93.8Live 30 Mar 09;
It’s been more than two weeks since an online campaign was launched against plans by Resorts World Sentosa, RWS, to import dolphins and Whale Sharks for their Marine Life Park.
As of last week, more than 5,300 people had signed the petition.
Melissa Tan speaks to several activists to find out why they are against the import.
The online petition launched by seven Animal Rights Groups in Singapore has drawn much attention - both in Singapore and across the world.
Addressed to the Ministry of National Development, the Singapore Tourism Board and RWS, the petition points to several instances of Whale sharks faring poorly in Captivity.
One example it cites is that of two whale sharks that died within five months of each other at the Georgia aquarium in the United States in 2007
The person behind the online petition is Jaki Teo, who is a director of a local web design agency.
"It’s something I feel very strongly about. I’m a diver as well and I have seen whale sharks in the wild. I think it’s just the most horrible thing to put them in a tank and because I have an agency, it’s something I can actually do for the first time. "
Whale Sharks are the world’s largest fish and can grow up to 20 metres in length - or as large as the lenght of two buses.
They are listed as ‘vulnerable’ in the red list of threatened species by the International Union for conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.
Deidre Moss from the Soceity for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals feels holding such large creatures in captivity will jeopardise their welfare.
"Number one, they’re the biggest fish in the ocean. And they’re very deep divers. They’ve been recorded at depths of 1500 metres. Their migratory patterns also have been traced over 13,000 kilometres so confiding them in a man made structure will definitely compromise their welfare, not without great risk to their health this would be done."
Grant Pereira from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society agrees.
"It’s really not necessary to have an endangered species in a glass tank. What kind of tank can you build for it? If you love them, you don’t put them in a fish tank."
Plans by Resorts World Sentosa to import whale sharks also
angered people beyond Singapore's shores.
Maria Fernandez Salom is an activist with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, the world’s largest animal rights organization.
"We at PETA Asia Pacific believe that whale sharks are just as any other beings with feelings, have the right to be free. We believe that keeping animals in captivity causes them stress and trauma of being taken from their natural homes. Humans shouldn’t interfere with the course of nature, and that breeding these animals is just a way to bring more tourists who are attracted by the babies, just to earn more revenue."
Louis Ng of local NGO ACRES says the main issue is that wild animals should not be brought into captivity in the first place.
"And if we look at the history of people keeping whale sharks in the world, most of them have actually died in captivity. Mainly because we really don’t know how to cater to their needs and it’s hard to tell whether they’ve even eaten or not."
RWS has since posted a response letter on its website, to the online petition, saying that it is considering alternatives to the Marine Life Park design plans.
But it also noted that the whale shark exhibit at the park was submitted as part of the winning bid in an international competition for the Integrated Resort.
It is thus bound to deliver the pledge and any replacement has to be viable and compelling in bringing in visitors to Singapore.
In response to that, the animal welfare organizations point out that
marine parks elsewhere are already excluding captivity and that is the direction Singapore should take.
ACRES' Louis Ng again.
"If you look, other marine parks in the UK are saying no dolphins in captivity, there are government that are more progressive, who have said, no more dolphins in captivity. And I think we’ve progressed, but we have to progress in the right direction, and not do something other countries are stopping."
Jaki feels although the whale shark exhibit formed part of the winning bid, RWS should explore other ways to attract tourists.
"Granted it was part of the bidding agreement that they have whale sharks, but I’m sure if they had a think about it, there are so many other ways to bring in tourists. If there’s people from different countries, like America and Dubai and even Taiwan and China signing our petition and saying that that’s a bad idea, I don’t think anyone would really believe that it’s for conservation, I think it’s bad for our own image."
PETA’s Maria points out that any wild animal once bred in captivity, would no longer be able to go back to the wild.
"Even if these animals were bred in captivity, they wouldn’t be able to be released in the wild again, because they wouldn’t be able to hunt for themselves or to survive in the wild. So these breeding programmes don’t really help the conservation of the species."
Giving its take, the Singapore Tourism Board says in importing animals for the Marine Life Park, RWS will have to comply with international regulations as well as the requirements of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority.
The marine animals have to be provided with adequate space and care, among other requirements.
When contacted, AVA said that RWS would have to demonstrate that they have the necessary facilities and infrastructure in place for marine animals.
The facilities must be large enough to house the shark and have a good water maintenance system - and in addition, adequate professional staff, including veterinarians and marine biologists.
More than 5,300 people from all over the world have come on board since the online petition by animal rights groups got going earlier this month.
Louis Ng said he was heartened by Jaki’s initiative to launch the petition.
"That was what was a very good sign for us, that it’s not just the NGOs that are campaigning, but here’s an individual who came forward and said, I want to do something about this, I think that really is active citizenry, where someone says, here is a problem and wants to fix it, instead of just keep compaining."
You can visit www.whalesharkpetition.com to view the petition.
I’m Melissa Tan, for 938LIVE.
Letter from Marine Life Park
undated and unsigned letter from the Resorts World Sentosa website
Dear all,
Thank you for the interest that you have expressed towards our Marine Life Park. Although the feedback we have received till now is not always positive, it shows how concerned everyone is towards the success of the Marine Life Park and its ability to balance the need to educate the public on marine conservation while at the same time not doing anything to harm the marine environment.
As of today, over 3,000 of you have written to us and we hope you can spare a few minutes for our side of the story. As an organization that is committed to inspire the conservation of the ocean through education, we fully understand your concerns with regards to the feasibility of whale sharks in captivity. That is why we have been, and still are - to this date - considering alternatives for our overall Marine Life Park design plans, while simultaneously peer reviewing our animal collection and exhibits content.
While we go about our work, we also want to highlight that the whale shark exhibit at the Marine Life Park was submitted as part of the winning bid in an international competition for the Integrated Resort on Sentosa in late 2006. As such, the organization is bound to deliver the integrity of the bid, and any proposed replacement for the whale sharks must be defensible in that it must be viable and be as broad, if not compelling, in its appeal to bring in visitors to Singapore - the reason Singapore decided to have the integrated resorts.
Last week, we put out a press statement specifying that plans for the Marine Life Park are still being finalized and options are being explored. Two things are being done right now: consolidating the education and conservation studies of what aquariums have done for potential collection species, and assessing how the Marine Life Park and its conservation and research programs might contribute further to the scientific knowledge of the species.
We do not take these undertakings lightly and as such, we need time to investigate all available options to provide Singapore with a world-class Marine Life Park. The process of replacing promised attractions in a winning bid is neither simple nor unilateral. Papers, presentations, permits and many rounds of fine-tuning and debate are required. We welcome ideas at csr@rwsentosa.com.
We apologise for not being able to reply singularly to everyone. Do visit our website http://www.rwsentosa.com/en_marinelifepark.html to know us better. There, you can also read about our conservation efforts in both the marine and environmental fields. The Marine Life Park is committed to engage all persons who share our goal: the conservation of the oceans and its inhabitants. Our commitment has not changed.
See also Updates on whale shark at Resorts World Sentosa on the wild shores of singapore blog.
