Dolphin Defense

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!

 

Please visit Dolphin Defense Fund and make a donation, every single dollar counts! If you don't have a few dollars to spare, please sign the Petition to Stop the New Dolphinarium AND the Petition to Urge Carnival Cruise Lines to not offer tours with Captive Dolphins.  Putting pressure on Carnival Cruise Lines may well be the best way to halt the proposed Dolphinarium in Grand Turk.  Without the cruise ship clientele there is no possibility of such a business venture succeeding.

Image by Cecilia Holden via Dolphin Defense Funds facebook page

  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!

 

Please visit the Dolphin Defense Funds facebook page to read more about why all dolphin slaughters and dolphinariums should be STOPPED. 

A Call for Letters to the Governor and Planning

Jo Jo March 2008

On October 5th, local headlines read "$3million Dolphin Park Proposed for Providenciales" and the Turks and Caicos community responded within the week with a petition boasting 800 plus signatures and a comeback headline "PRIDE Questions Dolphin Attraction in TCI."  Many of us believed our current legislation within the Endangered Species Act forbade the import of  Cetaceans but new reports have surfaced that these laws have been changed so that Dolphin Cove may open for business on TCI shores.    

 Jo Jo March 2008

Those that would welcome Dolphin Cove may not understand the truth about dolphins in captivity.  To begin to grasp the ethical issues one must first research how these dolphins are forced into captivity in the first place.  An  eye opening look into that industry is available through the award winning documentary film  The Cove.  I wrote this post after having seen the film myself, I never imagined such horrors.

PRIDE has written an excellent letter to the government highlighting the historic ways the Turks and Caicos Islands have served as a safe haven for dolphins for decades.  Please read the full letter here.  Yesterday I wrote my own letter to the governor:

October 31, 2012

To Governor Ric Todd,

I am writing to express my deep disappointment of the change in legislation to allow the import of animals for the purpose of human entertainment.  Months ago you took a very brave stand in this country with a push for the advancement of the Equality Bill, surely realizing that you would face controversy and opposition.  With that great stride in forward thinking and action, you have now taken a giant leap backward in amending a righteous law to an unrighteous law.  I would strongly encourage you to dedicate a few hours on researching the captive dolphin industry.   A great resource is the WDC, Whale and DolphinConservation website which posts here

“WDCS believes that the arguments against the confinement of cetaceans are so over-whelming, that any proposal to keep them captive, for whatever reason, should be rejected on animal welfare grounds alone. WDCS has a series of well-substantiated concerns about interactions between humans and dolphins in captivity. These concerns, relating to the welfare of humans as well as dolphins, apply equally to DAT. They include the welfare of the animal; the risk of aggression towards people; 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 respite from these actions, and the fact that in so many DAT and other interaction programmes, dolphins are captured from the wild and are transported thousands of miles to suffer the effects of confinement in captivity.
Dolphins are large, strong animals, perfectly adapted to the conditions of the open ocean. Held in a confined space and subjected to forced interaction with humans, aggressive behaviour can have serious consequences. A recent study carried out by WDCS into dolphin/visitor interactions at marine parks in America records many incidents of aggressive behaviour by dolphins towards human visitors such as threats, biting and butting. This study also raises serious concerns regarding the potential for the transmission of disease between human visitors and dolphins. Inadequate regulations exist in relation to interactions between captive dolphins and members of the public. WDCS is bringing its concerns and evidence to the attention of relevant governments and other interested parties, who must address the potential consequences for both human and dolphins of these interaction programmes.”

  If you are a visual learner with a strong stomach I suggest you watch the award winning documentary “The Cove,” which will surely open your eyes to the complexities of this issue. In this country we have a fiercely dedicated environmental community.  We know we have one of the rarest ecosystems on the planet and though we are few in numbers, we know the necessary channels to pursue should our arguments fall on deaf ears locally.  We desire only positive international media attention for the good of the country but will resort to the opposite should this law not be returned to its former righteous state and the permission to the Dolphin Cove Proposal denied.

Sincerely,

Stacie Steensland-Gaudet

  Today, I received THIS response.  I plan to drop this letter addressed to  planning today, along with another letter opposing the Leeward-dredging-proposal-up-for-consideration. I am asking everyone who cares about our environment and our "Beautiful by Nature" reputation to write their own letters to the Governor and to Planning as soon as possible.  Please sign the petition here.  Share your opinions and show your support on the facebook page No2CagedDolphinsInTurksandCaicos.  To read more about the scientific evidence on why dolphins should not be kept in captivity, see these publications on WDCS. To read the Review of the Environmental Impact Assessment for the Proposed Dolphin Park in Hanover by the Jamaica Environment Trust, please click here.