Dolphinella and dolphin therapy

It has been reported in the People newspaper that staff working at Dolphinella have refused to let a woman with cerebral palsy swim with the dolphins as they felt her condition may "scare the dolphins".

The Marine Connection believes that swimming with the dolphins and dolphin-assisted therapy is a risk to the health of the human participants and detrimental not only to the dolphins in captivity but also for the vulnerable people which spend large sums of money pinning hopes on an unproven "therapy".

The Marine Connection has had concerns about Dolphinella for several years since we received reports of two beluga whales being held in a small "holding" pool next to the main area of the facility. Investigations showed that the water temperature in the pool was approximately 25 degrees - beluga whales (being marine mammals from polar regions) require water temperature of approximately 1-2 degrees. They were also being held in a tiny enclosure which was in fact the isolation pool used for the existing dolphins. After constantly campaigning for the release of the beluga whales back to their origin, Russia, in 2006 the remaining beluga whale was finally returned to Russia, one animal having sadly died after being held temporarily at Merryland, a captive facility in Cairo.

There are still three dolphins remaining at Dolphinella. However, according to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna) export permit, one of the dolphins is in fact a wild caught animal.

The article in the People stated that “The whole trip was geared around the swim, which would have given ... some therapeutic benefit as well.” The Marine Connection has major concerns regarding the often proposed “therapeutic” benefit of dolphins in captivity. In addition to the captive environment being detrimental to the dolphins involved, the Marine Connection very much feels that it is highly irresponsible to give dolphins these “special powers” when there is no proof to suggest they are any more effective than domestic animals or other alternative and cheaper therapies. Vulnerable people who would do anything to help their loved ones are often led into paying up to US$8,000 for two weeks of therapy, or in this case£600 for 30 minutes, in the hope that their loved ones’ condition may be alleviated or even cured. Dolphinariums very much take advantage of the susceptibility of these situations as they stand to profit greatly from the experience.

There are alternatives to visiting captive dolphin facilities for their therapeutic benefits which are far closer to home and where follow-up treatments are given to assess the effectiveness and appropriateness of that therapy – dolphin-assisted therapy is a one-off and expensive therapy which rarely allows for any follow-up apart from perhaps a 3-month self-assessment. For more information on dolphin therapy please click here

Dolphins in captivity as well as their use for dolphin therapy are becoming far less acceptable in today's climate. With regards to Dolphinella, the Marine Connection continue to find issue with the facility and after raising the issues with several of the UK Tour Operators who sold excursions to Dolphinella, First Choice, Libra Holidays, Kuoni, Cosmos and Lastminute.com removed the excursion from their holidays to Sharm el Sheikh – Libra Holidays in fact stated that they “do not promote or advertise ‘Dolphinella’ as for moral and ethical reasons we do not agree with the operation”.

Disappointingly however, and despite their involvement in Year of the Dolphin which aims to eliminate threats to wild dolphins, TUI-UK refuse to stop selling excursions to Dolphinella and continue to view it as a“Low-risk” excursion. For more information on TUI and Year of the Dolphin please click here.

To read the original article from the People, please click here