THEY'VE KILLED IRIS !!!
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On April 13th, 2003 the tragic news reached us : after a long and serious
depression the dolphin Iris died in her small pool in the Zoo in Duisburg,
probably around March 23th, 2003. Despite our urgent request the so-called
"keepers" refused to treat her. According to our sources, it could have
been a long programmed euthanasia in order to silence the living scandal
that this brave dolphin was victim of.
Iris was one of the thousand bottlenose dolphins living in captivity, but
because of her zeal for living, her will to defend her son in the hell of
the Antwerp Zoo and finally of her refusal to participate in all the shows,
she has become the symbol and perhaps even the hero of the mad captivity and
destructive industry.
Instead of letting her die in this scandalous way it would have been very
simple to bring her to a retirement lagoon. She would have quickly found
enough reasons to live and to become healthy again. and perhaps even to be
free again. Nothing has been gained. Iris was killed. Thousands of others
await the same fate, we know today that not a single captive dolphin leaves
its captivity alive.
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The responsabilities are heavy in the death of Iris.
For the management of Duisburg :
Mainly for economic reasons, Iris was left to her fate. She could have been
taken to a beach lagoon such as Conyland or the dolphinarium in Harderwijck
where she could have lived under better circumstances but this was not an
option because of budgetary reasons. Iris was only 33 years of age.
Even in captivity she could easily have lived another 20 years on condition
that she would live in decent living circumstances. Proof is that, although
exceptional, Nelly in Marineland (Florida) reached the age of 50.
The German press did not even report the death of Iris. Not even the website
of the zoo, apparently she is still alive.
Worst still. in February 2003 we received a message from our correspondent
advising us that rumours were circulating that the trainers of the Duisburg
Zoo were preparing for Easter "something will be done for Iris". More he did
not know what. In our naïvety we believed in a positive change but this was
not so. Probably the euthanasia was being prepared.
For the management of the Antwerp Zoo :
In 1997 and 1998 we repeatedly notified the Antwerp Zoo of the dangers
involved in transporting their last dolphins to Germany.
At that time successfull rehabilitation plans were being applied. There are
many examples. They were refused and, this is the climax, because for the
safety of the dolphins. Once the dolphins arrived none of the Antwerp
trainers who were so attached to the animals found it worthwhile to help
their "dolphins". In 1999 the press assured us that the situation was
absolutely "normal", regardless of the constant fighting between the two
dominant male dolphins and the deep depression of Iris. Her last pregnancy
resulted in a dead calf and was a clear sign of her depression.
For activists :
We are still waiting for plans and common consultations to build a "retreat
and rehabilitation lagoon" in a confined bay where captive dolphins could
sojourn to gain strength prior to being returned to their native habitats.
These last years different suggestions have been made but no unanimous
decisions were reached. It is, however the only acceptable solution for most
of the "old" dolphins such as Iris, kept in captivity in Europe.
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Finally, we would like to add that, according to Rick O'Barry, depressions
are very frequent and almost unavoidable after several years of captivity.
But of course, this syndrome is kept hidden by the pleasure industry.
Euthanasia is often used on old dolphins as on other animals in captivity
that are no longer showable to the public and thus only costs money. This is
a universal economic law which holds true for every zoo and every circus in
the world.
Shocked ?
Not really, if we see the example of European laws that all none human
animals have no conscience and that we are free to deal with them as "real
estate"....even if they are endowed with memory, cultures, languages and
moral intelligence such as dolphins.
Please send your reactions to the Zoo of Duisburg.
Thank you.