Don’t snatch them out of the wild
Letter from Louis Ng
Founder and Executive Director
Animal Concerns Researchand Education Society (Acres)
Today Online 21 Mar 09;
I REFER to the report "Petition to stop captivity" (March 13) and the Marine Life Park statement issued on Jan 9.
The main issue should not be whether the dolphins or whale sharks that Resorts World at Sentosa plans to acquire are listed as “endangered” or “least concern” or “vulnerable”.
How endangered these species are is important, but what Acres feels is most important is the individual animals that will be and are affected by Resorts World at Sentosa’s decisions.
According to news reports, 18 dolphins have already been snatched from the wild and are currently in the Philippines for training. Catching dolphins from the wild is a terribly invasive process — stop and think for a moment how frightened these dolphins would be.
I doubt the dolphins care that they will be looked after by a team of professionals and experts. We hope that the resort owner will change their plans before a whale shark is similarly captured.
Acres remains committed to maintaining our dialogue with Resorts World. They have taken the progressive step of leaving sharks fin off their menus, recognising the importance of protecting wild marine life. Acres sincerely hopes they make a moral and similarly progressive decision of not gambling on the lives of dolphins and whale sharks and cancel their plans to acquire these animals.
It really is not just about simply abiding to regulations, but about maintaining the moral integrity of the company.
More about the issues with lots of links on the wild shores of singapore blog.
