Two of seven pink dolphins at Underwater World never left Singapore

Audrey Tan Straits Times 24 Nov 17;

SINGAPORE - Two of seven pink dolphins previously housed at Underwater World Singapore (UWS) never left the country, contrary to claims by the attraction that all its aquatic animals had found new homes in regional facilities.

Trade data published last month by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) - an international agreement between governments to regulate the wildlife trade - showed that only five live pink dolphins (Sousa chinensis) were exported last year.

The pink dolphin is listed on Appendix I of Cites, which lists species threatened with extinction. Permits are required from local authorities before animals on this list are traded. In Singapore, these permits are issued by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

Underwater World Singapore, an aquarium on Sentosa Island, closed last June after 25 years due to an expiring lease. The attraction's main stars were its seven Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins or pink dolphins which were named Eaung, Pann, Splish, Splash, Jumbo, Han and Speedy. On June 5 last year, UWS sent five pink dolphins, three fur seals and five otters to the Chimelong Ocean Kingdom theme park in Zhuhai, China.

Han, which had skin cancer, and Speedy, were not among the five sent to China.

But in April this year, a spokesman for Haw Par Corporation, which owned UWS, told The Straits Times that "all the other aquatic animals also found suitable facilities to be rehoused and were safely transferred out of the UWS premises to various regional facilities by end October 2016". The spokesman would not be drawn on naming the facilities.

When approached then, the AVA also declined to specify the number of permits issued to UWS, citing organisational confidentiality. The spokesman would only say that it worked with UWS to rehome all the aquatic animals to various aquaria overseas.

When queried on the export data earlier this week, the Haw Par spokesman declined to comment.

AVA, however, confirmed with The Straits Times on Friday (Nov 24) that it issued five export permits to UWS to facilitate the rehoming of live dolphins overseas as indicated in the Cites trade database. But the AVA spokesman stressed that its role was to ensure that Cites-listed animals are imported and exported according to the Convention.

"When these animals are in Singapore, their custodian (in this case, UWS) would be responsible for ensuring the care and welfare of these animals," she added. "There were no animal welfare issues detected when the dolphins were under the care of UWS."

Earlier this year, international marine conservation group Sea Shepherd visited the China facility on multiple occasions to monitor the five dolphins sent from Singapore, but found only four on display: females Eaung and Pann, as well as Pann's two calves Splish and Splash. Sea Shepherd said workers at the China park gave differing accounts for the missing dolphin, Jumbo, with one claiming that it was kept in an off-site research facility and another insisting that there were only four dolphins left.

UWS did not comment on the Sea Shepherd report then.

Marine conservation groups point out that the issue of the missing dolphins highlighted the lack of transparency around marine parks, saying that there was "very little culpability" in the dolphin trade.

Ms Jaki Teo, Singapore representative for Sea Shepherd Asia, said: "These long-living, intelligent and sensitive creatures are treated as mere commodities, and facilities are allowed to operate with appalling lack of transparency."


Not all pink dolphins sent abroad: Data
2 of 7 from Underwater World, supposedly taken to regional facilities, never left S'pore
Audrey Tan Straits Times 25 Nov 17;

Two of the seven pink dolphins previously housed at Underwater World Singapore (UWS) never left the country, contrary to claims by the attraction that all its aquatic animals had found new homes in regional facilities.

Trade data published last month by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) - an international agreement between governments to regulate the wildlife trade - showed that only five live pink dolphins (Sousa chinensis) were exported last year.

The pink dolphin is listed in Appendix I of Cites, which spells out species threatened with extinction.

Permits are required from the local authorities before animals on this list are traded. In Singapore, these permits are issued by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

UWS, an aquarium on Sentosa, closed last June after 25 years when its lease expired.

The attraction's main stars were its seven Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins or pink dolphins, which were named Eaung, Pann, Splish, Splash, Jumbo, Han and Speedy.

On June 5 last year, UWS sent five of them, three fur seals and five otters to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom theme park in Zhuhai, China.

Han, which had skin cancer, and Speedy were not among the five.

Trade data published last month by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) - an international agreement between governments to regulate the wildlife trade - showed that only five live pink dolphins (Sousa chinensis) were exported last year.
But in April this year, a spokesman for Haw Par Corporation, which owned UWS, told The Straits Times "all the other aquatic animals also found suitable facilities to be rehoused and were safely transferred out of the UWS premises to various regional facilities by end-October 2016". The spokesman declined to name the facilities.

When approached then, AVA also declined to specify the number of permits issued to UWS, citing organisational confidentiality. Its spokesman would say only that it worked with UWS to rehome all the aquatic animals in aquariums abroad.

When queried on the export data earlier this week, the Haw Par spokesman declined to comment.

AVA, however, confirmed with The Straits Times yesterday that it had issued five export permits to UWS to facilitate the rehoming of live dolphins overseas as indicated in the Cites trade database.

But the AVA spokesman stressed that its role is to ensure Cites-listed animals are imported and exported according to the Convention. "When these animals are in Singapore, their custodian (in this case, UWS) would be responsible for ensuring the care and welfare of these animals," she added. "There were no animal welfare issues detected when the dolphins were under the care of UWS."

Earlier this year, international marine conservation group Sea Shepherd visited the China facility on multiple occasions to monitor the five dolphins sent from Singapore, but found only four on display: females Eaung and Pann, as well as Pann's two calves, Splish and Splash.

Sea Shepherd said workers at the China park gave differing accounts of the missing dolphin, Jumbo.

One claimed it was kept in an off-site research facility, and the other insisted there were only four dolphins left. UWS did not comment on the Sea Shepherd report then.

Ms Jaki Teo, Singapore's representative for Sea Shepherd Asia, said: "These... creatures are treated as mere commodities, and facilities are allowed to operate with appalling lack of transparency."

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Indonesian travelling shows where dolphins perform in the name of education

More than 90 dolphins are held in captivity in Indonesia and trained to perform tricks in shows as part of the country’s so-called conservation efforts. Their future is uncertain as the government continues experimenting with a captive breeding programme to increase dolphin population in its waters.
Pichayada Promchertchoo Channel NewsAsia 27 Aug 17;

JAKARTA: Brama and Kumbara swim side by side in their little home, a murky plastic pool full of chlorinated water. The two bottlenose dolphins seem agitated ahead of the show in which they are a headline act; it involves performing the same maneuvers they have done thousands of times.

These are two of the last remaining dolphins in the world that still perform in travelling wildlife shows - a popular yet highly controversial business in Indonesia.

For animal advocates, the practice is among the worst forms of cruelty and exploitation. Years of constant confinement, food deprivation and loud noise during the show are believed to harm both their physical and mental health, resulting in stress, aggression and premature death.

Whenever the troop relocates, dolphins are put on stretchers and confined in a tank for 10-20 hours. Most of them are transported from city to city in the back of a truck, where other show animals such as sun bears, otters and cockatoos are locked up in small cages.

“The staff will put butter or Vaseline cream on the dolphin’s skin to keep it moist because it’s dry transport,” said Femke Den Haas, a founder of the Jakarta Animal Aid Network (JAAN), who has been working with wildlife for more than 20 years.

