HSI is strongly opposed to captive swim-with-the-dolphins attractions and believes these programs, even if strictly regulated, pose an immediate threat to the safety of both human and dolphin participants.
Life in the wild
HSI opposes the capture of all marine mammals from the wild for any type of public display or entertainment. The very nature of these animals makes them uniquely unsuited to confinement. In the wild, dolphins live in large groups (called pods), often in tight family units. Social bonds often last for many years. In some species, they last for a lifetime.
Dolphins travel long distances each day, sometimes swimming in a straight line for a hundred miles, other times remaining in a certain area for hours or days, moving several miles along a coastline and then turning to retrace their path.
These marine mammals can dive up to several hundred feet and can stay underwater for 15 minutes or more. They spend only 10 to 2 percent of their time at the surface.
The sea is to dolphins much as the air is to birds—it is a three-dimensional environment, where they can move up and down and side to side. But dolphins don’t stop to perch. They never come to shore. Dolphins are always swimming, even when they “sleep.” They are always aware, and always moving. Understanding this, it is not difficult to imagine the tragedy of life in captivity for these ocean creatures.
Program profile
SWTD proponents claim educational, recreational and therapeutic motivations and benefits. Several offer “dolphin-assisted therapy” (DAT) for patients suffering from, among other conditions, Down’s Syndrome, cerebral palsy, cancer, head and spinal injuries, or autism. However, there is no evidence that interacting with dolphins has any greater therapeutic effect than interacting with domesticated animals, such as puppies, kittens, or farm animals.
SWTD attractions overseas are an even greater problem, because regulation is often absent and conditions poor. Regions that have seen an explosion in the growth of these programs include the Caribbean and the South Pacific. There are several attractions in tropical resort areas around the world.
Most facilities capture their dolphins directly from the wild. Capture is highly traumatic for wild dolphins and may cause an often fatal condition known as capture stress or capture myopathy. In addition, the status of the populations from which dolphins are captured is often unknown and the removal of even a few individuals may have negative impacts on the pod members left behind.
Safety concerns
Captive dolphins may exhibit an assimilation tendency, expecting humans to fulfill the natural social roles of their wild counterparts. They may become submissive or sexually aggressive when interacting with humans. SWTD programs have reported human injuries including lacerations, tooth rakes, internal injuries, broken bones, and shock. There is the potential for dolphins, meanwhile, to suffer from unnatural exposure to human bacterial and viral infections, and they have experienced stress-related conditions, including ulcers.
What you can do
Write or visit SWTD attractions and express your concerns. If they refuse to close, insist that only captive-born bottlenose dolphins be used, to limit as much as possible any increase in captures of wild dolphins to stock present and future attractions.
Question program safety records for both humans and dolphins. Demand adequate care and conditions for the dolphins, including feeding them restaurant-quality fish and requiring large pool size; insist on the provision of refuge areas, where dolphins can go at will if they do not want to interact with people; insist on limited working hours for the dolphins; and demand low swimmer-to-dolphin ratios (no more than two swimmers per dolphin).
Consider bypassing hotels, resorts, and cruise lines that offer SWTD attractions to tourists. Write to them and let them know tourism should not depend on the invasive exploitation of wildlife.
Please add your voice to our ongoing efforts to protect all animals. We must continue to strengthen existing laws around the world that protect marine mammals and to change practices that harm them.