Two dolphins have been abandoned in a small tank in the mountains of Santa Lucia, Guatemala. They were left behind by Ricardo and Ruben Roca of the infamous traveling dolphin show "Water Land" when the authorities closed in on them for not being able to provide legal documents for them.
The tank measures just 8 meters in diameter and is 4 meters deep. It has been crudely made by digging a hole in the ground, lining the hole with a waterproof fabric and then filling it with city water, chlorine, and salt. A three foot cement wall has been built around it.
For several months these two dolphins Turbo and Ariel have been confined in a tank that has no shade or proper filtration system. Ruben and Ricardo Roca left them behind to perish and with no one to tend to their needs. The environmental organization MadreSelva and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) have worked to stabilize the situation, feeding the hungry dolphins fresh fish and making sure the filthy water was replaced with clean water.
Turbo and Ariel have been temporarily confiscated by CONAP (The National Council of Protected Areas) until a judge has decided what is going to happen to them. The judge can either choose to let Turbo and Ariel return to the sea, or he can choose to send them back to Water Land or another captivity facility.
There is no time to waste. We have received news that a decision will be made over the next couple of days. Please send the letter written in Spanish below immediately which kindly urges the judge (who is very open to suggestions and takes public opinion seriously) not to send the dolphins back to Water Land or any other captive facility. The letter asks that Turbo and Ariel be rehabilitated and released back into the wild as soon as possible.
Thank you. There is no need to email me a copy of your letter.
Gwen McKenna
IN SUBJECT LINE TYPE: LIBEREN A LOS DELFINES
Excelentísimo Señor Juez:
Nos dirigimos a usted, por el caso de los dos delfines que fueron confiscados a los traficantes de animales. Estamos apelando a su sensibilidad, para que considere que -en este caso- la evidencia decomisada a los ilegales no son armas, autos o drogas. Son seres vivos, que han estado y están sometidos a niveles altos de sufrimiento. De la decisión que usted tome, dependerá que estos dos delfines puedan recobrar su libertad, o que se les condene a vivir para siempre como esclavos e incluso que mueran pronto.Los ojos de mucha gente alrededor del mundo, que amamos a los animales, estarán puestos en usted. Confiamos en que tendrá la sabiduría para tomar la decisión correcta.
Por favor: LIBEREN A LOS DELFINES
Atentamente,
EMAIL TO: lamaga@intelnet.net.gt
Licenciado Wilfredo Porres
Juez de Primera Instancia de
Narcoactividad y delitos contra el Ambiente
Sacatepéquez, Guatemala
Your name and address
On 3rd May 2000, the Australian Minister of Sport and Tourism, Jackie Kelly, announced in a media release that federal government funding ($545
(Australian) would be made available for the Pet Porpoise Pool at Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, to construct a pool for visitors to swim with the three dolphins currently confined there.
In June 1999 the PPP's licence was extended for the keeping and displaying of dolphins, conditional on the existing dolphin pool being used for no more than the three bottlenose dolphins currently held at the site. The extension was also conditional on the facility complying with current dolphin standards, including the need for a larger pool, according to the 1989 Dolphin Standards, under the New South Wales Exhibited Animals Act. The facility is still not up to standard but now wants to build a new pool for a swim with the dolphins program.
Please write and ask Minister Kelly to reconsider offering this funding, stating that money would be better spent on improving the welfare of the dolphins currently held at PPP and helping the facility phase out cetacean captivity. Stress your concerns for the welfare of the animals, the potential for disease transmission from human to dolphin or vice versa; the fact that dolphins may be forced into interactions with humans and have little refuge or respite from these actions and the fact that in so many interaction programmes, dolphins are captured from the wild and/or transported thousands of miles to suffer the effects of confinement in captivity.
Stress that in their report of 1995, the Australian Senate Select Committee on Animal Welfare found that cetaceans suffer stress, behavioural
abnormalities,
high mortalities, decreased longevity and breeding problems.
Please write to:
Please send copies of your letters to the following two people and also to me.
Bob Debus
Thanks for all your help in stopping yet another captive swim with facility establish!!
Jackie Kelly
Minister for Sport and Tourism
Parliament House
Canberra
ACT 2600
Australia
Fax: + 61 2 6273 4571
Richard Amery
Minister for Agriculture
Level 17 Park View,
157 Liverpool Street
Sydney
NSW 2000
Australia
Fax: + 61 2 9372 0199
Minister for the Environment
PO Box A290
Sydney
NSW 2000
Australia
Fax: + 61 2 9281 1115
Cathy Williamson
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
Alexander House
James Street West
Bath BA1 2BT
United Kingdom
Tel: + 44 1225 334 511
Fax: + 44 1225 480 097
http://www.wdcs.org
Hello everyone,
Many of you are aware of the ugly situation that has developed in Neah Bay, Washington State, over the past few days, so please excuse any duplication. The situation that has developed around Makah whalers' attempts to kill gray whales is, in our opinion, so serious that it needs to be known widely and protested vigorously. Below, we have some specific suggestions as to how you can become involved, but first want to tell you what has happened.