Since 2009, her organisation has been at the forefront of a campaign against such animal shows, collecting data on the use of dolphins for entertainment. It strongly condemns the travelling dolphin shows and is calling for the animals’ rehabilitation and return to the wild.

“Dolphins are highly intelligent, social and acoustic animals. They use their sonar to navigate in the ocean. But when they’re trapped in a small pool, their sound constantly bounces back at them. And they go crazy. It’s like we live in a room full of mirrors and all you see is yourself all the time. You’d go mental.

“What’s happening to dolphins in Indonesia is extremely, extremely cruel.”

But for the government, it is not. Travelling dolphin shows are considered an effective conservation tool that educates people about threatened animals through entertainment. As long as their health needs are met, the show can go on.

“Travelling dolphin shows exist to raise people’s awareness on saving them from extinction. The animals face a lot of problems in the wild. Many of them have been killed or caught by fishermen. So we have to save and rescue them.”

These are words from Mr Bambang Dahono Adji, director of Indonesia’s Biodiversity Conservation Directorate of the Environment and Forestry Ministry. His unit is responsible for issuing the conservation permits which allow the private sector to keep wild dolphins outside their natural habitat for conservation. It also recognises the legality of travelling wildlife shows.

“People’s understanding about dolphins is minimal. But if they see the performance, they’d think ‘Oh! Dolphins are like this! Oh! They cannot be killed! These animals must be protected!’. So I allow it because it’s part of the efforts to raise public awareness,” Mr Adji explained.

"PURE ENTERTAINMENT FOR PROFITS"

An hour’s drive from the capital Jakarta, a circus tent stands on a football field in Bekasi. Signs on its dusty canopy say the troop belongs to PT Wersut Seguni Indonesia (WSI), a private company that runs most of the travelling dolphin shows in the country.

Inside, Brama and Kumbara are circling their plastic pool. The enclosure is tiny, compared to their natural home in the Java Sea.

“Dolphins are not fish but marine mammals that breathe with lungs,” a male voice explains in the local language, alternating with blaring music from loudspeakers. “They live in the sea and have vertical tail fins, which make them different from fish.”

The brief introduction is considered educational by the government and helps justify the show’s existence. But for animal activists, this piece of information is nothing more than an excuse to keep the business running amid criticisms.

“Dolphins are taken from their habitat, where they can swim 100km a day, at the speed of 40kmh. And here they are, inside a small pool, having to go around in circles and work for pieces of fish that don’t even resemble their natural food,” Den Haas said.

“Everything these dolphins are doing goes against their natural behaviour. There is nothing educational. It is a show, pure entertainment for profits.”

DOLPHIN’S SMILE - "NATURE’S GREATEST DECEPTION"

In Bekasi, the show debuts with a cockatoo, followed by two otters and a baby sun bear. Ripples of laughter fill the tent as the animals perform tricks unknown in the wild. The otters wow the crowd with a basketball game. And like an acrobat, one of them expertly balances on a rolling barrel before the bear cub shows off its squats, pull-ups and riding skill.

When their performances are over, Brama and Kumbara jump into the act. The pair follow every command with eagerness, speed and perfection. Months of training have taught them to jump through hoops, hug each other, wave, sing, dance and even play football with their tail fins. Every maneuver earns them a reward - small pieces of fish, a little amount at a time.

For many people, what they are seeing is intelligence at play. But for dolphin experts, it is hunger and desperation.

“Everything that a dolphin does in captivity is for food. If you go to a travelling dolphin show and know what to look for, you’ll see food deprivation,” Richard O’Barry told Channel NewsAsia. He is known for his role in capturing and training dolphins for the popular TV series Flipper.

“If you look at the dolphin’s eye line - not the smile on its face - you’ll notice it’s looking not at the trainer but the trainer’s hands and the pocket of fish. They just want to be fed so they’re forced to do all these stupid tricks.”

O’Barry spent about ten years of his life capturing and training dolphins. But since 1970, he has been campaigning for the exact opposite. His Dolphin Project strives to release captive dolphins worldwide, following the death of one of the Flipper dolphins, Kathy.

O’Barry has been to the travelling dolphin show in Indonesia several times. While the audience laughed and applauded, thinking the animals were having fun, the former dolphin trainer saw something else.

“I could read their body language and I could see the suffering behind the dolphins’ smiles. Their smile is nature’s greatest deception. It creates an optical illusion that they’re always happy when in fact they’re suffering.”

EXPLOITATION IN DISGUISE

Indonesia is believed to be the only country in the world that still uses dolphins in travelling shows. Of the four troops, three are run by WSI and one by Pembangunan Jaya Ancol (PJA).

Both companies are licensed conservation agencies that also own big amusement parks, where captive dolphins are trained to perform tricks and swim with visitors. These include WSI’s The Sea Pantai Cahaya in Kendal, Central Java, and PJA’s Taman Impian Jaya Ancol or Ancol Dreamland in North Jakarta.

According to the Environment and Forestry Ministry, 92 dolphins are kept in captivity at tourist attractions, hotels and resorts nationwide. At least 70 of them were captured from the wild by fishermen, according to official data. The rest are believed to have been bred in captivity by seven conservation agencies, which also use dolphins for tourism.

Based on Indonesia’s law, it is illegal to “catch, injure, kill, keep, possess, care for, transport, and trade in a protected animal in live condition”. It is also illegal to transfer any protected animal from one place to another within or outside the country.

There is an exception, however. The acts mentioned above can be performed legally if the purpose is for research, science or safeguarding protected animals. The law also requires the preservation be carried out in a form of human care or breeding in captivity by designated institutions. This is where the controversy comes in.

INDONESIA’S DOLPHIN TRADE

It is unclear how the 70 captured dolphins ended up at tourist attractions, although they are considered to be conservation agencies by the government, with the authority and expertise to look after rescued dolphins.

Nonetheless, there are claims that some of the fishermen who captured the dolphins did so for financial reasons.

“In 2009, there was an announcement by Pantai Cahaya that it wanted to buy live dolphins,” a fisherman from Batang told Channel NewsAsia, referring to WSI’s conservation centre in Kendal - The Sea Pantai Cahaya.

At the time, he was one of the crew on board a fishing boat that captured at least four dolphins for the facility.

“The captain told us not to throw them away because they had a price. People at Pantai Cahaya would buy them alive. So we covered them with wet clothes.”

According to the fisherman, the animals remained on the ship for ten hours before they docked in Kendal, where WSI employees were waiting with a six-wheeled truck. The dolphins, he said, were then transferred onto the vehicles.

“All the fishermen who caught dolphins in 2009 sold them to Pantai Cahaya. They cost about US$400. A big one could fetch more than US$500. But they wouldn’t buy if it wasn’t a bottlenose dolphin.”

WSI’s operational director Dwe Seta did not respond to Channel NewsAsia’s interview request, while the company’s spokesperson declined to comment on dolphin-related issues.

