dolphin swim on Tortola

Jules,
Even though I will probably be flamed by the radical PETA members on this board, I will admit that I have been to the dolphin swim on Tortola. You can take a cab from the ferry to the dolphin swim. You can be dropped off just a few steps from the dolphin lagoon. There are only a few stair steps to the dock and a few more to get in the water. If your dad's only problem is with distance, then he shouldn't have any problems getting around there.

Thank you for taking good care of your dad. I'll be in his position some day soon.

Bassman

I am not a PETA member, and I would love to swim with dolphins more than most humans I know. I have always wanted to be with them in the water.

However, with a little search on this message board, you will find numerous posts discussing the Dolphin Swim, and find that it's really Dolphin's penned up.

Jacques Cousteau's son, wrote a very strong article condeming the use of these free sea creatures in this way, and after reading it, I forever decided that IF I was to ever swim with them, I would truly swim with them - in their element, swimming freely, not the pens of explotative humans. Taking your dollars for supposed education is hardly what is going on, and more importantly not worthy of your need to find something intelligent to do.

Please use your dollars to treat your dad to a day sail in the Virgin Islands and I'm sure you'll all enjoy wonderful snorkelling and a never to be forgotten visit to this corner of the world.

The following is the text of Jean-Michel Cousteau's open letter to the Cayman Free Press, part of a broader effort to keep swim-with-the-dolphin programs out of the Cayman Islands.

April 21st, 2003

Editor

Cayman Free Press

I would like to add my voice to those of many Caymanians concerned about the possible introduction of a swim-with-dolphins facility in the Cayman Islands.

The project's supporters claim that it would be a financial gold mine, but in the long run, a captive dolphin facility would destroy the Cayman Islands' outstanding eco-tourism credentials, and is certain to rebound to the detriment of the local economy. Already several thousand tourists, from over 30 countries, have signed petitions expressing their opposition to the proposed park.

Why? Because swim-with-dolphin programs are simply a disaster in the making, both for the dolphins and for the people who visit them. The Cayman facility, operated by a group called Living Sea, reportedly plans to house its dolphins in "natural enclosures." This is an oxymoron. For a dolphin accustomed to roaming free up to 40 miles per day, any enclosure is unnatural, and thus the Living Sea facility is in effect little more than a concrete jail. The dolphins, reputedly transferred from captivity in Honduras, were taken violently from their family and home range, and held in pools or pens. In the Caymans, their situation will not improve; they will still be fed dead fish and coerced (by the promise of food the imposition of hunger) to perform tricks and interact, whether they want to or not, with humans.

To counter the global outcry over what amounts to forced labor of a sentient, social and intelligent animal, the swim-with-dolphins industry has added a few new wrinkles to the now familiar justification of its own self-serving goals. Cayman citizens should not be surprised if they hear some of these specious claims.

For one, swim-with-dolphins programs like Living Sea purport to be educational. In fact, they are anti-educational, because they foster the false impression that dolphins are gentle, "warm and fuzzy" creatures, when they are far more complex and interesting, and capable of a range of behaviors, including violence. They are predators with a dominance hierarchy. The false impression leads to ignorance, not enlightenment. This ignorance hurts both dolphins, who are captured and sentenced to life terms for crimes that don't exist, and humans, who can be injured physically, cheated financially and short-changed intellectually.

Some of these businesses also infer that buying time with a captive dolphin helps nurture a greater respect for these animals, even a desire to protect them. This logic has always escaped me, since the chief threat to bottlenose dolphins is the captive dolphin industry.

Some operators claim that swimming with dolphins is therapeutic. Children suffering from Down's Syndrome, cerebral palsy, and other conditions are frequent visitors to swim-with-dolphins facilities. While I understand the feelings of reverence and awe that contact with these magnificent creatures inspires, it is critical that people everywhere understand that there is no scientific evidence to prove that swimming with dolphins provides a medical benefit for humans. Other programs, using domesticated animals and plant environments, have similar results and do not involve the cruelty inherent in dolphin captivity.

Far from universally beneficial, swimming with dolphins can actually be bad for you. Broken bones, lacerations, internal injuries, shock--these are just a few of the wounds reported by paying customers.