In two separate incidents, the US Coast Guard (USCG) has attacked and injured protesters. The first incident was on April 17th, when a vessel belonging to the World Whale Police was rammed by a hard-bottomed USCG inflatable. The unprovoked attack was so violent that the inflatable broke windows and ended up on the roof of the protest vessel. A Canadian crew member, Julie Woodyer, was knocked unconscious and taken to hospital. Fortunately, her injuries were not serious. The second incident occurred on April 20th, when a USCG vessel ran right over a protester, Erin Abbott, on a jet ski. Her collarbone was broken in two places; she also suffered cracked ribs and has leg and hip injuries. Erin is lucky to be alive.
Thanks to the protesters, no whales have been killed yet. One was struck by a harpoon, but escaped with unknown injuries.
To us, the legal situation surrounding the issue of Makah whaling is very clear. It is illegal. The only "law" applicable is that of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) which has been given the responsibility, by international agreement, for regulating whaling. THE IWC HAS NOT APPROVED MAKAH WHALING. We cannot emphasise this fact enough. It is beyond our understanding that most of the media continues to accept the lie of the US government... proving, we suppose, that a lie told often enough, if it is big enough, will be accepted as truth. The gullibility of the mainstream media over this issue is disconcerting in the extreme; the tone of coverage of the Makah whaling issue is a very bad sign for the future of freedom of expression.
Twenty-five years ago, when the first Greenpeace "Save the Whales" voyage took place, protesters who put their bodies between harpoons and whales were widely regarded as heroes. Now they are villified, assaulted, and arrested as criminals by the nation that was once the biggest defender of whales. We note that neither Russia nor Japan have used deadly force to quell protests against whaling. Today, the USA uses deadly force casually, as a matter of course, as though it is an ordinary route to resolving disputes. Our belief, as ever, remains that tyranny will fail in the end: ANY WALL CAN FALL.
SUGGESTIONS FOR ACTION:
We'll try to keep you informed about further developments, but you should be aware that this situation is likely to continue for some time. FIVE Makah families have stated their intention to kill whales this year!
Our thoughts are with the whales, who's innocence in this sad affair cannot be questioned, and with the people who are trying to help them.
Please get involved, however you can!
Paul & Helena.
Despite the feeling of futility many of you must be experiencing, there are numerous ways in which you can express your opinion about this issue, and several ways in which you can help directly:
1. Call your local media (tv, radio, & newspaper). Tell them what's happening & ask them to cover the Makah whaling story. Suggest they contact IWC Secretary Dr. Ray Gambell & ask whether the IWC has given the US/Makah permission to kill gray whales. The contact address & #s are:
2. Call media in the Seattle area. Ask for the News Desk or complaint line. Tell them to cover both sides of the Makah whaling story. Ask them why they do not state that the IWC has not given the Makah permission to kill whales. Tell them to contact IWC Secretary Gambell (above) to get the facts.
Here are some Seattle #s:
Komo TV: 206-443-4000
Kiro TV: 206-728-7777
NW Cable News and King TV: 206-448-5555
Seattle PI - Reader Representative Line: 206-448-8051
Seattle Times - Reader Response Line: 206-464-3310
3. If you're a US citizen, call your congressional representatives and tell them what you think. The U.S. Capitol # is: (202) 224-3121.
4. Contact Coast Guard Admiral James M. Loy by telephone at 202-267-2390. Ask him to control USCG actions at Neah Bay and launch an immediate investigation into the incidents on June 17th & 20th.
For international calls, the US country code is "1".
5. Donate money. Call Olson's Resort and Marina in Sekiu, Washington, at 1-360-963-2311. Use your credit card to make a donation towards fuel and room rental to the groups involved in the protest.
6. Vote! Go to the following address, and cast your vote (curently 65% oppose):
Seattle Insider
7. If you're outside the US (as most of you are), call or fax the US embassy or consulate nearest you. World wide information for US representatives is at:
http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/directory.htm
The instructions are fairly simple to follow, but do take time. It's probably best to connect to "consular" in the main menu for a particular location. It might be faster for you to call telephone directory information & get the phone/fax numbers there. A fax addressed to the U.S. ambassador or consul will probably get the most attention.