DOLPHIN TOURISM

Dolphin conservation remains a grey area in Indonesia. During their rehabilitation and breeding programmes, many dolphins either have to perform tricks, swim with tourists or spend months in the circus.

This has raised questions about the underlying motive behind the captivity - whether it is conservation of a protected species or for profit.

For travelling shows such as the one in Bekasi, visitors pay US$3 for a standard ticket or US$4.5 to join the VIP row by the pool. Many of them also pay extra US$3 for an optional photograph with the dolphins. This means one circus group could earn more than US$4,000 in a month from 4-6 shows per day if it sells 10 standard tickets every round. Usually, the weekend shows see much bigger crowds.

Prices go up at big attractions such as Ancol Dreamland, where a ticket to watch animal shows costs US$12 per person.

As dolphin tourism continues to thrive, the use of the animals for entertainment has spread to hotels and resorts. Visitors to Wake Bali Dolphins pay US$110 for a 45-minute swim with the mammals in a chlorinated pool, and US$89 to watch them perform tricks. They can also join dolphin therapy” - a treatment the resort claims will help children with Down syndrome, autism and mental disorder develop self-confidence and social and academic skills.

The four dolphins were supplied by WSI’s conservation centre in Central Java. They are kept in a 10m x 20m pool right by the sea.

A WAIT FOR FREEDOM

Despite its knowledge of the animals’ conditions, the Environment and Forestry Ministry maintains every licensed dolphin conservation agency and attraction meets official standards. According to Mr Adji, evaluations are regularly carried out to ensure the facilities where the dolphins are kept are not harmful to them.

“The data is submitted by dolphin trainers and reflects the positive condition of the facilities. The atmosphere is caring and peaceful.”

Besides the shows, Mr Adji said dolphin conservation efforts also include a breeding programme, which he hopes will increase the population of captive dolphins in the country by 10 per cent within five years.

However, animal activists question the programme’s effectiveness and transparency, citing a lack of scientific evidence to prove which dolphins were indeed captive-bred. Concerns have been raised over the possibility of wildlife laundering through breeding centres, as none of the captive dolphins are microchipped.

“It’s very hard to trace where they come from or when they arrived at the conservation centres. It’s also very easy for the show owners to play around with this data and lie to the authorities,” Den Haas said.

For monitoring purposes, her organisation has provided the Environment and Forestry Ministry with microchips. “So far, they haven’t been used yet. We’ve been asking the authorities so many times but it just never happened.”

Meanwhile, the dolphin rehabilitation centre in Karimun Jawa remains empty. It was completed in 2011 at the request of the Environment and Forestry Ministry, with support from O’Barry’s Dolphin Project. The centre is the first permanent facility in the world that is designed to rehabilitate and release captive dolphins back into the oceans.

“At the very last minute, when we were supposed to confiscate the dolphins, the rug was pulled from under us. Unfortunately, somebody stopped this from happening,” O’Barry told Channel NewsAsia.

Six years on, the dolphin rehabilitation centre is still waiting for the patients. Although their arrival is yet to be decided, the founders are hopeful Indonesia will one day let the dolphins go home.

While the wait drags on, dolphin tourism continues to thrive.

In Bekasi, Brama and Kumbara almost finish their first performance of the day. On a signal, the two dolphins slide out of their little container onto the platform. They hold the heads and tail fins up high as people come to pose for photographs.

There are still five more shows to go, more people to please and more food to work for before the tent closes. But as always, both of them are wearing the happy dolphin’s smile.
Source: CNA/pp

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2 endangered turtles debut at SEA Aquarium after rescue, rehab

Channel NewsAsia 23 May 17;

SINGAPORE: After more than a year of rehabilitation, two rare rescued turtles joined the SEA Aquarium's marine life collection on Tuesday (May 23), Resorts World Sentosa said in a joint media release with SEA Aquarium.

One of them, a critically endangered male hawksbill turtle nicknamed Hawke, was "in poor condition" when it was found in the sea by a member of the public, SEA Aquarium said. Hawke arrived at the aquarium on Mar 24, 2016.

The turtle, which was estimated to have been between five and eight months old at the time, was believed to have been abandoned by its owner, who had kept it illegally as a pet. It had developed a pyramided carapace - a shell deformity likely attributed to poor nutrition and care.

The other, an endangered green sea turtle that aquarists named Louie, was found in a drain by another member of the public. It was a week-old hatchling that weighed all of 20 grammes when it was handed over to SEA Aquarium on Sep 28, 2015.

Aquarists and the animal health team "spared no effort" in caring for the two young turtles, SEA Aquarium said. These include feeding the turtles species-specific diets, monitoring their growth, measuring their body weights monthly and observing their behaviour with other fish.

Both turtles were gradually moved from separate, smaller homes to larger habitats where they could be slowly introduced to other species.

Louie has grown to almost 12 kilogrammes - still a fraction of the 200 kilogrammes that green sea turtles can grow to.

Hawke now tips the scales at a healthy 17 kilogrammes. Hawksbill turtles can weigh as much as 70 kilogrammes, the aquarium said.

The two turtles are now housed at the aquarium's Shipwreck Habitat, with species such as the pompano, threadfin trevally and shark ray, which are deemed compatible with the turtles. This provides inter-species interaction which is not only good for the animals, but allows visitors to witness the dynamics of marine life, the aquarium said.

The aquarium added that it is open to exploring the possibility of releasing the turtles in the future, in partnership with the authorities, but added that this "requires careful consideration, taking into account key concerns including the suitability of wild habitats and poaching, which must be thoroughly addressed to ensure their survival in the wild".


Rescued turtles make debut at S.E.A. Aquarium
Abigail Ng WY Straits Times 24 May 17;

When Louie, an endangered green sea turtle, arrived at Resorts World Singapore's S.E.A. Aquarium in September 2015, it measured no more than 5cm and weighed 20g.

More than a year on, it weighs at least 10kg, and yesterday was one of two sea turtles that debuted at the aquarium's Shipwreck Habitat in celebration of World Turtle Day.

Louie was found by a member of the public in a drain, while the other, a critically endangered hawksbill turtle, was found in the sea in poor condition. Named Hawke, it had developed an irreversible shell deformity due to poor nutrition and care.

S.E.A. Aquarium took in both turtles with the permission of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA). In response to queries, AVA said rescued or confiscated animals are sent to Wildlife Reserves Singapore or Resorts World Sentosa while investigations are ongoing. It added that the animals may be absorbed into zoological collections.

But Ms Anbarasi Boopal, deputy chief executive of the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society, said turtles with no incapacitating injuries or deformities should be released into the wild. Once hatched, sea turtles are independent, she said.

Ms Ria Tan, who runs the wildsingapore.com nature website, noted that wild turtles are commonly found in Singapore waters.

Aquarium curator Akira Yeo said the turtles are presently not suitable for release. "They are still in their juvenile stage, so we will continue to provide care. If a suitable release programme is found, we are happy to work with them."

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3 dolphins cannot be accounted for

Audrey Tan, The Straits Times AsiaOne 22 Apr 17;

An international marine conservation group probing the living conditions of seven dolphins once housed at Underwater World Singapore (UWS) is asking for more transparency from marine attractions here.

