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Planned Turks and Caicos Dolphin Park sparks controversy

Planned Turks and Caicos Dolphin Park sparks controversy

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Critic calls dolphin exploitation for economic gain moral equivalent of slavery.

A planned sea mammal park in the Caribbean’s Turks and Caicos Islands has been met with staunch opposition from environmentalists and locals alike. "They're nothing more than water circuses," said Daniel Turner spokesman for Born Free, a charity actively campaigning for the closure of all dolphinaria worldwide. "These animals have no life worth living in captivity, devoid of any form of stimulation and social interaction, unable to swim hundreds of kilometres a day or live in family groups. If people really want to engage with these animals to truly be inspired by their intelligence and see how they live, they need to see them in the wild; there's plenty of opportunity for them to do so," he added.

Many of the million-plus annual tourists going to Turks & Caicos hope for just such a wild dolphin encounter. A friendly bottlenose called Jojo has been voluntarily interacting with people since the 1980s and is popular with locals and tourists alike. Tim Ainley, a tour operator on the TCI island of Providenciales, has been swimming regularly with Jojo and echoes Mr. Turner's sentiments. "You learn nothing about a dolphin watching it jump through hoops," he said.

Backlash

Despite the recent backlash against sea mammal parks triggered by the documentary Blackfish, such facilities remain popular in the Caribbean, largely driven by a thriving cruise industry. Jamaica-based Dolphin Cove plans to spend several million dollars rolling out parks across the region, including proposed attractions on two TCI islands. When Dolphin Cove's plans became public in 2012, it was greeted with a flurry of opposition, with thousands signing a petition demanding the application’s rejection. Planning chiefs were also barraged with over 100 angry letters from around the world. Additional controversy emerged when it was revealed the TCI governor had amended regulations permitting marine mammals to be kept for display, exhibition and performance.

Slavery

Despite staunch opposition after a three-year fight, the real battle is just beginning. One of the most outspoken critics has come from within the government itself. Former Director of Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs Kathleen Wood described the "exploitation of dolphins for economic gain" as "the moral equivalent of slavery". Ms. Wood argues the park would tarnish the TCI’s image as a green destination and alienate tourists and travel agencies which boycott destinations allowing marine mammal parks.

She also warned of the adverse ecological impact on the proposed site, a critical habitat for 500 greater flamingos, along with conch and mangroves. Despite repeated requests, Dolphin Cove did not provide a comment, but its website describes its facilities as "among the best in the world". It has operated an in-house breeding programme for several years.
Mr. Ainley hopes the campaign by environmentalists and activists will be successful in blocking Dolphin Cove's plans. "We're so busy exploiting dolphins but if we stopped and listened we'd find they had a lot to teach us instead." Speaking of JoJo, he adds: "This is a fight I know he'd want me to make."

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