Who cares about Dolphinella's dolphins?

Following the Marine Connections’ recent inspection of Dolphinella and subsequent report raising our concerns over conditions for the animals at the facility, we have yet to receive any feedback from CITES in Cairo, despite constant requests.

We also forwarded a copy of our report to tour operators who promote this facility namely Kuoni, Thomsons, Olympic/Odyssey, Thomas Cook and Hayes & Jarvis/First Choice; to date only two have responded. Kuoni (UK) have advised us that they will not send customers to the facility after considering our findings, however Thomas Cook have informed us that they have carried out their own inspection and, based on that information, feel that there is no cause for concern for the animals there.

The charity were also recently contacted by the Federation of Tour Operators regarding this facility. The FTO advised us that they ensure that their members follow strict guidelines relating to the welfare of animals used in any exhibits promoted by them. Chris Thomson from the FTO told the Marine Connection that they recently had tour operators representatives visiting Dolphinella, and feel that the facility meets requirements, however they are having a dolphin expert survey the facility and report their findings to the FTO, but he also added that at the end of the day the tour operators will provide what their customers want and if they want to see captive dolphins it appears they have no problem in promoting or profiting from this. However we believe that if the general public were made aware of how captivity affects dolphins they would choose to see them in the wild rather than pay to keep them in a confined tank. In the meantime, it appears that tour operators (apart from Kuoni) and their governing body are happy to continue making a profit from captive dolphins in Sharm el Sheikh.

Please email Chris Thomson at The Federation of Tour Operators, requesting that they adhere to recommendations made in our report that a full inspection be carried out at the facility with full access to the dolphins, veterinary records and equipment. As well as FTO personnel, this inspection should involve Egyptian representatives, CITES officers, dolphin behaviour specialists and an external veterinarian experienced in marine mammal husbandry. We also request that representatives of the Marine Connection (including our marine mammal veterinarian), be in attendance in our professional capacity as dolphin and whale experts to ensure that guidelines are followed.

In the meantime, we are investigating what appears to be a head injury sustained by one of the dolphins (possibly the same animal which we raised concerns about in our recent report provided to CITES and the tour operators), and also the fact that the pool containing the dolphins still has no cover to shield them from the heat of the sun, which is unsuitable for their welfare, especially as when we last visited the facility at the end of February the air temperature was in excess of 30ºC !

Read the Marine Connection report sent to tour operators and CITES