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TAKE ACTION | To Free A Dolphin - A Step-by-Step Guide to Dolphin Activism
TO FREE A DOLPHIN - A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO DOLPHIN ACTIVISM
When you first see a dolphin show, it looks like a lot of fun. The dolphins are always smiling, and they're also laughing in their own way - and so are we. The audience is applauding as these marvelous creatures - so intelligent, so bursting with energy - doing amazing tricks for us.
Could anything be better?
Well, yes. It could be better if it were true. The dolphin smiling and all of us laughing and having a rollicking good time, all this seems like it's really happening. But look again. It's actually show business. At first glance you think it's real and I don't blame you, because it's magic, theater magic.
For many years I worked the show-biz side of things. I helped capture dolphins for the Miami Seaquarium and trained them, putting on a great show of dolphins leaping and jumping through hoops on command and acting the clown in amusing skits. I even trained the most famous of all dolphins, Flipper, who starred in his own TV series and feature films during the 1960s, some of which are still being seen around the world. It was a great job and a daily challenge, staying ahead of the scriptwriters and the several dolphins that played the role of Flipper.
Disillusionment
Only toward the end of my dolphin-training career did I admit to myself that there's something wrong about using dolphins for our amusement. They have wonderfully rich lives of their own until we yank them out of the sea, their lives as a species going back 60 million years. I worked for a time on the Miami Seaquarium Capture Boat and used to help abduct them, kicking and screaming all the way. We brought them ashore and dumped them into an alien fantasy world -- and why? It was my job. If someone would pay me to do this, surely, I thought, it must be okay. I really thought what I was doing was acceptable. I even convinced myself that the dolphins we captured were lucky because they would be cared for by humans for the rest of their lives. And listen to the people laugh and clap their hands when the dolphins do flips in the air. Isn't that worth something?
I could have stayed in the business of capturing and training dolphins and could have made a lot of money doing it. But when the Flipper show ended and I suddenly had lots of time to think about my life so far, I was sick to my stomach. I was appalled and disgusted by what I had been part of. I was also determined to stop it.
Oh, it would be difficult, I knew. Perhaps impossible. If it had taken me years to see dolphins as they actually are and what we were doing to them, how could I expect the public to understand? I was being paid to think that it was okay, of course. On the other hand, I knew what dolphins in the wild were really like. Most people who go to dolphin shows believe that it's great family entertainment. How could I get anyone to realize that this is just a lie, an elaborate ruse masking our ruthless exploitation of these magnificent creatures?
Like any other business, the dolphin captivity industry is based on supply and demand. As long as there are people willing to buy tickets to watch dolphins perform tricks, dolphins will be captured from the wild and trained to perform for huge paying audiences. Therefore, the key to putting a stop to the exploitation of dolphins is to reach the consumers. I am sure that if the public knew what really goes on behind the glittering scene of the captive dolphin spectacle, most would revolt against it. In other words, rather than buying tickets to watch dolphins perform, they would be helping us free them.
Getting worldwide public opinion on our side, getting people to see what we see at a dolphin show, that's our big goal. And we're making some progress overall, winning in some parts of the world; losing in others. If people understand our message, they'll join us. I'm sure of that. If they can realize that when we talk about “dolphin abuse,” we don't necessarily mean that they're being kicked or neglected. Being in captivity itself is abusive. For a wild dolphin swimming free, being captured and plunged into a tank that's like a teacup, how could that not be abusive?
The other side, and why they hate us
Owners of dolphin shows and the people who work there have a huge advantage. For openers, many people like the shows. They're amused by the silly dolphin antics. Or they love the spectacles of animal domination, and the more amazing the animal, the more they love it. Chances are they'll never understand what we are trying to do. But a lot of others are borderline. They will listen to us and to their own heart.
The other side has lots of money, billions of dollars. As part of the establishment, they make money and pay taxes. They're good citizens. They advertise, they support the chamber of commerce, and as far as the government is concerned, dolphin shows are just another taxable business.
But it's an ugly business, and that's our key to winning.
But it's an ugly business, and that's our key to winning.
Since many people are amused by dolphins doing tricks, the key to our campaign is to show them that it's not amusing, that in fact it's disgusting. If we could convince even a third of the people who go to these shows that it's actually exploitation of the most unforgivable kind, the shows would end tomorrow.
Why do they hate us? They hate us because if we succeed, they go down in flames.
Why do they hate us? They hate us because if we succeed, they go down in flames.
Latest campaigns from the Dolphin Project:
NEW DOLPHIN PRISON IN THE BAHAMAS
A new "swim with dolphins" scheme is proposed for The Bahamas to hold eight captive dolphins -- you can help stop it!
EL CAUTIVERIO ES CRUEL – ¡NO COMPRE BOLETOS A ESPECTÁCULOS DE DELFINES!
Los delfines han evolucionado por millones de años, adaptándose perfectamente a la vida marina. Los problemas relacionados con el cautiverio incluyen, pero no se limitan, a los siguientes hechos.
NEW RULE WOULD RESOLVE WTO DECISION ON DOLPHIN SAFE LABEL
A new federal rule improves the protection for dolphins in global tuna fisheries.
NO DOLPHINARIUMS IN INDIA
Good news from India: No dolphinariums will be authorized by the government!
WEAR YOUR SUPPORT! EFX WRISTBAND HELPS SAVE DOLPHINS
Help Dolphins!
Wear Your Support; 100% of Proceeds from Dolphin Wristband Donated to Dolphin Project!
ALERT: STOP THE GEORGIA AQUARIUM BELUGA IMPORT SCHEME
The Georgia Aquarium wants to import eighteen belguas caught in the wild, but almost half the belugas kept in the aquariums supporting the permit have died in captivity.
RIC RECEIVES AWARD FROM PHILIPPINE GROUPS
Ten Philippine organizations give Ric O'Barry an award for his inspiration and leadership of efforts to protect and free dolphins in captivity.
A RAINBOW OVER TAIJI
Today, on the beach at the Cove, among the jeers and insults of the extreme nationalists, 34 Dolphin Project activists from Japan and around the world made a stand for the dolphins and the health of the people of Japan.
WTO TUNA/DOLPHIN DECISION MIXED
A new decision by a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel is mixed for the Dolphin Safe tuna label.
SAVING DOLPHINS IN SINGAPORE AND THE PHILIPPINES
Ric O'Barry tells of blood dolphins caught in the Solomon Islands, trained in the Philippines, but destined for small tanks in Singapore.
TRAVELING DOLPHIN CIRCUSES IN INDONESIA - A CALL TO ACTION!
Traveling circuses in Indonesia feature dolphins as the main act. Watch this heart-wrenching video and take action.
SEAWORLD’S HYPOCRISY
SeaWorld is putting out a press release to emphasize their "rescue" work with dolphins, whales, and seals, but don't buy what they are trying to sell.
STOP SWIM-WITH-DOLPHINS PROGRAMS
Save Japan Dolphins is launching a new campaign to encourage Hotel Chains and Cruise Lines to stop offering swim-with-dolphins excursions to their clients.
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