Keep the Caymans 'captive dolphin free'

The expansion of swim with dolphins programmes throughout the Caribbean is of great concern.

These animals continue to be captured from the wild to stock facilities, which greatly endangers the future of wild populations, as the animals most sought after for capture by these facilities are females of breeding age. Furthermore there are the health concerns for the animals within the captive environment, as it has been proven and documented that captive dolphins and whales in particular suffer from stress and resulting diseases causes them to have a shorter lifespan than those in the wild.

The problem of potential cross-species infections from dolphin/human and vice versa also has to be considered. Water contaminated by urine and faeces created by the animals can facilitate the entry of a micro-organisim into a human host via spray emitted from the blowhole or people being allowed to "kiss" the animals. Pathogens widespread in this environment include; streptococci, pseudomonas, aeromonas, clostridium and mycrobacteria, with one particularly insidious pathogen "pseudomonas pseudomalle" known to cause respiratory disease in humans and marine mammals. The organism also causes serious wound infections which can result in fatal septicaemia and we feel these dangers should be taken very seriously by the authorities when considering applications for the construction of captive dolphin facilities in the Cayman Islands.

The market for wildlife and eco tourism continues to grow rapidly within the tourism industry proving that people, given the choice, would rather see wildlife in their natural environment than in confinement. In view of this we ask that you allow the Cayman Islands to remain captive dolphin free and promote instead the abundance of natural beauty and wildlife you are fortunate enough to have on your doorstep.

Margaux Dodds (Director & Co-founder)
Marine Connection, UK