Dolphin Battle Heats Up Again

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

The attempt to keep an infant dolphin alive in South Sound this past weekend has galvanised efforts by the Keep it Wild Cayman organisation to prevent captive dolphin facilities from opening in the Cayman Islands.

According to Keep it Wild Cayman's organiser, Juliet Austin, the battle over whether captive dolphins will be allowed here is only just beginning. "I want to dispel the myth that it's a done deal," she said. "These companies do not have licences to import dolphins, they don't have planning permission, and they don't have the support of the majority of people who live here."

Several 'swim with dolphin' facilities have been proposed for Grand Cayman in West Bay, including one near the Turtle Farm called Dolphin Discovery and one near Morgan's Harbour called The Living Sea.

Last July, Keep it Wild presented the Minister of Agriculture, the Hon Gilbert McLean with a petition with over 2,000 signatures against captive dolphins in the Cayman Islands, but the plans for the swim with dolphins facilities here have continued. "They can ignore the petition," said Mrs Austin, "but we're not going away."

The next line of battle appears to be with the tourists that will provide the market for the facilities. "We're targeting the cruise ship passengers," said Mrs Austin. "The individual cruise lines that come here have already been contacted and asked for their stand on the controversy here and across the Caribbean."

Mrs Austin said that Keep it Wild will attempt to educate the tourists and the general public about the harm and inhumanity of keeping dolphins in captivity. "If consumers knew the truth, they wouldn't buy a ticket," she said. "We want to try to inform and educate people so that they can make an informed decision."

Because swim-with-dolphin facilities are becoming the new rage throughout the Caribbean, Mrs Austin says that many international organisations concerned with the welfare of dolphins are focusing on Cayman: "This is the newest place that dolphins are coming to. We're supposed to be a first world country. It has become widely accepted in many developed countries in the world that dolphins should not be subjected to this. As a developed nation, we must address this issue."

Mrs Austin said that Keep it Wild is becoming a force across the Caribbean and that Barbuda/Antigua will use the same logo as Cayman's organisation in their efforts to keep dolphins out of captivity in their country. Mrs Austin said that, within two weeks, bumper stickers would be available in Cayman for those who support their cause.

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