8. Demonstrate! Even one sign outside one US government office will be noticed! If you can mount a demo outside a US embassy, consulate, trade mission or other agency, no matter how big or small, do it! Call the media & ask them to cover your protest.
After the success with legislation being implemented
against orca captures in Argentine waters last year,
WEF have a great chance of getting this passed, with
your help. The support of as many groups and
individuals as possible is needed for the following law
project to be passed.
Law Project #013/00
Fundamentals:
On 1996, this Legislature chamber submited a
Declaration (23/96) which article 1 stated a strong
opposition and repudiation to the orcas capture
requested by Mar del Plata Aquarium. The article 2 of
this Declaration denied any possibility of captures in
our Province's waters. There are many laws that ban the
hunt of marine fauna, and in one specific case the law
#2502 ban only the orcas (Killer whales) live captures.
But our marine fauna we also have sea lions, elephant
seals, porpoises and dolphins, which have a wide range
of different species.
That's why the objective of this project is to get a
whole and definitive protection at least in our
Province, trying to stop gradually the sad news as the
orca Belen's who died in captivity last february.
It is our wish that the rest of the argentine Provinces
that we invited to adopt similar measures could count
with a similar law as soon as possible to save and
protect all the marine mammals that live in the
Argentina atlantic coast.
We invite [everyone] to submit their opinion about the
project to enhance its text and to contribute with the
future regulation.
It is very important to let know the Honourable
Legislature of the Argentine Chubut Province that the
project of the deputee Argentina Noemi Martinez must be
approved as a law to protect marine mammals from live
captures for public display in captivity.
E-mail: legis_chubut@cpsarg.com
Support letters applauding her work on behalf of the
marine mammals to:
Please send copies of your letters to WDCS and we will
pass them on to WEF. Thank you for all your help!!
Regards,
*Please write your letter in Spanish*
Submitted to Chubut Province Legislature on march the
13rd 2000
ARTICLE 1: Prohibition of any possibility of capture of
marine mammals using any method, in the waters of the
atlantic department of the Chubut Province
ARTICLE 2: In the case of accidental stranding of any
marine mammal, the animal could be assisted to save its
life or recover its health after what the animal MUST
be released on its natural environment. (The case of
stranded cetacean will be specified on the regulation,
the stranded cetacean must be assisted and it is not
allowed to transfere them to a tank for rehabilitation
under no circumstances).
ARTICLE 3: Those who violate the above articles will be
punished with fines from one million dollars as stated
in the National Law #25052
ARTICLE 4: To submit the present law to the argentine
provinces of Buenos Aires, Rio Negro, Santa Cruz and
Tierra del Fuego, with the objective to invite their
representatives to adopt equal measures for their
coasts.
ARTICLE 5: The Law will be regulated during the 90 days
following to its approval.
The word "prohibition" does not seem to have place in a
democratic state. Unfortunately in this case it is
essential to use this word which seems to be the only
way to stop certain situations related to our marine
fauna.
With cc: to the deputees from another groups that will
have to vote for the law being approved:
bloucr@infovia.com.ar
blopjcht@infovia.com.ar
blofpaso@infovia.com.ar
bibliocht@infovia.com.ar
Deputee Argentina Noemi Martinez
pjargentina@arnet.com.ar
Cathy Williamson
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
Alexander House
James Street West
Bath BA1 2BT
United Kingdom
Tel: + 44 1225 334 511
Fax: + 44 1225 480 097
http://www.wdcs.org
VANCOUVER AQUARIUM:
Bjossa, who appeared to be on the mend last week
after being treated for a suspected respiratory
infection, has shown an increase in her white blood
cell count, Nightingale said, adding that something in
the environment, possibly the surrounding cedar trees,
may be the culprit.
An immunologist from St. Paul's Hospital who
specializes ub rare blood disorders is checking on the
orca.
Surrounding cedar trees the culprit???
More like surrounding sewage and concrete walls, Dr.
Nightmare!
On Monday March 20, we'll be going to the Park Board to
urge the commissioners to amend the 1996 bylaw to
restrict all imports of whales and dolphins into the
Vancouver Public Aquarium. You must call 257-8451 by
tomorrow Friday at Noon to register to speak at the
meeting.
If you haven't sent the Park Board an e-mail message
yet, please do so by the weekend. A short message will
do: NO NEW DOLPHINS!
Park Board E-mail Addresses:
Please contact me if you need more info.
Many thanks!
Annelise Sorg, Director
Infection suspected as Bjossa not in clear yet
Bjossa the killer whale is not in the clear yet.
Vancouver Aquarium director John Nightingale says.
In an interview Wednesday night Nightingale
said the star of one of Vancouver's tourism crown
jewels may be suffering from a fungal infection related
to her surroundings.
