New DAT facility planned for Turkey

The Altunyunus Hotel in Çeşme, Turkey has plans to open a dolphin treatment centre in June.

Dutch investors are behind the project which will bring patients from Holland to Turkey for Dolphin Assisted Therapy. The centre will hold two dolphins in a sea pen in one of the bays. According to İlker Yeşilmen, Operations Manager at the Altinyunus Hotel, the dolphins are now being trained in Bodrum.

There is a vast amount of controversy surrounding this 'alternative' method of therapy which is an increasingly popular choice of treatment for illness and developmental disabilities. Recent scientific evidence have shown that there remains no compelling evidence that DAT is a legitimate therapy or that it affords any more than fleeting improvements in mood. Click here to read more

Take Action

Please email İlker Yeşilmen, advising him that dolphins cannot adapt to a captive environment where their welfare is severely compromised. Dolphin sea pens are also a significant source of nutrient pollution and can cause damage to natural marine environment.