The eyes of the international wildlife community seeking a ban on dolphinariums in India are on Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan to make good her oral commitment towards stopping the setting up of dolphin parks, which animal conservation activists claim causes a lot of harm to the marine mammals.
A spokesperson of Federation for Indian Animals Protection Organisations (FIAPO) said on Thursday that global dolphin sympathisers including famous dolphin advocate Ric O Barry, OBE Virgina Mckenna, Sanctuary Asia founder and prominent wildlife conservationist Bittu Sahgal and other conservation-oriented organisations like National Wildlife Board, Earth Island Institute, Born Free Foundation had their eyes trained on the MoEF waiting for a formal legislation prohibiting keeping of cetaceans (dolphins & whales) in captivity in India.
“Jayanthi Natarajan has recently stated that she will not allow captive dolphin facilities known as dolphinariums in India. This is a hugely encouraging step in the right direction… We now hope that she will actively legislate a complete prohibition on the keeping of cetaceans in captivity in India,” the FIAPO spokesperson said.
The statement comes a day after Natarajan’s statement in New Delhi that proposed dolphinarium in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa, Noida and Maharashtra would not be granted sanction by her Ministry, as claimed by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
“It is well known that dolphins suffer in captivity. They are extremely intelligent, self-aware beings with emotions, feelings and close relationships to one another and call the vast and dynamic oceanic habitat, home,” the FIAPO spokesperson said.
“Removing dolphins from the ocean and putting them into small tanks or sea pens in dolphinariums and making them perform for commercial entertainment, is removing a significant part of who they are as dolphins and forcing them to endure a life of misery in captivity,” FIAPO added.