Sea Shepherd visited Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, China, three times last month to monitor the five Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins (or pink dolphins) that UWS said were sent there.

However, their investigators saw only four on display: females Eaung and Pann, as well as Pann's two calves, Splish and Splash.

"Further inquiries with Chimelong staff returned different responses," said Ms Jaki Teo, Singapore representative for Sea Shepherd Asia. One worker claimed the fifth dolphin, a female, was kept in an off-site research facility; but another staff said there were only four dolphins left, said Ms Teo.

UWS did not name the dolphins it sent over, but Sea Shepherd believes the fifth was Jumbo, a male.

UWS told The Straits Times its aquatic animals were all relocated to regional facilities by last October. These included the five pink dolphins, three fur seals and five otters that were sent to Chimelong. But UWS would not name the facilities the other animals, including two remaining dolphins, were moved to.

UWS also declined to respond to Sea Shepherd's report on the dolphins. Its spokesman would only say: "All the other aquatic animals also found suitable facilities to be rehoused and were safely transferred out of the UWS to various regional facilities by end October 2016."

Sea Shepherd's Ms Teo called for greater transparency from such parks. They could, for example, publish a list of acquisitions, births, deaths and sales of any animals.

"This will ensure that facilities keep to the highest animal husbandry standards and are accountable for their actions," said Ms Teo, pointing to past cases where animal deaths were swept under the rug until exposed by the media.

For example, when Gracie the dugong died in 2014, there was no announcement until last June, when The New Paper queried UWS after a reporter noticed the dugong had vanished. Similarly, when two manta rays died at Resorts World Sentosa in 2014 - the same year it started a manta ray conservation project - there were no announcements from the park until later that year, following queries from ST.

And UWS admitted that one of its dolphins, Han, was suffering from a "non-contagious form of skin cancer" only after local wildlife group Wildlife Watcher raised questions about its welfare.

It is not clear where Han and the other remaining dolphin, Speedy, were moved to. "This raises the question of whether they are still alive. This visible absence of culpability in the captive industry is a big problem," said Ms Teo.

The pink dolphin is on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which lists species threatened with extinction. Permits are required before animals on this list are traded.

But the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority, which issues them here, declined to specify the number of permits it issued UWS, citing organisational confidentiality. The agency would only say that it worked with UWS to rehome all the aquatic animals to various aquaria overseas.

Sea Shepherd's call for transparency is echoed by other conservation groups, including the Nature Society (Singapore), or NSS, and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). NSS marine conservation group chairman Stephen Beng said: "As more ocean theme parks are built, it pressures hunters to acquire endangered or threatened species in already overfished oceans. Transparency will show whether an organisation supports marine life research, conservation and education."

He added that the transfer of UWS' pink dolphins also fuels the debate on the moral acceptability of keeping animals in captivity, especially those with larger ranges and complex social structures such as cetaceans, which includes whales and dolphins.

Ms Aimee Leslie, global cetaceans and marine turtle manager at WWF-International, said: "There is no justification for a lack of transparency in the trade of protected marine species."

Chief executive of wildlife rescue group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society Louis Ng, who is also an MP for Nee Soon GRC, said: "India has banned the keeping of dolphins in captivity, Switzerland has banned the import of dolphins. Solomon Islands, where Resorts World Sentosa got their dolphins from, has also banned the export. Singapore should also move in this direction."

Related links
Sea Shepherd's full commentary: bit.ly/2nevLZ7

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Survival of Seychelles’ coral in jeopardy, says marine biologist

The Seychelles National Park Authority says above average sea temperatures caused by the El Niño phenomenon has affected between 60 percent to 90 percent of coral in the Curieuse Marine Park.
Jamila Figaro and Betymie Bonnelame Seychelles News Agency 7 Apr 17;

The coral reefs of Seychelles are in grave danger due to the damage sustained during last year's warm El Niño and the general effect of climate change, says a local marine biologist.

Jude Bijoux told SNA that, “The current live coral cover in sites that have been monitored is now approximately 3 to 5 percent and very much at risk due to the warming effect of the climate change."

The level of coral bleaching currently is similar to the bleaching catastrophe which happened in 1998, where up to 97 percent of corals in some areas bleached and caused many reefs around the islands to collapse into rubble.

Bleached coral continues to live, but without its colourful symbiotic algae it loses most of its food source and becomes extremely vulnerable to disease, predators and invasive organisms like seaweed and sponges. If the water temperature remains high, the coral will die.

Bijoux said, “Currently, the worrying trend is if the next bleaching event happens sooner than expected, that is before 17 years, it would not have sufficient time to bounce back to pre-bleaching levels.”

The target is to ensure that live coral remain at levels that were there before the bleaching of 1998.

“If the reefs do not get sufficient time to recover, they will become smaller and eventually upset the ecosystem as many underwater species depend on the coral reefs for food and shelter,” said Bijoux.

For an island state like Seychelles, coral reefs are extremely important as they contribute to the two most important sectors of the country’s economy -- tourism and fisheries.

Coral reefs are affected by natural factors such as cyclones and El Niños, as well as man-made factors such as pollution and physical destruction which includes reclamation projects, walking on reefs, as well as dropping of anchors on the reefs.

“One way that humans can protect the reef is by ensuring that the water that runs off into the sea are of better quality with very little or no nutrients. Nutrients promote the growth of algae, which grows faster that the coral reefs,” explained Bijoux.

Nature Seychelles, a local non-governmental organisation, started the country’s first scientific coral restoration program seven years ago to reverse the trend. Taking corals that had survived the 1998 bleaching, the organisation grew over 45,000 fragment of corals in underwater nurseries and planted a degraded area in the Cousin Island special Reserve covering the size of a football field.

“This has been acknowledged by experts as the world’s largest coral reef restoration program using a specific method called coral gardening,” said Nirmal Jivan Shah, the chief executive.

The Seychelles National Parks Authority (SNPA) is currently undertaking another coral nursery project since the end of 2015 off Curieuse Island to try and restore the reefs.

Bijoux said that there are reefs which have degraded and without manual help, they will not recover.

“There are a few instances where some corals have not been affected by bleaching, which means that there is certain resilience. We are therefore taking small samples of these corals, make them grow and then use them to rehabilitate other coral reefs which have been affected by bleaching,” he explained.

In February, as part of the Valentine’s Day activities, guests at the Four Seasons Resort Seychelles had to prepare a rescued coral fragment from the reef bay and attach it to a heart-shaped metal frame, which was then transplanted into the nursery for full recovery. The fragment will then be transplanted back to the reef in its natural habitat.

Looking to the future, Shah told SNA that “We cannot turn back the clock and what is gone is gone. We have to now design new types of reef – designer reefs as we call them.

The Nature Seychelles’ Reef Rescuers’ team who are in the water all the time has recently discovered “super corals” that have not bleached at all.

“We are now growing 3,000 fragments of these in our nurseries so we can design and plant new, climate-proofed coral reefs,” added Shah.

