Good and bad news for captive dolphin week

On Friday 30 June the Marine Connection spoke, at length, with reporter Jonathan Owen on the plight of dolphins in captivity, specifically in relation to World Week for Captive Dolphins 1-7 July.

We are delighted that Mr Owen took the initiative to publish a piece on this in the Independent on Sunday view here however we were astounded to see in the "Compact Traveller" section of the same newspaper an article featuring BBC newscaster Darren Jordon, swimming with dolphins at the Dolphin Cove facility in Ochos Rios view article

It is very disappointing that the media continues to promote captive dolphin facilities, especially a highly regarded BBC newsreader like Jordon. Many people are still unaware that dolphins continue to be captured from the wild to supply facilities, many suffer or die during capture in horrendous conditions such as those during the drive hunts in Japan. We are sure if the general public (and the media) understood the suffering inflicted upon these animals, taken from the wild and held in captivity simply for profit, they would not patronise these facilities. The Independents' travel editor, Kate Simon, commented that the inclusion of this story was simply a report on what Darren Jordon did on holiday and that "many people enjoy this type of facility". However this is simply not a good enough excuse to ignore the implications for the dolphins and human participants involved in swim programmes or dolphin shows.

Your once in a lifetime experience" means a lifetime of confinement for these intelligent marine mammals, and no facility, no matter how large can ever hope to replicate the needs of these creatures who, in the wild freely travel the worlds' oceans, foraging for food and communicating freely with their own kind. In captivity they are forced to interact/perform for food reward and any freedom of choice is removed, a high price indeed for dolphins to pay for your half hour "interaction", after which you are free to leave, but what of the dolphins and the families they have been taken from?

If like the Marine Connection, you are disappointed by this continued promotion and endorsement of captive dolphin facilities, please write a polite letter/email to the following voicing your concern:

Independent on Sunday
Independent House
191 Marsh Wall
London
E14 9RS

Darren Jordon
BBC News
Television Centre
Wood Lane
London
W12 7RJ

email via the BBC News feedback form

photograph (c) Helene O'Barry