Captivity: The ordeal for dolphins and orcas
How can we imagine that cetaceans, born to traverse the oceans in complex social groups, can flourish in captivity? It is strictly impossible to meet the needs, in terms of well-being, of individuals torn from their families, condemned to crowded living conditions in small pools, forced to participate in shows and subjected to a deleterious environment (treated water, noise, bright sunshine). No independent expert will certify that a captive dolphin is satisfied with this life.
The welfare of cetaceans including dolphins and killer whales in captivity is a source of concern for scientists. Lori Marino, a neuroscientist and cetacean specialist, says that the fundamentals of their nature are incompatible with captivity.
The captivity of cetaceans in the world
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The intelligence of dolphins and orcas is such that their detention in captivity is torture. Their life expectancy is reduced by half! They who have a language, dialects, traditions, are forced to survive in concrete pools where there is nothing to do and rub shoulders with individuals they cannot flee from in case of a misunderstanding - how can we not forget the drama of little Aikko and the attacks that led to his death? Or Tilikum, made infamous after he killed his trainer, and at the heart of the film Blackfish, which moved the World...
Dolphinariums in France
As a member of Dolphinarium-Free Europe, a European coalition of NGOs, One Voice works with many internationally recognized experts to help ban Dolphinariums in France, as is already the case in many countries.
Its investigators closely monitor captive cetaceans in the three French marine parks. Among them, some have been found suffering:
- In the region of Paris: Femke a female dolphin, captured on the coast of Florida, and held in France since 2008. In 2016, Ekinox, her only son aged 6-years-old was sent to a dolphinarium in Greece. Since then she continues to wither and remains prostrate in a corner of the pool. According to marine mammal veterinarian Pierre Gallego, consultant for One Voice, Femke shows alarming symptoms (overweight, blisters on the belly and neck). She is probably suffering from muscle atrophy that prevents her from moving properly. In addition, the way she makes turns in the water suggests that she has problems with mobility of the head or spine.
- In Antibes: the killer whale Inuk is a male born in captivity in 1999. He does not grow properly. He lost his half-brother in the flood of 2015, and has been in great suffering ever since.
- In Port-Saint-Père near Nantes: the dolphins Galéo and Aïcko have never known the ocean and were deprived of their mother at a very early age. Bullied by older dolphins, none of the experts we consulted had ever seen a dolphin as lean as little Aikko. Since his death in 2016, his brother Galéo wanders around in the pool aimlessly.
One Voice's investigation in Taiji: hunting cetaceans for dolphinariums
In 2003, One Voice revealed to the world the link between dolphin fishing in Taiiji Bay, Japan, and the Dolphinariums. Images taken by our investigators and taken up by the media shows how, in the midst of dolphin corpses, traders and trainers make their market by selecting the most beautiful specimens.
A dolphin is trading at around $ 30,000, and while loaded with heavy metals dolphin meat has lost interest, it is estimated that dolphinariums today maintain this cruel 400-year-old tradition.
From October to April, fishermen massacre no less than 2,000 cetaceans each year. Thanks to an international mobilization, the number of victims has decreased and would have fallen to 800 dead since the season 2013/2014.
Intercepted during their migration, the dolphins are pursued until exhaustion or are stopped by a wall of sound, generated by metal rods struck against each other whilst immersed in the water. Trapped, the dolphins are herded into shallow waters using nets. The fishermen then separate the little ones from the mothers and start the massacre, and of course the selection process...