In the Indian Ocean, Seychelles, a group of 115 islands, is the most vulnerable as it is much closer to the equator and thus the water is warmer than neighboring countries of Reunion and Mauritius.

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Malaysia: Marine theme park on Jerejak, Penang may invite criticism

ARNOLD LOH The Star 17 Nov 16;

GEORGE TOWN: Building a marine theme park and possibly a dolphinarium in Pulau Jerejak may invite disapproval on a global scale for Penang’s tourism development, said a marine expert.

“Except for research purposes, it is not a good move to keep dolphins in tanks and teach them tricks for public amusement.

“Many animal rights groups worldwide are against this,” said Universiti Sains Malaysia marine biologist Assoc Prof Dr Aileen Tan.

Also, marine theme parks have been labelled as a form of animal abuse by environmental groups worldwide and many people were being put off by such attractions.

It was learnt that a company that owns the only development land on the island has been exploring the possibility of setting up such a park after state investment arm Penang Development Corporation (PDC) divests its stake in the company.

A source familiar with Penang’s tourism development plans revealed that the company hoped to build a combined public aquarium and amusement park.

Planning for this began in 2013 by a property developer who recently paid a 10% deposit to buy PDC’s 49% share in Tropical Island Resort Sdn Bhd (TIRSB).

TIRSB has a 60-year lease on the only piece of development land in Pulau Jerejak.

With PDC’s divestment of the shares for RM156mil, Ideal Property Group will develop a 32ha tract with UDA Holdings which is the majority partner.

Pulau Jerejak has been a quarantine centre for migrants, leper colony, tuberculosis treatment centre, penal colony, British political detention camp, contagious diseases site, drug rehabilitation centre and a prison for hardcore criminals.

The source said that between 2003 and 2005, another group studied the possibility of having a marine theme park there, but the idea was shelved as Pulau Jerejak was too hilly for development without major hill-cutting work while the sea around it was too polluted.

Dr Tan agreed with the pollution problem, saying that the industrial and urban discharge from Penang Island contained too much toxins.

“There have been spikes in the amounts of heavy metal effluents in the sea around Bayan Lepas in the past,” she said, adding that salinity levels of the seawater in the area “may not be at full strength”.

She explained that the salinity would be vital for the welfare of any marine creatures exhibited at the theme park if it was built.

The intrinsic quality of the seawater in that area was brackish because there were several rivers flowing into the sea there.

The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals group, via its website, is calling on the public to avoid visiting places that keep marine animals in captivity.

It is also asking people to get their governments to stop using taxpayers’ money to subsidise such facilities.

According to Britain’s Whale and Dolphin Conservation group, a survey in May showed that 50% of Americans interviewed were against the practice of confining killer whales (orcas) in marine parks while 86% of British respondents said they would avoid marine parks.

In contrast, according to the NGO’s captivity campaign manager Cathy Williamson, the marine park business was growing exponentially in other parts of the world.

“In the last 10 years, we’ve seen around 50 aquaria opening up that have captive belugas and bottlenose dolphins, and they are looking at orcas as well.

“So, while we’re making progress in one part of the world, things are not going so well in other places,” she was quoted as saying.


Pulau Jerejak land sale questioned
DAVID TAN The Star 16 Nov 16;

GEORGE TOWN: The controversy involving Pulau Jerejak continues with Penang Gerakan hitting out at the state government over the recent sale of Penang Development Corpora­tion’s (PDC) 49% stake in Tropical Island Resort Sdn Bhd (TIRSB) to a local developer.

Penang Gerakan chairman Teng Chang Yeow questioned the sale to Q Islands Development Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Ideal Property Group, when Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng rejected the deal in 2013.

“The rejection of the joint-venture agreement caused PDC to lose about RM220mil in profit guarantee and also the authority over its land on Pulau Jerejak,” said Teng.

Quoting “reliable” PDC sources, he said the agreement inked in December 2013 had a potential profit guarantee of up to RM450mil based on a gross development value of RM1.5bil.

He said the Chief Minister, who is also PDC chairman, had, however, rejected the 2013 agreement between TIRSB and Ideal Property.

“Why did Lim keep silent over his rejection of the joint-venture agreement but decided to sell PDC’s 49% stake in Pulau Jerejak to Ideal Property’s subsidiary?

“Why has his initial rejection become a successful deal three years later?” he asked at a press conference at the state Gerakan headquarters here yesterday.

Meanwhile, Ideal Property said they won the Pulau Jerejak redevelopment project via a request for proposal that saw the participation of five other developers in 2013.

(right) An aerial view of Pulau Jerejak, with the jetty of the closed down resort over the water..
Treasured island: An aerial view of the jetty belonging to Pulau Jerejak’s closed-down resort.
Its group executive chairman Datuk Alex Ooi said Ideal was one of three developers short-listed for the project.

“Tropical Island Resort gave us the project because our master plan was the most cost-effective, eco-friendly, and had a low-density design,” he said.

Ideal, he added, got the project because it promised attractive returns and demonstrated its financial capability to undertake the project with a significant deposit payment to TIRSB in 2013.

“It took us three years to get the master plan approved, complying with all the stringent requirements of the state and Federal Government,” he said.

Ooi said the completed design adhered strictly to the Federal Government’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) guidelines.

“The project will be developed outside the proposed forest reserve area,” he said.

The proposed eight-year development will have a theme park and two hotels surrounded by a low-density and low-rise residential scheme.

“The project will create a few thousand job opportunities for the locals,” he noted.

On whether there will be foreign participation in the project, Ooi said no overseas investors had been approached to co-develop the project.

“The only partner is Tropical Island Resort,” he said.

An English daily reported that Ideal Property had gone to China in March to sign an agreement with a Chinese company to develop Pulau Jerejak.

On Saturday, PDC general manager Datuk Rosli Jaafar said the corporation accepted the offer by UDA Holdings to sell its (PDC) 49% stake in TIRSB to Ideal Property for RM156mil, generating a RM140.6mil profit.

TIRSB was a joint-venture company between UDA and PDC, and is the owner of Jerejak Rainforest Resort & Spa, which closed down in May this year.

Rosli also said UDA had submitted its plans to the state government to develop 1,200 residential units over 32ha, a marina, two hotels, a theme park, an 11.5km round-island cycling track and related infrastructure to promote tourism in the state.

Read more!

Underwater World Singapore senior diver killed by stingray

Channel NewsAsia 5 Oct 16;

SINGAPORE: An Underwater World Singapore (UWS) diver was killed on Tuesday (Oct 4) after he was stung in the chest by a stingray.

In a statement on Wednesday, Haw Par Corporation confirmed that Mr Philip Chan, 62, "was injured in the chest by a stingray" while preparing marine life for transfer to a new aquarium. He was the senior supervisor of UWS' curatorial department.

"He died from his injury a few hours later at Singapore General Hospital (SGH)," the statement added.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) sent an ambulance on Tuesday afternoon to UWS at around 2.20pm. Upon arrival, paramedics found Mr Chan lying near the venue's entrance and assessed the situation before conducting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him.

He was then taken to SGH and paramedics continued to perform CPR during the journey, SCDF said.