Roslyn Cassels
Clarence Hansen
Dianne Ledingham
Laura McDiarmid
Chris Richardson
Terri Clark
COALITION FOR NO WHALES IN CAPTIVITY
Tel: (604) 736-9514
Fax: (604) 731-2733
Website:
http://www.whaleprotection.org">
p>
Bjossa the killer whale, the star attraction at one of
Vancouver's tourism crown jewels, is
suffering from a potentially life-threatening
respiratory illness and has been removed from public
display.
The 23-year-old Bjossa, the only killer whale left in
captivity at the Vancouver Aquarium, has been battling
a bacterial infection for more than a month.
Her condition recently deteriorated to the point where
she needed to be moved to an isolation pool and
monitored regularly by aquarium staff, who are
administering antibiotic medication.
"It's a real serious illness," said Dave Huff, a
veterinarian who has treated Bjossa since she arrived
at the aquarium in 1980. "But it's very, very difficult
to focus in on." Huff said blood samples taken
Wednesday could isolate the problem and indicate
whether she has pneumonia.
Officials at the aquarium said they are not concerned
about the survivability of the Stanley Park facility if
their star attraction dies.
"No matter what happens to Bjossa, this institution is
very strong," said John
Nightingale, executive director of the aquarium. "I'm
not worried about its future."
Nightingale said he has been talking to other aquariums
in an effort to find a mate for Bjossa, who has been
without an Orca for company since Finna, her male
companion, died of pneumonia in 1997. He said the
search has been put on hold while staff are tending to
Bjossa, but could eventually be resumed.
"Our whole focus is on Bjossa right now," he said.
"We're just not thinking about anything else. It's a
very serious situation and it's being treated
that way."
The aquarium's lease with the Vancouver park board sets
out conditions governing whale acquisitions.
It states the aquarium cannot catch any cetaceans,
which includes whales and dolphins, from the wild or
import into the aquarium a cetacean that was caught
after October 1996. The aquarium can bring in whales
that were raised in captivity or caught prior to that
date.
Bjossa, who was caught off the coast of Iceland, has
given birth three times while in captivity, but each
time the calves have died. The longest-lived
calf survived for only a few weeks. Peter Hamilton,
founder of Lifeforce, an organization with 250 members
that advocates the release of whales held in captivity,
said he believes Bjossa's containment has negatively
affected her health.
"It's about the time with captive killer whales when
she would die, since they
don't live past about 20 to 25 years in captivity,"
said Hamilton, who added that the female whales can
live for 50 years in the wild.
Larry Dill, a behaviour ecologist at Simon Fraser
University, confirmed that killer whales in the wild do
tend to live longer than their captive
counterparts.
Annelise Sorg of the Vancouver-based Coalition For No
Whales In Captivity said: "We were expecting this.
Bjossa is an old whale in captivity. This is how most
whales in captivity die, because of living in such a
confined space with their own sewage."
But Nightingale said the research in this area to date
is inconclusive and that
because of improved treatment and research, captive
whales are living much longer than they did when they
were first placed in aquariums.
Bjossa weighs about 2,500 kilograms (5,500 pounds) and
is 5.6 metres (just under 19 feet) in length. She is
the Vancouver Aquarium's seventh whale -- including her
three calves -- since the aquarium began displaying the
animals in 1968.
Posted by Annelise Sorg
Please post this ACTION ALERT on other lists!
Dear Friends,
I have very bad news. Bjossa, the lone surviving orca
whale at the Vancouver Aquarium is very ill. She has
caught pneumonia and it's the same type that killed her
mate Finna inside that concrete pool three years ago.
Bjossa is so sick that the Aquarium has stopped the
whale shows and isolated her from the tourists. The
Aquarium is now desperately trying to find another
whale to bring to Vancouver so they can continue
profiting from this cruel practice.
WRITE TO:
Board of Governors
For more information, please read the Vancouver Sun
tomorrow Thursday March 2.
Thank you.
2- If they decided to import an orca from another place
they will be forcing two different kind of orcas to
share the
same tank. The behaviour of the orcas from Patagonia
is very
different from the Vancouver, Iceland and Norway ones.
Argentine orcas from Valdes Peninsula have a behaviour
that is
similar to the transient orcas from the norwest
Pacific. They have
a big territory and they feed on other marine mammals
(sea lions,
elephant seals, dolphins, and even southern right
whales calves and
young ones). To capture a sea lion they strand
theirelves in the
coast and then return back to the sea with its prey.
(Please, Hugo, tell us if any of my comments are wrong)
It is very little what we know from patagonian orcas
behaviour
and how they would react if sharing their space with
another kind of orca.
So we can't allow this to happen.
