Author: Margaux Dodds

Following ongoing complaints and two years of campaigning against the dolphin shows at Attica Zoo Park in Greece, which flaunts laws banning animals being used to perform in shows, environmental inspectors have found the Park in violation of Greek law with regards to dolphin performances at the park.

The following infringements were noted:

• The facility had been operating without a licence for a period of 4 years from 18-3-2013 to 30-7-2017
  The facility did submit a license (2448/31-07-2017) however this was issued after the inspection had been undertaken by the Dept of Rural and Veterinary Policy of the     Prefecture of Attica on 3.11.2016.
• Infringements of Greek law N.4039/12 Article 13
  This states that “keeping animals in parks is allowed under the condition that no shows take place with the participation of animals”. On the date of the inspection 3-11-2016, it was confirmed that at 11:00 a dolphin show took place in a restricted access area,  in front of zoo visitors for 20 minutes. A fee of €3 per person was charged by those in charge of the facility.  This was clearly in breach of the above law.

Article 12 and 13 of Law N.4039/2012 have further been revised (article            46, paragraphs 8 and 9 N.4235/2014 to read: “Article 12: Prohibition in the use of any animal in any type of show and similar activities.

1 – It is forbidden to keep any kind of animal in a circus or variety show, if the animals are used in any way and for any reason in their programme, perform in shows or march or appear before an audience.

2 – It is forbidden to use any kind of animal in entertainment games companies, car shows, music festivals, folk festivals or other art or entertainment events if the animals are used in any way and for any reason in their programmes.

2a – Without prejudice to the provisions of article 7, it is forbidden to use animals in an outdoor public display with the purpose of economic profit.

Attica Park claimed ‘biased misinterpretation of the law’ and ‘effort to create negative impressions’ on the park of the Environmental Inspectors, stating that this negates the violations.  However, their claims cannot be accepted as the Inspectors noted down in their report what they saw during their inspection and it was on this their report was based.

Furthermore, the facility owners claimed that they did have educational signs within the restricted activity area.  However ,the show viewed by Inspectors on the day took place at a predetermined time in front of a paying audience where the dolphins were forced to perform a set of pre-determined exercises – not as a result of a natural or spontaneous behaviour but to command for food reward by trainers who also encouraged applause from the audience.

The company also claim that since January 2017 no fee has been charged for the dolphin show, rather a fee to enter the Zoo as a whole; this statement shows the for-profit character of this activity and again does not negate the violation to the prohibition of keeping animals for shows (articles 12 and 13 or N.4039/2012.

The Dolphinaria-Free Europe coalition will continue to support all attempts to have the Greek authorities now impose the existing law banning performances with animals, which clearly Attica Park has been found in violation of,  and are calling for the park to be closed.

CLOSE ATTICA PARK

Please support the campaign by emailing the following asking them to impose the law with immediate effect:

Mr Giorgos Stathakis
Minister of the Environment
secmin@ypen.gr

Mr Stavros Arachovitis
Minister of Rural Development & Food
s.arachovitis@parliament.gr

 

 

Dolphinaria-Free Europe is supporting the call to find Martinha, a rescued female common dolphin who has spent the past decade confined to a tiny backyard concrete ‘swimming pool’  after stranding on the coast of Portugal in 2007.

Martinha’s rescuers allowed her to languish in a waist-deep pool for 10 years, despite continued assurances that she would be rehabilitated and returned to the wild.  In February 2017, the Martinha coalition received a letter from the Portuguese Government agency ICNF, on behalf of CRAM-Q stating that Martinha would not be released because of ‘chronic’ and ‘cyclic’ medical conditions (liver and digestive issues) but they were, however, looking for “alternative rehabilitation centres that could receive and take care of Martinha. Despite requests, there has been no evidence or confirmation of a move.

Please help find Martinha – further information can be at www.martinha.org

Morgan the orca has given birth to her first calf

Following the announcement by Loro Parque that Morgan the orca gave birth to her calf on 22 September at the facility, DFE members The Free Morgan Foundation explain why they will continue their legal efforts on Morgan’s behalf;  asking why she was allowed to become pregnant when potentially still under the ownership of SeaWorld who had decided to end their orca breeding programme, and also exactly who the father of Morgan’s calf is.

