Dolphinarium Letter 2
Jonathan Shaw MP
Animal Welfare Minister
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
DEFRA
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3JR
25th October 2007
Dear Minister
The UK hasn’t suffered a dolphinarium for 14 years. Flamingo Land dolphinarium in Yorkshire the last of its genre closed on March 8th 1993.
However there is no present legislation to prohibit the opening of a dolphinarium in the UK and again exploit dolphins and also the natural desire people have to see such magnificent oceanic mammals.
This was the case in the 1960s and 1970s when around 30 captive places existed in the UK and The Government commissioned Klinowska report of the mid 1980s was littered with the names of dolphins that suffered and died in the UK or with the comment “fate unknown”.
Our knowledge of cetaceans in the subsequent years has increased and now proves it is incompatible to keep dolphins captive as they are free-ranging acoustic animals which use their function, to travel, to predate and communicate. In fact it can be stated that the only educational purpose attributed to a dolphinarium, is an inadvertent study in human arrogance, egoism and greed.
Recent purchase of Blackpool Zoo by Spanish company Parques Reunidos raises concerns as this company has captive dolphins in circus, in several countries and may think to bring their slave trade to this country. Of even greater concern is the proposed NIRAH project near Bedford which has recently been granted outline planning permission. NIRAH have not ruled out keeping cetaceans in this huge aquarium leading to fears that not only will dolphins be kept in captivity here but may also be subject to experimentation for the research side of the project.
I believe it is now time to send a clear message to the International dolphin captive ‘industry’ which is still prepared to buy animals from wild captures from places such as Japan, Cuba, Ukraine and the Solomon Isles, Sadly the growth of demand for captive dolphins, for shows, swim-withs and DAT (dolphin assisted therapy) has fuelled capture operations.
As a supporter of Cetacea Defence, the organisation that played a pivotal role in the closure of Flamingo Land, I encourage you to introduce a Bill to Parliament, which ends any possibility of a return to the dolphin-slave trade in Britain.
I look forward to your reply.
Yours truly
[Name & Address]