Here in the Turks and Caicos Islands we have a long history of protecting dolphins and this community wants it to stay that way. Last November I wrote this
Call for letters to Governor and Planning and sadly nearly a year later we are still trying to halt having dolphins in captivity in this country. For this to happen we need your help. A message from
TC Reef's Don Stark
Please Help us Say “No to Captive Dolphins in the Turks and Caicos”
The Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI) have long been a safe haven for
wild dolphins. Our laws forbade the holding of marine mammals in
captivity. In fact, when the United Kingdom was closing its
dolphinariums in the early 1990’s, three of the remaining captive
dolphins were airlifted to the TCI for their rehabilitation and release
into the wild in the waters of the TCI.
That all changed in
October 2012 when the Governor unilaterally changed the laws of the TCI
to allow the importation and keeping of captive dolphins, in order to
allow Dolphin Cove Ltd, a company based in Jamaica, to open a “Swim with
a Dolphin” business on the south side of Providenciales in the TCI.
On January 31, 2013 four Not-for-Profit organizations, The Provo
Chamber of Commerce, Pride Ltd, the TCSPCA and the TC Reef Fund, united
to pursue legal action by way of a Judicial Review against the Governor
over his decision to amend the TCI Fisheries Protection Ordinance. His
decision has caused a public outcry from residents, TCI businesses,
tourists and international animal welfare groups around the world.
Letters of protest have been written to the Governor and the Planning
Department, to news papers and blogs. Petitions have been signed, one
international petition with over 13,000 signatures. Kudos goes to
individuals and groups who have worked tirelessly to change the
Governor’s mind but with no success. So, as it stands now, we have a
regulation allowing an activity that:
• is abhorrent to anyone who knows or has spent time with these magnificent animals,
• threatens our market brand “Beautiful by Nature”, and
• places this country in jeopardy of losing many visitors and potential
home owners who have already said that they would go elsewhere if
captive dolphins were allowed in TCI.
Even if Dolphin Cove
does not succeed in its bid, as long as this regulation is part of our
laws there will be another company looking to do the same thing.
The Judge of the Supreme Court has agreed to hear our case. The
Governor may have the power to change laws but he is still subject to
our 2011 Constitution which states that any decision made by a law-maker
must be 'legal, rational, proportionate and procedurally fair'. We
believe he violated these principals. If the Judge agrees with us the
amendment will be ‘quashed’ and our Ordinance will revert to its
original purpose, that of protecting all marine mammals in Turks and
Caicos waters.
Many dolphins have lost their lives and continue
to do so to supply these captive dolphin businesses. We owe them their
day in court. This will most likely be a lengthy and costly process
which we will be unable to pursue without financial support from those
of you who care. Our goal is to raise $60,000 to cover our estimated
legal costs. Each charity has set up a fund specifically for this
purpose. Your donation, no matter the size, will give dolphins a voice
they would otherwise not have had in the Turks and Caicos Islands. We
need your donation now!
Yesterday, Saturday September 1, my family along with other TCI residents marched in protest against dolphin slaughters and captive dolphins around the world. I agree with the words of organizer Sara Alexandra Skye:
Big
thanks to everyone who joined us yesterday on the beach walk in protest
against brutal murders of dolphin families and capture of select ones
for dolphinariums.
There were 110 places worldwide who joined
in this protest. The main killing goes on in Taiji, Japan, where
dolphins are driven to exhaustion, then pulled into boats, stabbed or
have corks hammered into their breathing holes.
The anti -
dolphin attraction movement worldwide is growing: already 70 such places
of pain and torture have been either closed or never opened, due to
international pressure.
Four petitions against such a thing
have attracted 80,000 signatures. Our existing and returning tourists
both in Provo and Grand Turk express horror and disgust at such a
cruelty - in their words: "we come here for Beautiful by Nature" and we
enjoy swimming with free dolphins and rays and turtles. If this happens,
we shall not return"
SeaWorld in the US reported a LOSS in
second quarter: after a lot of protests, picketing and petitions, and
after the film BLACKFISH came out. This film exposed the cruel practices
behind the cetacean captivity. Dolphins are highly intelligent
creatures who live in families, call each other by name and recognize
each other after long periods of time. They take care of their babies
and protect each other. They have saved humans and other species after
boat accidents. We can swim with JoJo and his family and friends FREE in
the biggest open aquarium in the world!
Ric O'Barry, the man
who started dolphinariums in the first place, is currently their biggest
opponent. Let' s join up with him! Perhaps we could continue in the
programme of releasing dolphins back into the wild after they were kept
captive like we did with three beautiful creatures back in 1991.
Let us not support something that will give us a really bad name and bad publicity worldwide.
Let us, instead, concentrate on eco tourism: TCI is a perfect location
and people around the world LOVE our pristine beaches and amazing coral
reefs with abundant sealife.
Let us not allow dolphinariums,
long line fishing, let us get clean, renewable energy from solar and
wind resources. Let us put up moorings for our boats so we don't damage
corals. Let us clean up our beaches and streets, let us create small
businesses to support tourism. Let us make our airports beautiful.
Let us promote to new markets: we have already started with Brazil.
Brazil banned dolphin captivity in 1991 - they would be unimpressed to find out that we are supporting this.
Let us create street art. Let us recycle. Let us be GREEN. Let us be BEAUTIFUL BY NATURE!
