CAMPAIGNS

DOLPHINS

Suffering, not Smiling
The Truth About Captive Dolphins

Welfare concerns for the dolphins at Dolphin Lagoon
In 2001, Namtam, a female dolphin at Dolphin Lagoon, succumbed to a stress-related illness, acute gastritis. On March 5, 2001, it was reported that “Namtam went into shock, lost consciousness and died” (The Straits Times, 28th March 2001.) A male dolphin called Jumbo was observed to be exhibiting signs of stress in 2003. In April 2003, Jumbo had eleven teeth extracted as he had been fighting with another dolphin through the bars separating their lagoons. Scientific evidence indicates that extreme mental and physical stress in captive dolphins is revealed by aggression between themselves.

These two cases are a clear indication that the welfare of the dolphins at Dolphin Lagoon has been seriously compromised.

The greatest abuse suffered by captive dolphins perhaps lies in confinement itself. Dolphins are highly pelagic animals and have large home ranges of about 30-400 square kilometres in the wild. The Dolphin Lagoon in Singapore measures one hectare; this represents only 0.0003 per cent of the dolphin’s natural home range! Clearly, this is detrimental to the welfare of the animals.

Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins are notoriously shy animals, actively avoiding humans and boats in the wild, so forcing them to participate in contact sessions with humans seriously compromises their welfare and will undoubtedly cause stress.

During the petting sessions as observed in 2003, the dolphins were made to lie in shallow water with part of their body out of the water, exposing their sensitive skin to the hot sun. This is obviously highly stressful and uncomfortable for the dolphins and could result in health problems.

The unnatural acts during the dolphin shows (documented in 2003) contradict earlier statements by UWS stating that the dolphins would not be made to perform tricks “which are unnatural”. These unnatural tricks such as beaching themselves on the land are undoubtedly physically stressful and go against the natural instincts of the dolphins.

As of 2003, food deprivation was allegedly used as a training method for the dolphins at Dolphin Lagoon. Dolphin Lagoon staff revealed to Acres (recorded on video, 24th of August 2003) that: “The time we feed them is actually during the show. When they do something correct, we feed them. This is called positive reinforcement, a method by us to train the dolphins.” It was said that Han and Euang (the performing dolphins) were fed 6.5 kg of fish during the course of the three daily shows, out of the total 7.5 kg of fish fed to them for the whole day. Therefore, it appeared they did not perform the circus tricks because they enjoyed doing it. Rather, they performed due to the fact that they were hungry and would only get food for doing a trick correctly.
 
As of 2003, it appeared that the dolphins did not have a significant alternative source of food other than the dead fish fed to them during the shows. Haw Par claimed there were fish in the lagoon and that the dolphins hunted and ate these fish in addition to the food provided by the staff. However, in response to a query regarding the presence of fish in the lagoon, a member of Dolphin Lagoon staff stated that: “There are some, but usually quite small, so they do a form of play, they catch it for fun” (recorded on video, 24th August 2003).

Help us campaign against the captive dolphin industry.

top

......................................................................................................................