The effects on dolphins are even worse. After surviving a traumatic capture-and many don't--dolphins are confined in a space that does not allow them to exercise even their most basic natural functions. They suffer from enforced monotony, confinement stress, poor diet, disease, muscular atrophy. So the life span of a captive marine mammal is not only considerably shorter than that of a wild one, but considerably less worth living.

Australian researchers have found that the problems do not disappear when the operation is moved to open pens or bays, such as that proposed by Living Sea. Even wild dolphins habituated to human contact spend up to seven hours interacting with people, and literally forget to feed. In addition, tour boats routinely scare away the schools of fish that dolphin pods herd into feeding position.

Finally, some facilities claim they are engaged in research. But the fact is that captive dolphin husbandry is the only "science" they are capable of producing. And any "findings" that might emerge are more suited to profiles in understanding the human psyche than to peer-reviewed cetacean research.

Although swim-with-dolphins operators are adept at exploiting grey areas in the law, time is not on their side. Australia is considering legislation that would limit the hours and locations of interaction. In the Caribbean, the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol of the Cartagena Convention protects marine mammals, and in Mexico, a new law prohibits the capture of dolphins for display. It would be a shame if the Cayman Islands were to fall from what is the wave of the future in ecotourism into the host of environmental profiteers.

Over the past several years, I was privileged to be a consultant for the Ministry for Tourism. During that time, I took pride in helping to promote locales, like Stingray City and Tarpon Alley, that offered tourists the opportunity to experience the Cayman environment on its own terms.

Swim-with-dolphins operations are incompatible with this philosophy, and are an insult to those of us who view humanity as stewards of nature. They are bad for dolphins, bad for tourists, and in the end, bad for business.

I strongly urge the responsible authorities to preserve the Cayman Islands' positive environmental image, and reject the proposed facility.

Respectfully,

Jean-Michel Cousteau

President
Ocean Futures Society

Dear Bassman

I don't even know what a "flame" is and I don't know who or what PETA is and I have never considered myself radical but I am concerned when we capture animals and exploit them for entertainment and profit.

The Dolphin shows seem to me to be more like a "slave ship" than entertainment. How would you or your friends feel if you were captured in your homes and put in small jail like cells to provide entertainment for some other group?

I guess if we all stayed home and said we didn't approve of that kind of entertainment it might end. Maybe even told our friends to do the same.

It's not a very radical move, but why don't we give it a try.

Dear looking,
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), like yourself Give equal value to human and animal life. I do not advocate mistreating any person or animal but I do not ackowlge any equivalency. I eat animals, use products derived from animals along with medicines that were proved safe and effective through research with animals. So call me a savage.
The PETA people are the ones that throw pait and/or blood on women that wear fur. They support the destruction of private property if thier sensibilities are offended by developement of private property.
If a person really feels the way you do, fine. But please don't be a hypocrite. Uless you eat only fruit and vegtables, don't wear leather or derive benefit from some sacrifice of an animal don't lecture others.
I too am looking for a better world,but I don't believe that imposing my values one someone else is the way to get there.

No one is trying to IMPOSE their values on anyone else here - we have merely expressed our view about the Dolphin Swin.

You effectively answered Jules originally posted question......... and unless he/she were to read the Jean-Michel Cousteau's open letter on the subject and the views of those posting in support of the position he takes, then he/she and their family may or may not choose to visit Dolphin Swim on Tortola. Totally free to make their own decision in the matter.

I have in fact done the swim with the dolphins in Tortola. I worked for a watersports company that curently runs to Totola twice a week for the trip. I was apprehensive at first to try it, but after hearing about the test trip from other fellow employees I decided to give it a try. I learned that the dolphins are born and raised in captivity, not taken from the wild. Also, if the dolphins do not want to participate in the activity instructed, the dolphin is not forced to. These animals are truly cared for by the family of instructors. I don't think you can really form an opinion if you haven't checked out all of the info first. Dolphins belong out in the wild yes, but, this program is very protective of the dolphins and it teaches people how beautiful the animals really are.

PETA's self appointed leader has on the radio at one time equated the killing of chickens with the Nazi Holocaust.

Swim with the Dolphins.

Thanks everyone, for your thoughtful replies.

It is not true that the dolphins aren't "forced" to swim with humans. They are kept in a constant state of hungar, and do so in order to eat. Therefore, they ARE forced to interact or starve. Not a nice choice!

The more I learn about these programs, the more I oppose them. I urge everyone to boycott them.