Will this be the end of captive dolphins in New Zealand?

Update - see our letter published in "Hawkes Bay Today"

The Marine Connection recently reported on the death of Shona the dolphin at Marineland in Napier, New Zealand. She left behind her companion, Kelly and at the age of 36, Kelly is not perceived to last much longer. Therefore the decision hangs in the balance to see if New Zealand agrees to replace the dolphins. The Marine Connection believes Napier has an excellent opportunity to develop its ethical whale and dolphin watching tourism industry and that replacing these dolphins would serve as a stark contradiction to New Zealand's environmental status. New Zealand has the opportunity to become a "Captive dolphin free zone" and we urge the government to make the right decision.

Despite the glaring fact that Napier has a unique, profitable and accessible feature - a wild dolphin population in its coastal region - it appears that some residents of Napier have attempted a move to replace the dolphins of Marineland. Some 300 people attended a public meeting on Saturday and voted to lobby for the dolphins' replacement.

However, Napier Mayor, Barbara Arnott, is championing the development of ethical whale-watching tours, similar to Kaikoura's whale-watching industry, in order to celebrate Hawke's Bay's plentiful dolphin population. She stated "I think there's a better way now to introduce people to dolphins, and water animals and that is in their natural habitat".

The Marine Connection urge New Zealand NOT to replace the Marineland dolphins.

We know far more today about dolphins than we did when Shona and Kelly were taken from the wild and placed in captivity. We now know about dolphins' close social ties, their family bonds, and their unique and intrinsic abilities - simply it has been recognised that dolphins are not suited to an environment which restricts their natural abilities. This is being acknowledged across the world as places such as the UK, which has not had captive whale or dolphin facilities for a decade, and others continue to ban the import and display of captive dolphins and whales. As a forerunner in environmental issues it makes sense that New Zealand should take a non-replacement stance for the sake of dolphins.

Tourists are becoming much more reactive to captive facilities such as Marineland and increasingly prefer to travel to areas which have environmentally friendly, sustainable and ethical roots. Napier can become one of these areas if it rejects the replacement of these dolphins.

For links to news articles, please click here.

Please take action to stop the replacement of dolphins and make New Zealand a "Captive dolphin free zone"!!

Write a polite letter to the addresses below expressing your opposition to the replacement of the Marineland dolphins.
See the letter we sent here.

Minister Chris Carter
Freepost Parliament
PO Box 18 888,
Wellington,
New Zealand
Fax: 00 64 4 472 8034
Email

AND/OR

Minister Chris Carter (Constituency)
300 Great North Rd,
Henderson,
Waitakere City
New Zealand
Fax: 00 64 9 835 0945
Email

Rt Hon Helen Clark
Prime Minister
PO Box 18888
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
New Zealand
Fax: 00 64 4 473 3579
Email

Please write a polite letter applauding Mayor Arnotts decision to ensure the dolphins are not replaced. See the letter we sent here.

Barbara Arnott
Mayor of Napier,
Napier City Council,
Private Bag 6010,
Napier
New Zealand
Fax: 00 64 6 834 4147
Email