Although UWS has ceased operations since Jun 26, Mr Chan was one of the 10 staff who stayed on to care for the animals while suitable homes were sought out for them, Haw Par Corporation said.

"He was a veteran diver, aquarist and animal caregiver who had been caring for the aquatic animals at UWS since its opening in 1991," it added.

"The management and staff at Haw Par Corporation are deeply saddened by the loss of a long-time staff and colleague and express our condolences to the family of Mr Chan. Haw Par is providing all possible support and assistance to Mr Chan’s family in this time of difficulty."

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said it has instructed Haw Par to stop all activities associated with the transfer of the sea animals after the incident.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Manpower Ministry said officers from its Safety and Health Inspectorate "responded to the scene immediately and commenced investigations" after the ministry was informed of the incident.

"Preliminary findings indicate that a worker was pierced in his chest by the barb of a stingray while he was in the midst of transferring the stingray from its tank. He was conveyed to hospital where he subsequently succumbed to his injuries," it said, adding that investigations are ongoing.

Haw Par said it is assisting the authorities with investigations and has suspended the animal transfer programme at UWS.


Underwater World supervisor dies after getting stung in chest by a stingray
Today Online 5 Oct 16;

SINGAPORE — A senior staff at Underwater World Singapore (UWS) has died after getting stung in the chest by a stingray, prompting a suspension of efforts to transfer the defunct attraction's animals to new facilities.

The unusual incident happened on Tuesday (Oct 4) afternoon, as 62-year-old Mr Philip Chan was preparing some animals for transfer to a new aquarium.

Mr Chan was "injured in the chest by a stingray" in the midst of transferring the stingray from its tank and died from his injury a few hours later at the Singapore General Hospital.

Mr Chan, a senior supervisor of the Curatorial Department, was one of the 10 UWS staff who had stayed after the attraction's closure in late June to help care for the animals while suitable new homes were being found.

Haw Par Corporation, which ran UWS, said Mr Chan was a "veteran diver, aquarist and animal caregiver who had been caring for the aquatic animals at UWS since its opening in 1991".

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the incident at 2.20pm on Tuesday and despatched an ambulance to UWS. They found Mr Chan lying near the entrance and the paramedics commenced CPR. The SCDF said the paramedics continued to administer CPR while on route to SGH. The hospital was also alerted to be on standby to receive the Mr Chan.

Haw Par said it is assisting the authorities with the investigations, adding that the company would provide “all possible support and assistance” to Mr Chan’s family.

A Ministry of Manpower (MOM) spokesperson said the ministry, which was informed about the incident on Tuesday, has instructed Underwater World Singapore to stop all activities associated with the transferring of sea animals. Officers from MOM’s Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate had responded to the scene immediately and commenced investigations, said the spokesperson. Investigations are ongoing.


Veteran Underwater World diver killed by stingray had loved animals and diving
TOH EE MING and CHRISTOPHER TOH Today Online 6 Oct 16;

SINGAPORE — When she received a call at 2pm on Tuesday that her husband had been involved in an accident at work and was sent to hospital, Madam Serene Tong thought little of it, assuming that it was minor.

Her husband, Mr Philip Chan, was a veteran diver at Underwater World Singapore (UWS). Years ago, a sand tiger shark bite had left him needing stitches and a hospital stay, but he recovered and continued working at the attraction.

By the time she reached the hospital, their two daughters broke the news that her husband was “gone”.

“The worst thing was ... I didn’t even rush down,” said Mdm Tong, 59, before breaking down in tears.

Mr Chan, 62, died in Singapore General Hospital (SGH) on Tuesday (Oct 4), after getting stabbed in the chest by a stingray while he was preparing some animals for transfer to a new aquarium from UWS, where he had been working since it opened in 1991.

The attraction closed in June this year, and Mr Chan, a senior supervisor of the Curatorial Department, was one of 10 employees who had stayed to help care for the animals while suitable new homes were being found.

All activities to transfer the defunct attraction’s animals to new facilities have been suspended since the incident, said the Ministry of Manpower, which sent officers from its Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate to investigate when it was informed about the incident.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the incident at 2.20pm on Tuesday and despatched an ambulance to UWS.

They found Mr Chan lying near the entrance, and the paramedics performed CPR. The SCDF said the paramedics continued to administer CPR en route to SGH.

The hospital was also alerted to be on standby to receive Mr Chan.

Family and friends turned up for Mr Chan’s wake at Block 52, Lengkok Bahru on Wednesday.

Beside his coffin, his old scuba diving suit was displayed as a reminder of his love of diving.

He was someone who passionately loved animals, and had a thirst for adventure and all-things diving related, often venturing out to the surrounding waters to catch marine wildlife, even sharks, as specimens for the aquarium.

Mr Jimmy Tan, 54, who has known Mr Chan for more than 30 years, was one of those who went on these marine specimen collection trips.

He said Mr Chan was thinking of continuing to work with animals after his contract with UWS ended, adding that he had received a job offer from River Safari.

“I remember he was still showing off his muscles, telling me he still felt very strong ... He was more like a brother to me, like family,” he said.

Last week, they met and floated the idea of a diving trip to their old haunt near Pemanggil island in Malaysia sometime in March next year.

“But now (this trip) will never happen,” Mr Tan said.

Mdm Tong told reporters that she had met Mr Chan while they were both working at Sentosa. He was a lifeguard and she was an administrative staff there.

“He was very honest, forthright ... We just clicked,” she said, revealing how the family used to go on diving trips during their 34-year marriage.

In a statement on Wednesday, Haw Par Corporation, which ran UWS, said Mr Chan was a “veteran diver, aquarist and animal caregiver who had been caring for the aquatic animals at UWS since its opening in 1991”.

Haw Par said it is assisting the authorities with investigations, adding that the company would provide “all possible support and assistance” to Mr Chan’s family.

Read more!

RWS dolphin 'nibbled' man's toes out of playful curiosity: Trainer

Jalelah Abu Baker MyPaper AsiaOne 23 Aug 16;

PLAYFUL NIBBLE? Dental surgeon Lim said he stayed calm when the dolphin bit the second toe of his right foot.

The last thing dental surgeon Michael Lim expected in a chance to get up close to the dolphins at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) was to be bitten.

Dr Lim, 48, was sitting at the edge of a lagoon at an attraction for the public to interact with the bottlenose dolphins, with his legs in the water, when he was bitten on the second toe of his right foot.

He told The Straits Times yesterday that he was at an "encounter programme" at Dolphin Island, an up-close experience without getting in the water, two weeks ago.

He wanted to cool himself on that hot afternoon, and got permission to dangle his legs in the water from the dolphin trainer.

Shortly after the dolphin did a trick of jumping high into the air, flipping and swimming backwards, he felt a painful bite. Dr Lim, who had gone to RWS with his 22-year-old daughter, said he stayed calm.

"I have had dogs and cats before, so I know that when animals bite, we are not supposed to pull away or scream," he said.

He added that the trainer did not see what had happened until he got her attention.

Twenty minutes later, a nurse came and bandaged the toe. He stayed until the show, for which he paid about $100, ended at 6pm. A doctor gave him a seven-day course of antibiotics.

