Letter to the Editor
Continuing public dialogue over dolphin facility for Cayman
Friday, June 11, 2004
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Reader comments:
- Dear Nora,
I believe that you are misled regarding the treatment
of dolphins in captivity. I know for a fact that dolphins are not treated in
the manner you suggest or have been led to believe.
The Marine Mammal industry has been a leader in methods of positive
reinforcement. Probably originally because it is nearly impossible to force
a dolphin to do anything. Now, we just know it is the right thing to do. The
rest of the zoological community is now changing their training methods and
are often turning to the Marine Mammal industry for assistance.
I used to work at a facility where we let the dolphins out into the open
ocean everyday and everyday they came home. Why? Maybe for the food, but
there was also a lot of food in the ocean. Maybe it was because they felt
safe there. I know every time we saw a shark while out in the open ocean,
they would take off and race for home. Maybe they enjoyed the attention they
got from us and guests. I don't know, but I do know they had a choice
everyday and everyday they came home!
I used to believe that people like Helene O'Barry cared about the dolphins
as much as we do, but just had a different opinion as to the best way to
educate the public about them and our oceans. I have since changed my
opinion based on personal experience with the O'Barry's. People like the
O'Barry's who live off of the donations to their non-profit organizations
will exaggerate about anything to continue to receive donations to travel
the world "saving dolphins".
So really both the marine mammal industry and the O'Barry's are exploiting
the dolphins for profit.
I agree that shows like Jacques Cousteau and today's Discovery Channel and
National Geographic Channel are vital to educating the public. I believe
that the Marine Mammal industry has also done a great deal to raise
conservation awareness and make a lasting, positive difference on our
planet.
I encourage everyone to consider the source of your information and maybe
actually spend some time at a Marine Mammal facility.
Just for the record, I totally agree that dolphins should not be removed
from the wild for Marine Mammal facilities. The facilities in the US have
stopped doing that many, many years ago. Dolphins seem to be happy and
healthy in captivity and are breeding extremely well. There is no reason to
take dolphins from the wild. I hope that US involvement in International
Marine Mammal associations will continue to influence the rest of the world
in this regard. - Anonymous
- Dear "Anonymous":
I just wanted to comment on your claim that "People like the O'Barrys who
live off of the donations to their non-profit organizations will exaggerate
about anything to continue to receive donations to travel the world "saving
dolphins". This statement is laughable at best. I have worked as a volunteer
for the Dolphin Project for eight years, without drawing a salary. The
little money that the Dolphin Project receives from donations barely covers
the cost of maintaining our website. It certainly doesn't allow for me to
"travel the world to save dolphins!" More often than not, when people sign
their letters "Anonymous," it's because what they are saying doesn't reflect
reality. Your letter confirms that tendency - Helene O'Barry
- I'm glad that someone finally brought up the point about money. Funny
how all my detractors sign their name: Anonymous.
If the truth be known, I was the highest paid dolphin trainer in the world
when I was training Flipper. I could have stayed with that industry if I
wanted to. Sea World or some other dolphin abusement park would be happy to
pay me about 250k a year simply to do damage control for them. I chose to
leave that industry because it was, and still is abusive. I don't make as
much money these days trying to stop the international traffic in captive
dolphins and help educate the public, and today I drive a bicycle, not a
Porsche as I once did. But, I sleep better at night, and feel good about
myself. My relationship with dolphins is no longer all about what they can
do for me, it's the other way around.
By the way, my wife Helene has been doing this same thankless job for about
eight years, and she has never received a paycheck for her selfless service
- Ric O'Barry
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