Channel NewsAsia 2 Jun 11;
SINGAPORE: The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) has once again called on Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) to retract its calls for more dolphins to be collected.
It said RWS had already bought 27 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, caught from the Solomon Islands for their Marine Life Park attraction, and two died.
ACRES, Thursday, disputed an RWS statement issued last Friday by a Park spokesperson, that to avert species crises, more controlled dolphin collections should be done from more locations and more facilities built to study and breed them.
ACRES said that efforts should instead focus on addressing why dolphins were disappearing in the wild.
It quoted a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, that the threats facing the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins included live capture for oceanariums, pollution, overfishing, incidental catches and environmental degradation.
ACRES said establishing captive breeding programmes did not address or eliminate the cause of wild population declines, and subjected dolphins to the stress of capture, transport and captivity.
Catching them might drive them towards extinction, ACRES argued.
Mr Louis Ng, ACRES' executive director, said in less than a week, more than 6,000 people had joined ACRES in asking RWS to free the dolphins.
- CNA/cc
ACRES URGES RESORTS WORLD SENTOSA TO RETRACT ITS CALL FOR MORE DOLPHINS TO BE COLLECTED
From ACRES "Save the World's Saddest Dolphins" facebook page
PRESS RELEASE 2 June 2011
SINGAPORE, 2 June 2011 – ACRES urges Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) to retract its calls for more dolphins to be collected. RWS has already bought 27 wild-caught Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins from the Solomon Islands for their Marine Life Park attraction, and two have since died.
In a statement issued by a Marine Life Park spokesperson on 27th May 2011, RWS stated “It is our belief that to avert species crises, more controlled dolphin collections should be occurring from a multitude of places and more quality zoological facilities built to increase our understanding of vulnerable species and for breeding purposes.”
ACRES strongly believes in the need to protect dolphin species, but we should focus our efforts on addressing the root cause of the problem of why they are disappearing in the wild.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a leading authority on the environment and sustainable development, the threats facing the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins include live capture for oceanariums, pollution, overfishing, incidental catches and environmental degradation.
Establishing captive breeding programmes does not address or eliminate the root cause of wild population declines, and subjects countless dolphins to the stress of capture, transport and captivity.
Furthermore, catching more dolphins might drive species such as the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin towards extinction. IUCN states that “their preference (Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins) as a captive display species makes them vulnerable to depletion from such catches.”
RWS should also follow the progressive example set by other facilities with regard to dolphin captures. In the late 1980s, facilities in the United States implemented a voluntary moratorium on collection of bottlenose dolphins from the wild, and this remains in place.
“RWS believes in being environmentally responsible and is committed to marine conservation. They should now walk the talk and not only retract their call for more dolphins to be collected but also release the remaining 25 dolphins back into the wild. RWS should note that in less than a week, more than 6,000 people have joined ACRES in asking them to let the dolphins go” said Mr. Louis Ng, Executive Director of ACRES.
“In a world where so much that is wild and free has already been lost to us, we must leave these beautiful mammals free to swim as they will and must. They do us no harm and wish us none and we should leave them alone. The fact that Resorts World offered a cash incentive for captured dolphins is going to put the wild dolphin populations in great danger. It shows the world how hypocritical Resorts World is as they try to hide behind the dark curtain of "research and education.”” said Richard O’Barry of the Earth Island Institute and star of the Oscar Award-winning documentary “The Cove”.
Animal rights' group takes RWS to task over dolphins
Today Online 2 Jun 11;
SINGAPORE - The Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) has called on Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) to retract its calls for more dolphins to be collected.
It said RWS had already bought 27 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, caught from the Solomon Islands for their Marine Life Park (MLP) attraction, and two died.
ACRES on Thursday disputed an RWS statement issued last Friday by a park spokesperson that to avert species crises, more controlled dolphin collections should be done from more locations and more facilities built to study and breed them.
ACRES said that efforts should instead focus on addressing why dolphins were disappearing in the wild.
It quoted a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, that the threats facing the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins included live capture for oceanariums, pollution, overfishing, incidental catches and environmental degradation.
When contacted by MediaCorp, MLP did not deny or confirm whether it would retract its calls for more dolphin collection, but pointed out that bottlenose dolphins were not endangered as ACRES said. And "scientific data" over the past several decades point to the fact that bottlenose dolphins can thrive in facilities, MLP added.
"Dolphins in marine parks have lived well over 40 years old, twice the average life span of dolphins in the wild. Dolphins have also been bred successfully in facilities, an important measure of successful adaption of dolphins to human care," it said.
But according to ACRES, establishing captive breeding programmes did not address or eliminate the cause of wild population declines, and subjected dolphins to the stress of capture, transport and captivity.
Catching them might drive them towards extinction, ACRES argued.
While it acknowledged that breeding programmes will "never address" the challenges marine life face in the wild, MLP said marine parks provide an important source of funding and expertise to conservation projects.
"Many have established laboratories, veterinary care and husbandry practices. They contribute heavily to current day's crop of marine mammal research and conservation projects ranging from field research, water quality studies, to reproduction and physiology, as well as rescue rehabilitation," it said.
It added that the park has been developed to exceed international standards for animal care and welfare, and is working towards international accreditation in these areas and educational and conservation programmes.
Meanwhile, ACRES' executive director Louis Ng said more than 6,000 people had joined ACRES in asking RWS to free the dolphins. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ESTHER NG
For more on the issue see ACRES "Save the World's Saddest Dolphins" facebook page