The bite marks looked like razor cuts and Mr Lim said they measured 13mm and 15mm. Though his wound is healing well, he is now wary.

"We have the idea they are friendly and harmless but they are still wild animals."

Brittney Iverson, the dolphin trainer, described it as an "isolated incident where one of our dolphins nibbled the toes of a guest during an interaction programme".

She said: "We believe the dolphin behaved out of playful curiosity, rather than hostility, as it explores its surroundings."

Read more!

Spike in demand for blue tangs, clownfish after launch of Finding Dory

SPCA urges all potential pet owners to make sure they are ready to invest the time and energy before buying them.
Lee Li Ying, Channel NewsAsia 22 Jun 16;

SINGAPORE: Blue tangs and clownfish have been in demand following the release of animated feature film "Finding Dory" last week.

According to an aquarium shop owner whom Channel NewsAsia spoke to, he has seen a 10 per cent increase in demand for blue tangs and clownfish over the weekend.

He usually brings in 10 blue tangs each time and it takes nearly two weeks to clear them. However, he sold nine over the last weekend and all his clownfish were also sold out. More than 10 have been restocked on Tuesday morning (Jun 21).

Blue tangs and clownfish are marine animals, so it takes more effort to ensure that the water condition in the aquarium is suitable for them. So while the price of a clownfish may be below S$6 and a blue tang costs under S$30, the cost of setting up such an aquarium is at least S$500.

Director of Fresh 'N' Marine Aquarium, Edmund Lim, explained: "You need to have a proper tank with seawater, which is properly measured on the salinity level. Make sure there is a filter system running and that it is matured, cycled properly before introducing any livestock, corals or fish. It typically takes about three weeks to be safe."

Pet shops can guide new owners, but they have to be in it for the long run. “We'll educate them on what to do and ask them not to be so impulsive,” Mr Lim added. “We'll guide them step by step in order to arrive at the final stage where they can actually put in the fish. It's not a very difficult hobby. It's more about the money and cost involved in setting up this marine system.”

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) fears that impulse purchase of pets can lead to neglect and even abandonment once the initial excitement wears off.

Executive director of SPCA, Jaipal Singh Gill, said: "Those species are marine species and a lot of people may not realise that when your release them into ponds or freshwater environments, they’re not going to survive.

“Even if they are not released into the marine animal environment, they are not from this area, and the chances of them surviving is extremely low and they’re likely to suffer a slow and painful death."

SPCA urges all potential pet owners to make sure they are ready to invest the time and energy before buying them.

It is also unclear if birds and terrapins have seen a spike in demand following the release of films like "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and "Angry Birds", as pet store owners Channel NewsAsia spoke to declined to comment.

- CNA/xk

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Underwater World a regular target of marine park critics

Lin Yangchen, The Straits Times AsiaOne 20 Jun 16;

A persistent conundrum in nature conservation is finding a balance between breeding animals in captivity to prevent extinction and enhance public awareness, and channelling resources to protect them within their natural habitats.

The issue has been thrust into the spotlight again with the closure this coming Sunday of the 25-year-old Underwater World Singapore (UWS). The lease on its premises nears expiry and it faces stiff competition from the Marine Life Park and Dolphin Island at Resorts World Sentosa. UWS was the largest tropical fish oceanarium in Asia when it opened in 1991.

Conservation and animal welfare groups have criticised it for catching dolphins in the wild instead of sourcing ones bred in captivity, keeping animals in bad condition and forcing them to perform unnatural acts.

But UWS managers said in 2009 that their successful breeding of dolphins and other species indicated that the animals were well taken care of and helped to maintain a diverse gene pool for the viability of the species.

An Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin, or pink dolphin, was born UWS in 2002, which the attraction said was the world's first recorded captive birth of the species.

The oceanarium has also successfully bred about 15 species of fish, including sharks, some of which had not been bred elsewhere.

Then curatorial director Bruce Mackay said in 2001 that captive breeding saves these species from being taken from the wild for commercial trade.

In 2010, UWS released 18 critically endangered hawksbill turtles, eight of them with satellite tracking devices to study their migratory behaviour in collaboration with organisations in Japan and the United States.

However, photojournalist and activist Debby Ng, who founded local marine protection group Hantu Blog in 2003, said: "Success in captive breeding and release alone are not conclusive measures of conservation success." She added that long-term monitoring and management are necessary to determine whether the efforts have helped wild populations persist.

"Zoos and oceanariums can provide a crucial service if they teach respect for nature and foster endearment of the wild."

Outreach activities are part of the mix at UWS, such as holiday programmes in which children attend educational talks about marine life and spend the night in UWS' underwater tunnel sleeping with the fish.

UWS has also given stranded wildlife a home. Gracie the dugong was taken in in 1998 after its mother drowned off Pulau Ubin. Gracie lived at UWS until 2014, when it died of an acute digestive disorder.

But UWS still faced controversies. In 2004, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society discovered that the oceanarium's six dolphins had been originally caught in the wild rather than bred in captivity as previously recorded, and called for them to be set free.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), however, clarified that as the dolphins had already been in captivity for at least three years in a Thai marine park prior to coming to Singapore, UWS could legally keep them.

In 2014, animal welfare and conservation groups Wildlife Watcher (Singapore) and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society reported that the dolphins were kept in rusty enclosures, had skin diseases, were made to perform unnatural acts and were exposed to loud music.

But an inspection by the AVA found the dolphins to be in a "satisfactory" condition. A pink dolphin was born there that year.

Mr Stephen Beng, chairman of the marine conservation group of the Nature Society (Singapore), said that the question remains of the "moral acceptability of keeping animals in captivity, especially those with larger ranges and complex social structures" such as dolphins.

Ms Ng noted that people can admire such animals in their natural habitats, even in Singapore.

In fact, there have been several recent sightings of wild pink dolphins in Singapore waters.

She added that some aquariums in the United States actually offer field trips to observe animals in the wild.

Read more!

Underwater World closure plan draws flak from animal lovers

LAURA PHILOMIN Channel NewsAsia 7 Jun 16;

SINGAPORE — Announcing it will be closing its doors to the public for good after 25 years of service later this month, Underwater World Singapore (UWS) said it has rehomed its pink dolphins, fur seals and otters in an aquarium in China, much to the dismay of local wildlife conservation groups.

In a press release issued on Monday (June 6), UWS said its lease at Sentosa expires in less than two years, but decided to close operations earlier — on June 26 — to ensure animals “have a good home to relocate to”.

“After nearly a year reviewing suitable facilities, we found a home for our pink dolphins, fur seals and otters. Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, China — with one of the finest facilities in the world and a strong staff with expertise in marine mammal veterinary and husbandry care, as well as an active breeding and conservation programme — was selected as the best choice,” said UWS.

The transfer of the animals was approved by the authorities in both countries, it added. The park, a subsidiary of Haw Par Corporation, is still looking for suitable homes for its remaining animals. It did not say how many animals will be affected in total.