3- As Kshamenk is condemmed to live the rest of his
life alone in his
tank, and living alone is very bad for such a social
mammal, don't
you think it would be a good idea to start asking for
Kshamenk's FREEDOM?
Of course Mundo Marino will refuse to free Kshamenk,
but we can start
campaigning with the second step of the Orcas Libres
campaign to stop
orcas display and in the same time ask for the
releasing of the male orca.
Gabriela M. Bellazzi
Check this out, complete w/video of dolphins in
captivity:
As of February 10, we have learned that the Virginia
Marine Science Museum is planning to spend $50 million
on building a new exhibit including the
dolphin tank: $30 million will be funded by Virginia
Beach residents, $10
million by Virginia residents, and the other $10
million from various
sources, including the federal government—your tax
dollars at work!
The museum director, Mac Rawls, is pitching this
project as an expansion of
the stranding center. However when asked directly by
Lisa Lange, PETA's
director of policy and communications, at an
informational meeting, how much
of that money would be spent on the stranding center
itself, Mac Rawls
refused to answer. From the plans unveiled at this
point, it appears that if
any money is to go toward the stranding center, it will
be a very minute
part of this multimillion dollar atrocity.
The museum wants to build a fancy dolphin prison and
billing it as a
humanitarian effort. The plan remains to be formally
presented to the
Virginia Beach City Council for approval and funding.
Please tell the
Virginia Beach mayor and City Council that you are not
being fooled. Ask
them to vote NO DOLPHIN PRISON IN VIRGINIA BEACH. Write
today!
Until now, the Virginia Marine Science Museum has been
known as a museum
that focuses largely on conservation and education.
Located only a few miles
from the Virginia Beach coast, the museum has taken
non-invasive, genuinely
educational approaches to its relationship with marine
mammals, such as offering excursions to see dolphins
where they live in their ocean homes.
But now the museum is taking a giant step backwards
with plans to add a
dolphin tank and hold at least six dolphins and several
seals captive.
Marine mammals suffer terribly in captivity, and public
opinion is decidedly
anti-captivity, but the Virginia Marine Science Museum
is sorely out of
touch on this issue.
Dolphins have come to symbolize complete freedom in
their marine
environment—a far cry from the truth behind the captive
whale and dolphin
business. This short video exposes this violent
industry.
(RealPlayer required)
Another captive orca, captured for public display, has
died in Argentina. Belen, a female, captured in
Argentinian waters in 1985 and held at the Acuario
Mundo Marino, died on Friday, 4th February. She leaves
her mate, Sharmenk, captured in 1992, solitary.
Belen's death adds fuel to the current controversy
surrounding the Argentine captivity industry. A recent
transfer of dolphins to another Argentine aquarium at
Mar del Plata, also ended in tragedy. Two of the four
bottlenose dolphins died on the journey of nearly 48
hours, after being transferred from Russia via
Frankfurt, Dakar, and Sao Paolo to arrive in Buenos
Aires on November 7th 1999. The necropsy report
revealed a dead male to have blood in his lungs and an
intestinal cyst. The dead female was six months
pregnant. The International Air Transport Association
(IATA) prohibits the transportation of heavily pregnant
dolphins. The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
(WDCS) were informed that the dolphins travelled
without a veterinarian present and reports suggest that
two dolphins were carried in one container.
The Mar del Plata Aquarium also keeps two beluga
whales. Argentina's consultant to CITES (the Convention
for the International Trade in Endangered Species) says
recommendations to construct a chiller and a partial
roof for the comfort and welfare of these arctic
species have never been addressed. This problem, and
the welfare of all the captive marine mammals held in
Argentina is compounded by the fact that existing
national regulations are not being properly enforced by
the authorities. This enables the captive installations
to violate these regulations and provide a very low
standard of care for the confined animals.
For further information:
Please contact Cathy Williamson at WDCS on telephone
number: + (44) 01225 334 511
Notes for editors:
The captivity industry's push to establish a
dolphinarium in the Netherland's
Antilles continues with a proposed dolphin park in St.
Maarten. Reports suggest
that the dolphins will be caught off the coast of St.
Maarten or Saba, in the
Netherland's Antilles. A company called Waterside
Development is proposing this
development project in St. Maarten to include a
dolphinarium.
Swim-with-the-dolphins has been mentioned. Dolphin
Encounters is the company
proposing the establishment of this facility.
More details to follow but there is no time to lose in
writing letters lobbying against such a facility!
Please write now to:
Please send copies of your letters to the local
newspaper:
Ask the Editor to print your letters
Thank you for all your help!
(San Francisco) Earth Island Institute today protested
new rules and a new label released by the Clinton
Administration's U.S. Department of Commerce that
falsely purports to protect dolphins.
