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

ConclusionThe tide may be turning for captive marine mammals,particularly cetaceans. In the United States, at least13 dolphin exhibits have closed in the last decadeand a half, while during the same time frame only four newexhibits have opened. 312 In early 2005, Chile became the firstcountry to ban outright the public display of most marinemammal species (as well as some sea birds), and also theirimport, export, and capture from the wild. Costa Rica joinedit soon after, prohibiting the capture and public display ofall cetaceans. 313 In September 2005, the Netherlands Antillesdetermined that it would allow no more dolphin exhibits inits territories (it already has one and has issued a permit foranother). Cyprus denied a request to set up a DAT facility in2006. Some countries have banned the live import or exportof cetaceans; these include Cyprus (imports are prohibited),to be built. 315 Furthermore, some countries have implemented strictlegislation for the keeping of cetaceans in captivity. Among theseare the United Kingdom and Brazil, neither of which holds cetaceansin captivity, and Italy, which bans SWTD attractions andother human-dolphin interactions.In August 2008, Travelife, an initiative of International TourismServices and the European Union, published a handbook fortourism providers on what to look for in tourism enterprises thatutilize animals. Its purpose was to maximize the sustainabilityof the enterprises and the welfare of the animals involved. Thehandbook included a separate section on dolphinaria, a reflectionboth of the growing public interest in captive marine mammalwelfare and a growing acknowledgment that marine mammals,especially cetaceans, do stand apart from many other species ofcaptive wildlife. The handbook offered an extensive checklist fortourism providers to evaluate whether a dolphinarium was, at aminimum, following “best practices” for the public display industry.Although Travelife stopped short of recommending againstoffering excursions to dolphinaria, it recommended “that thisHungary (imports), India (imports), Argentina (imports fromthe Russian Federation), Vietnam (exports) and Malaysia(exports are prohibited, as are imports of marine mammalspecies already found in Malaysia). Mexico has prohibitedthe import and export of marine mammals.Other nations have banned or enacted moratoriums on the livecapture of cetaceans in their waters. These include Mexico, NewZealand, Brazil, Peru, Argentina (orca captures are prohibited),the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Australia, China (includingHong Kong), Indonesia (live captures of Irrawaddy dolphins inthe Mahakam River are prohibited), Laos (live captures of MekongIrrawaddy dolphins are prohibited), Malaysia, the Philippines,Singapore, and Thailand. The government of Antigua and Barbuda,after issuing a permit to a foreign company to capture as many as12 dolphins annually from local waters, rescinded this permissionafter activists filed a lawsuit arguing the quota was unsustainableand that it violated regional conservation agreements. 314 In anumber of cases, municipal, provincial, and national governmentshave decided not to allow a dolphinarium or a cetacean exhibitSwimming in endless circles is actually causing this orca’s dorsalfin to collapse to one side—in the wild, an orca’s fin growsupright, as the whale swims in a straight line through the ocean.Photo: BigStockPhoto/Mike Liu