Marine Connection letter regarding the recently proposed dolphinarium in Germany

27th June 2006

Dear Sir or Madam,

Re: Proposed dolphinarium for Rügen, Germany

It is with great concern that I am writing to you regarding the recent reports that a dolphinarium is to be built in Rügen. As the Captivity Officer for the Marine Connection, a marine mammal welfare charity based in the UK I felt compelled to contact you.

Dolphins travel hundreds of miles across the ocean, they are able to dive hundreds of feet. They use echolocation as a tool to explore their diverse surroundings, determine where they and catch their live prey. Each of these unique abilities, adapted for the huge and complex ocean environment over millions of years, are rendered useless when dolphins are enclosed in a lifeless, smooth tank without currents where they must eat dead fish at times of a humans choosing? The dolphins born in captivity which Rügen is proposing to import are born with the exact same physiological characteristics as those of their wild counterparts. All captive dolphins whether born in captivity or taken from the wild, suffer mentally and physically from having their natural, instinctive skills inhibited.

The Marine Connection has also been informed that there are plans to carry out dolphin therapy at the proposed facility. Although the charity believes dolphins are fascinating to people, to attribute them with these 'healing' powers is irresponsible. We are of the opinion that this leads to already vulnerable people, who understandably wish to do all they can to alleviate suffering of themselves or a loved one, to believe that if they pay extortionate amounts of money for this therapy (in some places US£8,000 for 10 days), their symptoms will somehow be "cured". However, in reality, dolphin therapy has been proven to be no more effective than petting domestic animals and this deception is quite simply wrong.

Although captive facilities would have us believe conservation and education are at the heart of their cause, I would like to ask where is the conservation and education in keeping dolphins which no longer exhibit natural behaviours in an artificial area a fraction of the size of their natural habitat. This is in fact a form of mis-education where people will learn about a distorted caricature of a dolphin which is a shadow of its wild counterpart. Conservation and education can and are done effectively in situ, in the wild where the animals are able to exhibit all their natural abilities and roam throughout the world's ocean as they were supposed to.

Tourists visiting Rügen will find a captive dolphin facility to be stark contradiction to this popular holiday destination which I am sure is keen to represent the more responsible and ethical foundation which tourists look for today. Tourists in recent times are looking for far more sustainable methods of tourism such as dolphin and whale watching. The public are becoming far more aware of the issues which surround dolphinariums today and are far more likely to visit areas which can truly display a responsible image.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my correspondence. I very much look forward to hearing your thoughts regarding the concerns raised in this letter and please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like any further information at all.

Yours sincerely,
Andrina Murrell
Captivity Officer