"You would have to look long and hard to find a more
extreme example of doublespeak," charged David
Phillips, Director of Earth Island
Institute's International Marine Mammal Project.
"Calling a fishing method 'dolphin safe' that has
killed more dolphins than any other cause in history is
a complete sham."
"Consumers should AVOID canned tuna with the Commerce
Dept. label -- that tuna was caught by chasing,
injuring, and netting of dolphins," Phillips added.
The Commerce Dept. has released a new, official
"dolphin safe" mark for tuna labels which will
seriously weaken the current dolphin-safe standards and
promises to mislead consumers. Earth Island Institute
and nine other environmental and animal welfare
organizations are suing the Commerce Dept. over the
deceptive label. The Commerce Dept.'s new
"dolphin-safe" logo could appear on supermarket shelves
within the next month. The new rules governing the
bogus "dolphin safe" label and lifting of embargoes
against dolphin-deadly tuna will go into effect on Feb.
2nd, 2000. Leading tuna producers and retailers,
including the largest tuna companies in the world
(StarKist, Bumble Bee, and Chicken of the Sea), have
pledged to follow a true dolphin-safe standard in which
no dolphins are encircled in the purse seine nets
during the entire tuna fishing trip (See attached
list). But the Commerce Dept., bowing to trade pressure
from Mexican tuna millionaires and in order to avoid
sanctions from the World Trade Organization (WTO), has
weakened the standards for the "dolphin safe" mark.
Under the Commerce Dept. regulations, dolphins may be
chased, harassed, netted, and even injured and killed
while catching tuna, as long as an on-board observer
does not see dolphins killed or "seriously injured"
while capturing the tuna. Furthermore, dolphin-deadly
tuna and this phony "dolphin safe" tuna can be mixed
aboard the vessel, encouraging cheating and rendering
"dolphin safe" meaningless. Consumers will not be able
to tell if the tuna they are buying is truly "dolphin
safe," caught WITHOUT netting and harming dolphins, or
not. The lucrative U.S. tuna market will act as an
incentive for the chasing and killing of tens of
thousands of dolphins.
More than 7 million dolphins have been killed by this
fishing technique of targeting and netting dolphins to
catch the tuna which swim beneath. The government's
own scientists have concluded that despite the
reduced reported dolphin mortality by Mexican,
Venezuelan, and Columbian tunaboats, dolphin
populations are not recovering from their seriously
depleted status. Consumers can ensure the protection of
dolphins by looking for tuna sold by the companies that
have pledged to buy only truly "dolphin safe"
tuna, e.g. tuna caught without chasing and netting of
dolphins. These companies subscribe to independent
monitoring of their activities to ensure
that their tuna is caught without any harm or
harassment to dolphins.
VIDEO AVAILABLE: Video of the destructive effects of
chasing and netting dolphins is available on request.
Earth Island Institute is a nonprofit conservation and
education organization. The International Marine
Mammal Project works to protect whales, dolphins, and
other marine mammals.
For further information, contact Earth Island
Institute, 300 Broadway, Suite 28, San Francisco, CA
94133; (415) 788-3666; (415)
788-7324
(fax);
If it says "Department of Commerce",
It is a Dolphin Death Certificate!
Christine Wolf, Director of Government and
International Affairs The Fund for Animals
World Building
8121 Georgia Ave., Suite 301
Silver Spring, MD 20910 USA
PH: 301-585-2591 ext. 208
FX: 301-585-2595
e-mail: CWolf@fund.org
web: www.fund.org
Mr. Dhaliwal:
Fax 613-990-7292
e-mail: dhalih@parl.gc.ca
(alternate: herb.dhaliwal@xncr.dfo-mpo.x400.gc.ca)
For more information, please visit Zoocheck
Zoocheck Canada Inc.
3266 Yonge Street, Suite 1729
Toronto, ON M4N 3P6
Ph (416) 285-1744 Fax (416) 285-4670
E-Mail: zoocheck@idirect.com
Zoocheck Website
Registered Charity No. 0828459-54
USA - NMFS extends comment period on proposal to
designate the Cook Inlet, Alaska, stock of beluga
whales as depleted under the MMPA
On October 31, 1999, NMFS proposed to designate the
Cook Inlet, Alaska, stock of beluga whales as depleted
under the MMPA (64 FR 56298). Subsequently, NMFS
received several requests from the public to extend the
comment period for an
additional 30 days to allow the public more time to
review and comment on the proposed designation. NMFS
agrees that an additional 30 days for public comments
is warranted and extends the comment period through
January 19, 2000 (64 FR 70678).