Below text courtesy of Free Morgan Foundation:

(FMF) remains committed to ensuring justice for Morgan and her calf. Morgan remains a protected Annex A specimen under EU law. The unauthorized act of breeding Morgan with SeaWorld’s male orca remains a focus of the FMF’s legal efforts. Our Petition before the European Parliament along with our pending court appeal in The Netherlands, are not affected by this troubling development. Quite the contrary; it reinforces our commitment to Morgan (and her calf) and the Rule of Law.

Based on the date of birth, we can now construct a timeline to measure SeaWorld’s culpability, including the breach of its promises to end captive breeding of its orca. In addition, Loro Parque’s recent statement under oath in a Spanish court denying that Morgan was pregnant and the records SeaWorld filed with the United States Government concerning the date of its abandonment and sale of the orca at Loro Parque, provides further evidence of unauthorized acts by Loro Parque exploiting Morgan for primarily commercial purposes in violation of EU law. The FMF will continue to seek the advice and counsel of our attorneys in Spain and The Netherlands.

 

 

DFE is saddened to hear the news that a female bottlenose dolphin, known as ‘Honey’, has been abandoned at the Inubosaki Marine Park in Choshi, Japan. Her case is an example of what DFE is trying to prevent in Europe.

Honey was captured from the wild in 2005 off the coast of Taiji, Japan, a location notoriously known for its annual dolphin drive hunts. She has outlived at least four other dolphins that have been displayed at the park.

The park allegedly observed a decline in visitor numbers following an earthquake and nuclear crisis in 2011, closing at the beginning of this year. Employees are reportedly still feeding all remaining animals. Honey has recently been described as having damaged skin, looking increasingly weak and floating listlessly in her small, uncleaned outside tank. She has also been displaying stereotypic (abnormal repetitive) behaviours, which are rife in captive dolphins as a result of unsuitable living conditions, frustrated biological needs and subsequent poor welfare.

Coalition member Marine Connection has been liaising with the Animal Rights Center Japan, which has been closely monitoring Honey’s situation, (as well as the remaining penguins, fish and reptiles), and is advocating for her rescue from the facility. The owners of the park have so far been ignoring all requests and enquiries regarding solutions for Honey, despite other dolphinaria in the country offering to rehome her.

Honey is an older wild-born individual, we believe she would be a good candidate for rehabilitation, pending medical clearance, with a view of either retiring her to a seaside sanctuary when available or potential release back into the wild.

Following recent media publicity over the death of the female calf born to one of the Southern Resident orca population, Tahlequah (J35),  DFE member Viivi Senghore has written a heartfelt article on the mother/calf bond and how grief impacts cetacean mothers, both in the wild and in captivity.

‘We all know that the bond between a large-brained mammal mother and her child is one of the strongest ones there is. The recent news of a southern resident killer whale in The Pacific North West, Tahlequah also known as J35, and her dead calf has shown how a whale mourns a lost loved one. In my opinion, she has also shown us how destructive the captivity industry is to small cetaceans. A dolphin in captivity is forced to mourn her young far more frequently than in the wild. A life in captivity for a particular bottlenose dolphin called Veera is just one among countless heart-breaking stories.’

Full article here
Can we now finally wake up and see that we are not alone.docx

Finnish holiday companies such as Aurinkomatkat (Suntours), Apollomatkat (Apollo Travels) and TUI Finland are considering whether to follow Thomas Cook’s recent decision to stop selling tickets to facilities which display captive orcas. Thomas Cook Group decision will also apply to Tjäreborg, a Finnish holiday firm owned by the group.

Finnish travel company Aurinkomatkat currently sells tickets to several theme parks and aquariums with orca, however communications consultant Annina Metsola has commented that they will make their decision over the 2018 winter period.

TUI Finland said the company cannot comment until after the company releases its mid-term financial result, on August 6 –  TUI’s website currently sells tickets to Loro Parque in Tenerife.

DFE welcomes this latest news and hopes that other tour operators will follow suit, to change their business model and phase out promoting/selling tickets to parks displaying orcas (and eventually all cetaceans).