Welfare concerns for the dolphins at Dolphin Lagoon. Public safety issues at Dolphin Lagoon. Misleading the public about dolphin behaviour. Evidence that the dolphins were wild caught. Will the dolphins survive if released? Discussions with Haw Par. What happens to the dolphins now? How you can help the dolphins!....................................
CAMPAIGNS
DOLPHINS
Suffering, not Smiling
The Truth About Captive Dolphins
Public safety issues at Dolphin Lagoon
The contact sessions with the dolphins (as documented in 2003) potentially expose the participants to possible diseases from the dolphins. The United States National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has acknowledged that the potential exists for transmission of diseases between wild marine mammals and humans. Marine mammals are known to carry pathogens that can infect humans. Outbreaks of infectious disease reported in dolphins include erysipelas, pasteurellosis, hepatitis, Pseudomonas pseudomallei infection, and systemic mycosis. As NMFS has noted, not only do bites from marine mammals carry a danger of infection, but there are a number of disease agents that are common to both humans and marine mammals and can be transmitted between them.
There are other serious risks involved in contact sessions with dolphins. Media reports and historic government records reveal a range of serious injuries caused to visitors by captive dolphins in interactive programs including cuts, bruises, broken bones and bites. Since 1996, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society in the United Kingdom has recorded several incidents, including bites and head butts. A case was also reported in Brazil where a sociable male bottlenose dolphin named Tiao deliberately attacked and killed a man and injured several swimmers after apparently being harassed by people who wished to interact with him.
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