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Concern over conditions at Turkish facility
The Marine Connection has been alerted to a facility at Güvercinlik in the Bodrum area of Turkey which has four bottlenose dolphins housed in a small sea pen.
The four male dolphins were captured from the wild and are being held in an enclosure measuring only 10 by 20 meters, the animals are also covered in scars which could indicate they are stressed and have been fighting with each other in such an enclosed space. The sea pen, which has no shaded areas to afford the dolphins shelter from the sun, also used to also keep beluga whales which were also taken from the wild, imported from Russia.
The Marine Connection were advised that UK tour operator Thomson were selling excursion tickets to their customers at a cost of £50 to swim with dolphins at this facility. The Marine Connection contacted them voicing our concerns and following the exposure of conditions at the facility, Thomson and their parent company TUI Travel PLC have stopped their collaboration with the facility. Whilst this is good news, Thomson continue to sell and profit from excursions to other facilities which house captive cetaceans, many of which are taken from the wild. As one of the partners in the Year of the Dolphin initiative, we feel that TUI/Thomson should prove their commitment to cetacean welfare by pledging to cease sales to all excursions of this type.
In the meantime conditions for the animals remain the same and the park continues to operate and sell dolphin swims to tourists who visit the area.
Take Action
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Please email the following urging them to fully investigate the facility and the conditions in which the animals are being kept.
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