese drive fisheries. 52Although drive-hunted animals have not been imported intothe United States for more than 15 years, the government hasallowed the exporting of marine mammals caught in U.S. watersto facilities in Japan that hold drive-fishery-caught animals. 53 Inaddition, it considered a research permit request by SeaWorldto collect reproductive and other tissues from animals capturedand killed in drive fisheries. 54Standards for marine mammal care are woefully inadequate,if they exist at all. In Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia,where captive marine mammal programs are opening at anunchecked rate, animals are often kept in deplorable conditions.Two dolphins were kept in this filthy, freshwater swimmingpool for three months and were on the brink of deathwhen discovered. (See endnote 113.) Photo: WSPAAside from humane considerations, removal of animals from wildpopulations can have a substantial negative impact on the animalsleft behind. Research on bottlenose dolphins and modeling oforca societies show that certain individuals play a crucial role inholding communities together. If these individuals are removed,the group might lose cohesion and disperse. 55 This dispersal couldhave serious survival implications for the remaining animals, asindustry), apparently solely to acquire animals for public displayfacilities in Japan. 47 Fourteen dolphins were sold to aquaria, fivewere killed for “scientific studies,” and at least four (and almostcertainly more) were drowned in the panic and chaos of theentrapment in Futo port. The rest were released to an uncertainfate. Each dolphin slaughtered in these hunts is worth only a fewhundred U.S. dollars on the open market as meat or fertilizer,but live animals fetch up to tens of thousands 48 —the large profitsfrom the few animals sold from each hunt help to subsidize andmaintain the drive fishery and the hunters’ employment. 49“As a general principle, dolphins should not be captured or removedfrom a wild population unless that specific population has beenassessed and it has been determined that a certain amount of cullingcan be allowed without reducing the population’s long-term viabilityor compromising its role in the ecosystem. Such an assessment,including delineation of stock boundaries, abundance, reproductivepotential, mortality, and status (trend) cannot be achieved quickly orinexpensively, and the results should be reviewed by an independentgroup of scientists before any captures are made. Responsibleoperators (at both the capturing end and the receiving end) mustshow a willingness to invest substantial resources in assuring thatproposed removals are ecologically sustainable.” Virtually everywherecetacean captures happen today, no such investment has occurred.Many drive-hunted animals, of several species, are found inJapanese and other Asian dolphinaria. Ocean Park in Hong Kongobtained animals from drive fisheries in Japan while Hong Kongwas governed by the United Kingdom. 50 Ocean Adventures, a facilityin Subic, Philippines, received a shipment of false killer whales(Pseudorca crassidens) from a Taiji drive hunt in March 2004. TheDrive fishermen haul on a bloody net used to entrap bottlenosedolphins. Photo: Elsa Nature Conservancy6