Dolphins
are highly intelligent, social, and playful
animals. They love to travel long distances
at top speeds — sometimes close to 20 miles per
hour! They travel in pods, love to talk to
each other, and are known to play with things they find
in the sea — from seaweed to other marine
animals. The life of a dolphin in the wild
is one of joy and adventure.
But in captivity, dolphins'
natural behaviors and the joy that comes with them are
lost.
Dolphins
in dolphinariums are confined to small enclosures and
isolation, distressing them to the point of worrisome
and even harmful behaviors. Captive
dolphins swim in circles endlessly, exhibit
depression and aggression, and have even been
known to self-harm by ramming their heads into
walls, chewing on metal and concrete, and so on. Tragically, all of this
culminates in dolphins dying younger in captivity than
they would in the wild.
Thankfully,
Belgium has taken these concerns for
captive dolphins seriously and has become the
seventh country to ban dolphinariums!
But
many countries, including the United States, China, and
Japan, still keep hundreds of dolphins in
captivity, dooming them to lives of misery.
These countries must follow Belgium's lead and
end the practice of imprisoning dolphins for
entertainment for good!
Sign the petition to
demand that the United States, China, and Japan ban
dolphinariums!