Comments should be addressed to the Chief, Marine
Mammal Division, Office of Protected Resources, NMFS,
1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Payne,
NOAA/NMFS, Alaska Region, (907) 586-7235, or Brad
Smith, NOAA/NMFS, Alaska Region, Anchorage Field
Office, (907) 271-5006.
Until now, the Virginia Marine Science Museum has been
known to focus largely on conservation and education.
But now the museum is taking a giant step backwards
with plans to add a dolphin tank and hold at least six
dolphins and several seals captive.
Marine mammals suffer terribly in captivity, and public
opinion is decidedly anti-captivity, but the Marine
Science Museum is sorely out of touch on this issue.
Please call or write the Marine Science Museum today
and ask it to abandon plans to add a captive-dolphin
display to the museum. Instead, the funds should be
used to expand the museum's stranding center, which
helps animals in need and contributes to local
conservation efforts. Real-time videos of the museum's
rehabilitation efforts broadcast into the aquarium
theater, on the Internet, and into classrooms would
provide a unique educational experience to tourists and
residents alike.
Please write a polite letter to:
Mr. Mac Rawls
Executive Director
Virginia Marine Science Museum
717 General Booth Blvd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
Tel.: 757-437-4949
Fax: 757-437-4976
Here are some points to make:
The Honorable Meyera E. Oberndorf
James Spore, City Manager
Please check PETA's
for updates to the campaign.
Please send this alert far and wide.
Dear List Members,
Below is a copy of my fax sent to the Virginia Marine
Science Museum. Please use the text in your protest if
you so wish.
I faxed this letter to Mr Rawls through the internet
using the new FAX4Free website. As you can see it's
FREE and great for me as I'm in Australia. With
FAX4FREE you can send a free fax from anywhere in the
world to the
U.S.A., Canada and Australia.
I would suggest that everyone get signed up and use
this service for sending protests. Many people believe
that email protests are inaffective and while I
disagree faxing is now free, so why not.
FAX4FREE
Mr. Mac Rawls
Executive Director
Virginia Marine Science Museum
717 General Booth Blvd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
tel: 757-437-4949 fax: 757-437-4976
7th January, 2000
Dear Mr. Rawls,
I ask you to reconsider building a dolphin house for
dolphins and seals at the Virginia Marine Science
Museum, located near Virginia Beach. This project is a
far cry from the museum's high quality marine mammal
stranding center and will stand in stark contrast to
the valuable work the stranding center does with sick
and wounded marine mammals.
Captivity is cruel. Dolphins are unsuited to being
taken from the wild and held in tanks or pools. They
can suffer greatly, both psychologically and
physically, and it is inappropriate for an educational
facility to expose them to such suffering simply to
entertain visitors.
I have been told the museum runs a topnotch stranding
center. If you choose to build more tanks, they would
be more suited to rehabilitating additional sick or
wounded animals not for warehousing healthy animals for
the public's amusement. It is distressing that the
museum would work so hard to rehabilitate and release
marine mammals while considering holding other marine
mammals captive for profit.
Education is no longer an excuse for holding marine
mammals captive. We can and should educate our children
without exploiting animals. A true understanding and
appreciation of marine mammals will not come from
looking at animals trapped in tanks with every aspect
of their existence regulated. What people really learn
when they look at caged animals is how animals act in
captivity and that it's acceptable to keep animals in
captivity bored, cramped, lonely, and far from their
natural homes.
Sir, please abandon plans to add a captive-dolphin
display to the museum.
Yours Sincerely,
OUTSIDE THE VANCOUVER
PUBLIC AQUARIUM
Sunday, March 5. 2000
at Noon sharp
Please make a difference and come to the protest - and
bring lots of friends and family!
BUT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH! Please phone/e-mail/fax (best
to fax or phone!) the Vancouver Aquarium and the
Vancouver Park Board TODAY and urge them to stop
bringing new whales and start phasing out the whale
exhibits in Stanley Park.
Chairman and Commissioners
Vancouver Park Board
2099 Beach Avenue
Vancouver, BC Canada V6G 1Z4
FAX: (604) 257-8427
Or contact Susan Mundick
General Manager
Tel. (604) 257-8448
http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks
Vancouver Public Aquarium Association
PO Box 3232, Vancouver, BC Canada V6B 3X8
FAX: (604)659-3515
Or contact Clint Wright
Marine Mammal Curator
Tel: (604) 659-3437
E-mail:
http://www.vancouver-aquarium.org/feedback/guestbk.htm<
br>
Annelise Sorg, Director
COALITION FOR NO WHALES IN CAPTIVITY
Box 461, 1755 Robson St.
Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6G 3B7
Tel: (604) 736-9514
Fax: (604) 731-2733
E-mail: annelise@direct.ca
http://www.whalep
rotection.org
After Belen's death, the orca male Kshamenk will be
held
alone on his tank at Mundo Marino.
1- If another orca "accidental strands" near the
oceanarium,
and the "rescue" ends with captivity for
"rehabilitation"
they will be breaking the law, as orca captures are
banned in
Argentina and to take a cetacean from its natural
environment
is in fact a capture (to rescue an animal means to
return it
immediately to the wild).
Vice President
W.E.F. Wild Earth Foundation/Tierra Salvaje
Dto. de Fauna
U9121XAQ Puerto Pirámides, Península Valdés
Chubut, Argentina
Phone/fax: 542965 49-5008
There are currently 50 orcas held captive in marine
parks worldwide.
At least 134 orcas have been taken into captivity from
the wild since 1961.
104 of these are now dead.
The average survival time in captivity for these 104
animals is under 6 years (range 1 day - 27.2 years).
Of 55 known pregnancies in captivity worldwide since
1968, only 21captive-born calves (38%) have survived.
In 1998, legislation was passed in Argentina to ban the
hunting or capture of orcas in Argentine waters.
The premature deaths of 12 dolphins imported in the
early 1990s from the Black Sea led the Argentine
Authorities to put legislation in place to suspend
further imports of these dolphins into the country. The
tragic transfer, by Lufthansa Cargo, of four Black Sea
bottlenose dolphins to the Mar del Plata Aquarium in
November 1999 occurred in spite of this suspension.
In December 1999, Lufthansa cargo announced an end to
its commerical transfer of whales and dolphins. This
followed pressure from WDCS Germany and the
international outcry that followed the transfer in
November. Lufthansa has also put an end to any further
transfer of whales and dolphins on all its flights
pending an investigation into the deaths last year.
How you can help.
Executive Council of the Island Territory of Sint
Maarten
P.O. Box 943
Philipsburg
St. Maarten
Netherlands Antilles
Fax: + 599 5 24884
Advise them against allowing such a project to go
ahead.
The Editor
Daily Herald
Front Street 17
P.O. Box 82
Philipsburg
Sint Maarten
Netherlands Antilles
Fax: + 599 5 25913
Cathy Williamson
Captivity Campaigner
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
Alexander House
James Street West
Bath BA1 2BT
United Kingdom
Tel: + 44 1225 334 511
Fax: + 44 1225 480 097
http://www.wdcs.org
DECEMBER 17th 1999
Dolphins don't fare well in captivity. Some researchers
believe that dolphins may be the most socially bonded
beings on Earth. So imagine the trauma that they
experience when they are torn from their lifelong
families and caged alone or with strangers in the
artificial world of an aquarium tank.
Captive dolphins navigate and communicate by bouncing
sonar waves off other objects to determine shape,
density, distance, and location. In captivity, the
reverberations from their own sonar bouncing back at
them off tank walls drive some dolphins insane. Ulcers
are so common in captive dolphins that most aquariums
stock Pepto-Bismol.
Life in a tank is literally a death sentence. Dolphins
can live up to 50 years, but more than half of all
captive dolphins die within the first two years of
captivity; those remaining live an average of only six
years.
One of the most tragic aspects of modern-day marine
mammal captivity programs is their dependency on Asian
"drive fisheries," in which dolphin pods are herded
into shore and bludgeoned to death so that their flesh
can be eaten or used for fertilizer; baby dolphins
captured in drive fisheries are sold to aquariums.
While U.S. aquariums are prohibited from buying
dolphins directly from drive fisheries, every time a
foreign aquarium does so, a different animal is moved
out of that aquarium and into another one, very often a
U.S. one. Thus, all aquariums are connected to this
killer industry through sales and transfers.
The Marine Science Museum currently runs a topnotch
stranding center. If more tanks are built, they should
be used for rehabilitating sick or wounded animals, not
for warehousing healthy animals for the publics
amusement.
The Marine Science Museum receives several million
dollars every year from the city. Please write polite
letters to the mayor and city manager of Virginia Beach
and voice your opposition to the dolphin tank.
In addition to the points above, please let the city
representatives know that adding a captive dolphin
display will decrease the number of tourists to the
area, as environmental groups such as Earth Island
Institute are already exploring boycotts of the
area.
2401 Courthouse Dr.
City Hall, Bldg. #1
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Tel.: 757-427-4581
Fax: 757-426-5699
E-Mail: ctycncl@city.virginia-beach.va.us
Municipal Center, Bldg. #1
2401 Courthouse Dr.
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Tel.: 757-427-4242
Fax: 757-427-4135
____________________
Presented To Us On January 5, 2000
From:
Whales On The Net
Thanks !!
