Let's talk about dolphins, shall we?

Dolphin trained to kiss source

Everyone loves dolphins, and who wouldn’t? Ever since Hollywood has polluted our screens with the movie Flipper, everyone wants to swim with those endlessly smiling creatures.

As a consequence, dolphin tours have become main tourist attractions in countries where dolphins are present, or worse, in artificial places like Sea World in the USA. People rejoice at the sight of these beautiful creatures who jump on command and greet us with their flippers, and pay hefty entrance fees to see these shows.

But what’s wrong with this picture?

Most people will say but they were born in captivity, so they don’t know any better. They could not survive in the wild. But this is actually not true in most cases.

What happens to dolphins in aquariums like Sea World?

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Did you know that the majority of dolphins found in sea parks are captured from the wild in violent and cruel circumstances?

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They are being chased until exhaustion by speedboats, and then caught with a net. Of course dolphins just like humans will not like being kidnapped and will fight for their lives as much as they can, resulting in injuries. Add to that the trauma of transportation which can last days on planes and trucks.

Did you know that dolphins are extremely intelligent and need lots of exercise and intellectual stimulation?

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Dolphins in the wild swim at least 40 to 50 miles a day (65 km - 80 km), so imagine getting that done in a small circular basin? Dolphins who swim in circles all day long literally go out of their mind, which is totally understandable. Imagine yourself being confined in a small cell, and only being able to walk in circles all day long for the rest of your life. How would you feel?

Dolphins in the wild
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Isolation and psychological suffering

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Dolphins are very sociable beings and need interaction with other dolphins. In a tank, they only get to interact with very few mates, if any at all, which increases their psychological suffering.

It’s similar to the effect in prisoners in isolated cells, as isolation is specifically used as a punitive measure for humans. It doesn’t take a degree in rocket science to understand that isolating a social animal is torture. Just think about a dog on a leash without any human contact all day long. We would consider this animal cruelty, wouldn’t we?

Physical harm

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• These pools in which dolphins are held contain chlorine to kill off bacteria. Needless to say, chlorine is not present in a dolphin’s natural habitat, and is just as irritating to their eyes as it is to ours. It can even blind them completely in the long run. We get red eyes from being in a pool for an hour or so, so imagine living in it!

• In small basins, dolphins are exposed to the sun without any protection, and cannot hide. This means that they get blisters and sores, just like humans would if exposed for long periods of time in a pool without any shade or protection.

• As I mentioned before, a dolphin doesn’t just perform tricks to please us. It does so because if it refuses, it is being starved. That’s the only way to train a dolphin, by withholding food. Moreover, dolphins eat live fish in the wild, and in captivity they are only offered dead fish to eat.

Source

Is it OK to swim with dolphins in the ocean?

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Now you may think that tourist excursions during which you get to swim with dolphins in the ocean are much better. After all, they’re in their natural habitat, right?

Wrong!

Believe it or not, and don’t take this personal, but dolphins actually have no desire whatsoever to swim with you.

It’s not part of their natural behavior to want to interact with humans, and even if they do occasionally approach boats with tourists, it’s simply because they are curious. For a dolphin to actually swim with you, it has to be trained, meaning it has to be coerced until it performs the wanted trick (to swim with the human!).

Moreover, even though they may technically be swimming in the ocean, they are still confined to a limited space with nets under the surface. Why? Because otherwise they would not stay, DUH! It’s still a prison, just one that is better hidden in order to seem less cruel.

Finally, there are indeed some tour operators that will drop tourists in the open sea when they spot dolphins so that they can swim close to them, however this is also not appropriate. They harass dolphins while they are trying to eat, nurse or simply come up for air, and again, not to swim with people!

Other dolphin tours

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Here in Panama where I live, there are tour operators that offer dolphin tours. The law in Panama prohibits boat drivers from approaching dolphins less than 50 meters. In addition, boat drivers are supposed to turn off their engines and observe in silence, but unfortunately many times the reality is different. Several companies do not respect the distances, and even go as far as chasing these poor animals, so that tourists can snap a picture. Thankfully there are no tours that allow people to swim with them here, which is great! If you ever visit my area, please refrain from taking these motor tours, and if you must, do it on a sailboat. Sail boats do not disturb dolphins because they are silent, and also don’t risk cutting dolphin’s fins with their propellers.

Something to reflect upon

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Have you noticed how we have a tendency to harm everything we “love”?

We love birds, so we take away their freedom and put them in a cage. We love to play golf in nature, so we cut down acres of trees and replace them with grass. We love fishes, so we turn them into decorations in our living room. We love seeing exotic animals, so we put some on display in zoos. We love to see animals perform tricks, so we force them to do so in circuses.

We can’t just take what we love, just because. Love is a positive emotion and it’s selfless, and if you truly love someone, you want only what’s best for them. In the case of animals, that would be freedom. It’s time that people realize this and stop acting selfishly at the expense of a living sentient being.

Please keep in mind that we all vote with our wallets, and that by refraining from participating in such tours and shows, we can put a halt to them.

Sources
https://www.worldanimalprotection.us.org/our-work/animals-wild/marine-animals-captivity/dolphin-faq
http://uk.whales.org/issues/swimming-with-dolphins

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