Life in South Africa

Say NO to dolphin capture!

The Port Elizabeth Oceanarium has taken the decision the decision to acquire, by capture from the wild, four dolphins to replace the three which died in 1995 (Eastern Province Herald (no website), 19 November 1999) .

From an ethical perspective, the idea of cruising up to a dolphin, casting a net over it and removing it from its natural habitat in order for it to perform for humans is completely unacceptable. To attempt to justify this behaviour by calling it "education" or "research" is simply to avoid the truth. What motivates people like Museum Director Sylvia van Zyl is simply money - Oceanaria are a multi-billion dollar industry hiding behind a facade of acceptability.

The case of Keiko the orca may be used as an example. Keiko, featured in the film Free Willy, was languishing in an amusement park in Mexico when, as a result of Free Willy, attempts began to be made to secure his freedom. He was moved to an aquarium in Newport, Oregon. Keiko's health has recovered to the extent that he can now be released, but the aquarium authorities in Newport [refused] to release him because attendance figures at the aquarium have trebled and he has been responsible for the creation of 3 000 jobs.

The question of ethics aside, the means proposed by the Oceanarium are practically unworkable. Dolphins are naturally wild animals, and only certain dolphins accept being held in captivity. The Oceanarium has acknowledged this and in the past has had to release dolphins which did not co-operate. If artificial insemination is used, the chance exists that the offspring will not accept being in captivity. If this happens, the Oceanarium will have a juvenile dolphin which cannot be released and cannot stay in captivity. Logically, the only option the Oceanarium would have would be to put it down and try again. The option of acquiring a dolphin from another Oceanarium may boil down to capture in the wild, since certain overseas countries (notably Cuba) have made an industry of capturing dolphins for sale to aquaria. The option of going out and netting a dolphin is so fraught with difficulties I am surprised that it is an option at all. Unlike capturing game on land, dolphins cannot be darted to minimise the shock. What will happen is that in the process of being wrenched from its habitat and hauled aboard, the dolphin will undergo stress levels which can and often does lead to its death. Once back at the Oceanarium, there is no certainty that it will be amenable to living in captivity. If not, it will have to be taken from the pool and returned to the ocean and the process repeated until a suitable candidate is found. It is ironic that while one of the "motivations" for restocking the dolphin pool is to create a social clique for the Oceanarium's dolphins, the process will destroy a pod in the wild. The argument by Sylvia van Zyl that the only way in which "poor" people can see dolphins is at the Oceanarium is simply not true. Dolphins can be seen daily, in their natural habitat, off Pollock Beach. I must add that I have never seen a dolphin flying through the air in pursuit of a fish. I don't understand how any pool, no matter how big, can be regarded as a satisfactory environment. The reality is that to subject an animal which is capable of roaming hundreds of kilometres to a pool a few hundred metres in length is cruelty beyond belief. There is no justification whatsoever for acquiring more dolphins. The presence of the existing dolphins is the result of an exercise which was undertaken in ignorance; to repeat it would show that the Museum has learnt nothing from its experiences over the past 30 years.

The Protect Our Dolphins Group (POD) is campaigning to prevent the Oceanarium from acquiring more dolphins. The group believes that the environment of the remaining two dolphins should be made as enriching as possible and that the display of live dolphins should be phased out.

POD's petition form

YOU can add your voice! e-mail POD at [email protected] .

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