"Swim with the Dolphins" Good or bad?

[scubawife]

For those who don't have any moral issue with the dolphin programs but who love a healthy reef for their snorkeling and/or diving pleasure, maybe this will give you a reason to think twice about the dolphin facilities -

In doing some research about sewage run off causing algae growth that in turn chokes out coral reefs, I came across this presentation www.biorock-thailand.com/tourismwaterquality512.html The dolphin pens in Cozumel that are included in the video and comentary were wiped out by Wilma, but none the less, it was horrible to see what the dolphin facilities are doing to reefs in their downstream paths. Then of course you have to wonder how healthy it is for the people who jump in with the dolphins. I'm not a fan of the dolphin discovery type places and this is just another side effect of them that I had not realized.

 

[robbcayman]

Talk about apples and oranges! Just because a dolphin is captive does NOT mean it is domesticated. Dog domestication took many thousands of years of selective breeding (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog#Ancestry_and_history_of_domestication). Just because a dolphin was born in a pen does not make it a domesticated animal. Most domesticated dogs would do quite poorly in the wild. Their wolf instincts have been bred out. Captive dolphins have lost none of their wild instincts.

I would disagree with this. My dog has killed rabbits, squirrels, birds and literally trys to eat them. I'm not saying all dogs are capable of this, but to say dogs have lost their hunting techniques is a myth (at least in my case). Dogs who couldn't fend for themselves would eventually be weeded out through natural selection. Look at bird dogs they are taught to hunt, because deep down it is second nature.

Dolphins can be domesticated just like dogs. The reason dogs make such good companions is their eagerness to make people happy, dolphins do this too. Both animals have high IQ making training them easy.

Lastly, those that say making money off dolphins isn't research and doesn't benefit dolphins are missing a few things. When people swim and interact with dolphins they realize how amazing they are. This is why there was such an uproar over the tuna net issues. People have grown to love dolphins through interaction and Hollywood i.e. Flipper. Sharks are killed every day due to a lack of education and fear. Any place that allows people to interact with marine life is doing a serivce to wild animals IMHO. People are willing to protect things they understand.

 

[CODMAN]

I partially agree, robb, but getting public interaction, at any cost to the animals, is innaceptible to me! And to boot, good interaction that is combined with quality education will do more for dolphins (peoples view, knowledge and love of them) than the "step right up and give Flippy here a big juicy kiss... That'll be 5$ please..." attitude which is probably 90% of the operations out there!

Taking an animal like this from the wild has a huge impact on it, and the populations. I can,t condone it when it's exclusively done for profit...

But, I'm just a goody toe shoes anyways, so...

Cheers!

 

[letterboy]

Thanks - I had to come up with something smart alec to say (just to celebrate)

I bet

 

[robbcayman]

I partially agree, robb, but getting public interaction, at any cost to the animals, is innaceptible to me! And to boot, good interaction that is combined with quality education will do more for dolphins (peoples view, knowledge and love of them) than the "step right up and give Flippy here a big juicy kiss... That'll be 5$ please..." attitude which is probably 90% of the operations out there!

Taking an animal like this from the wild has a huge impact on it, and the populations. I can,t condone it when it's exclusively done for profit...

But, I'm just a goody toe shoes anyways, so...

Cheers!

I totally agree that the animals shouldn't be mistreated or anything like that. I kind of like how Anthony's key is set up allowing the dolphins to roam free at times. Yeah, I wish there was more of an education given about the dolphins, then hey, who wants a ride on flipper Now, these money hungry operations who keep dolphins in tight confined pens, don't give them proper nutrition should be shut down asap!!!! I think there is a place to keep dolphins if it is done right!!! I think we can both agree we don't want dolphins to be taken advantage of. I would only have their best interest at heart, but some greedy business people don't care.

 

[Rainer]

I would disagree with this. My dog has killed rabbits, squirrels, birds and literally trys to eat them. I'm not saying all dogs are capable of this, but to say dogs have lost their hunting techniques is a myth (at least in my case). Dogs who couldn't fend for themselves would eventually be weeded out through natural selection. Look at bird dogs they are taught to hunt, because deep down it is second nature.

Dolphins can be domesticated just like dogs. The reason dogs make such good companions is their eagerness to make people happy, dolphins do this too. Both animals have high IQ making training them easy.

Lastly, those that say making money off dolphins isn't research and doesn't benefit dolphins are missing a few things. When people swim and interact with dolphins they realize how amazing they are. This is why there was such an uproar over the tuna net issues. People have grown to love dolphins through interaction and Hollywood i.e. Flipper. Sharks are killed every day due to a lack of education and fear. Any place that allows people to interact with marine life is doing a serivce to wild animals IMHO. People are willing to protect things they understand.

Your concept of 'domestication' is way off base. Would sugget you read up on it a bit more. No, you cannot domesticate ANY animal in a generation. And of course domesticated animals retain SOME of their "wild" abilities. By definition, however, they are no longer wild. Keeping dolphins is NOTHING like keeping a dog. How that could be confusing is beyond me.

 

[H2Andy]

yeah ... some wild animals (such as dolphins) can be tamed. even polar bears can be tamed (until they get old enough). lions can also be tamed, and tigers, and so on.

but that's not the same as domesticated. they're still wild animals, very much unlike a cat, dog, cow, etc.

 

[robbcayman]

Your concept of 'domestication' is way off base. Would sugget you read up on it a bit more. No, you cannot domesticate ANY animal in a generation. And of course domesticated animals retain SOME of their "wild" abilities. By definition, however, they are no longer wild. Keeping dolphins is NOTHING like keeping a dog. How that could be confusing is beyond me.

Well, I'm just not as smart as you regarding the domestication of animals. If a dog grows up in the wild and learns to hunt and fend for itself, then I would call that dog wild. I realize that the dogs ancestors may have been born in captivity, but if the dog can succeed in the wild, then why wouldn't that be called a wild dog? As Ron Burgundy would say agree to disagree.

 

[SteveFass]

If a dolphin is fed and protected by man for a long enough time, will it not lose the ability to fend and feed itself? At that point, man incurs the responsibility for taking care of the animal for the remainder of its natural life.

That's a lot of responsibility for a small business like AKR to take on. If it isn't prepared to take on that responsibility, then it it unethical to start down this path.

 

[Beach_Bunny]

A few weeks ago while in Costa Maya, I was very surprised how well treated the dolphins we got to swim with were. They explained that all of the dolphins were born in to captivity and part of a breeding program. The person vs dolphin ratio was very low maybe 6-8 people per dolphin. At no time did we "ride" them we were simply floating in the water while they swam around us brushing up against us and allowing us to sometimes pet them.

Now I am totally against any programs that allow people to take the dolphins for a "ride".