Instead of subjecting the animals to the stress of relocating to another country, wildlife conservation groups here said UWS, which has been criticised in the past for keeping pink dolphins in captivity, should have tried to rehabilitate the animals for release back into wild.

If that was not possible, transferring them to local facilities would have been the preferred option, especially at a time where Singapore already has plans to expand its wildlife attractions.

Animal Concerns Research & Education Society’s (Acres) chief executive Louis Ng was concerned about the stress the animals were subjected to during the transfer. He also hoped that Singapore’s host of other wildlife attractions such as Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore Zoo and River Safari would be able to take in the remaining animals at UWS. “We prefer transfers (rather) than (animals) captured from the wild, so it entirely makes sense to transfer existing collections to other facilities here,” he added.

Ms Ria Tan, who runs the blog Wild Shores of Singapore, questioned the animals’ state of health after the transfer, echoing other questions raised by wildlife groups on the welfare of the animals in their new environment, the type of care they would be provided and if they would be subjected to performing in shows.

Sea Shepherd’s Singapore coordinator James Chua said instead of moving the animals from one captivity setting to another, they should have been rehabilitated for release or moved to a sanctuary, as there is no guarantee the animals would be able to adapt to their new environment and survive.

He also said if UWS really wanted to help the dolphins, it could have consulted groups first on how to move forward with similar “rehab and release” programmes. “But, obviously, it’s more of a profit-making decision,” he added.

Chimelong has been touted as one of the largest aquariums in China and in the world, with performing Beluga whales, seals and dolphins, among others, and media reports have raised red flags over the welfare of the animals.

A Washington Post article in February, citing a report by the China Cetacean Alliance, said Chimelong houses 491 cetaceans, including 279 bottlenose dolphins, 114 belugas and nine orcas, many of which were captured from the wild using methods that are “known to cause stress and fear”.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, UWS said a transportation plan was co-developed by animal experts from the two aquariums for the dolphins, fur seals and otters, who were moved on Sunday.

Adding that the transfer was “smooth”, UWS said animals were accompanied by a specialist team from Chimelong throughout the journey, and have settled down into their new homes.

The Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said its officers were present during the moving process to safeguard the welfare of the animals. It also ensured UWS worked with Chimelong to come up with a process to minimise risk and stress to the dolphins during the process. For instance, prior to the move, trainers and a veterinarian from Chimelong spent time at UWS to familiarise themselves with the dolphins.

Asked why the transfer of the animals was not announced beforehand, UWS said a quarantine period was required by the Singapore authorities, and no announcement was made to allow the dolphins “a quiet isolation period”.

It did not address queries on concerns over Chimelong’s track record. But it said scientific data about the UWS dolphins was transferred to Chimelong, and it hoped UWS’ success in breeding and research will be continued to contribute to conservation efforts.


Underwater World Singapore to close Jun 26
Channel NewsAsia 6 Jun 16;

SINGAPORE: Underwater World Singapore (UWS) and the Dolphin Lagoon are set to close on Jun 26 after 25 years of service, operator Haw Par announced on Monday (Jun 6).

Haw Par said that UWS had to vacate the facility and cease operations as the lease on the Sentosa attraction was expiring in less than two years. Its pink dolphins, fur seals and otters have been transferred to Chimelong Ocean Kingdom in Zhuhai, China.

Chimelong Ocean Kingdom has "one of the finest facilities in the world and a strong staff with expertise in marine mammal veterinary and husbandry care, as well as an active breeding and conservation programme", said Haw Par.

"Although UWS’ lease is not ending yet, ensuring that our CITES animals have a good home to relocate to is our responsibility and we decided to facilitate their transfer to COK and to cease operations earlier," it added. "The transfer of the UWS CITES animals to COK was approved by the authorities in Singapore and China and the animals were relocated last week."

As for its 70 staff, Underwater World Singapore told Channel NewsAsia they will be compensated in accordance with Singapore's Employment Act. It is also working with unions to organise a month-long outplacement programme to enhance their career-readiness and will consider them for internal re-deployment. "We will assist the staff, within our means, to look for alternative job opportunities since they have acquired valuable experience and knowledge during their employment with UWS."

Before the announcement, the "meet the dolphins" session at UWS had been closed since May 26, according to a notice on its website.

To mark its closing, UWS will provide free admissions to beneficiaries from charity partners it worked with in the past. From Tuesday (Jun 7), tickets will also return to 1991 prices, when the attraction first opened - S$9 per adult and S$5 per child.

INCREASED COMPETITION; STRUCK BY SCANDAL

UWS has faced increased competition since the Marine Life Park - which includes Dolphin Island and the S.E.A. Aquarium - opened at Resorts World Sentosa in 2012.

The Dolphin Lagoon was relaunched in 2010 after a revamp, and also welcomed the birth of a pink dolphin calf, Splish, in November 2014.

However, scandal struck the park earlier in 2014. In August that year, animal welfare groups Wildlife Watcher (Singapore) and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society published a report, detailing the "appalling" health of dolphins held at the Dolphin Lagoon as well as "sub-standard" conditions of other animals at Underwater World Singapore.

In response, UWS said that the dolphin in the report had non-transmissible skin cancer, and was being treated. It added that its facility complies with the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority's (AVA) licensing conditions for animal conditions.

The Marine Life Park at Resorts World Sentosa has also attracted its fair share of complaints, most recently in 2014 after the report of a dolphin death in the park. Three other dolphins out of a total of 27 set for the Marine Life Park died before they reached Singapore.

"WE GREW UP COMING TO UNDERWATER WORLD": VISITORS

Visitors at Underwater World spoke to Channel NewsAsia about the attraction's 25-year history as well as its mixed legacy.

"We grew up coming to Underwater World so it's definitely really sad that it has to go, but I guess they face stiff competition from S.E.A Aquarium," said Vanessa Ho, 23, who works in operations. She added: "Animals belong in the wild; (the fact that) that Dolphin Lagoon is closing seems right". Businesswoman Irene Torio, 44, agreed, saying that dolphins "belong in the wild and to keep them in captivity is not a good idea".

Rhalina, 35, a tourist from Perth, added: "I think it's a shame because we too lost our equivalent. I didn't get to see the dolphins but they do enjoy the company of people, and it's a good educational tool."

Said engineer Val Tan: "It's sad that it's closing. I remember coming here in primary school when it had just opened and now I'm 32, but we're glad we got to bring our baby here before it closes."

But for Jennifer Ng, 29, a Vietnam national who works in Singapore, her visit came a little too late. She told Channel NewsAsia: "Today I brought my family (from Vietnam) to see the dolphins but they aren't here anymore." She mused: "But I guess it's good that they move. If I were in the same place for 25 years, I'd like to make a move too."


Dolphins at Underwater World have moved to China
Judith Tan The New Paper 8 Jun 16;
They are breaking the gang up after 25 years.

The Underwater World Singapore (UWS) and the Dolphin Lagoon at Sentosa will shutter their doors on June 26.

The lagoon's five pink dolphins, also known as Chinese White Dolphins, have gone to Zhuhai, China.

Along with them went three fur seals and five otters.

Their new home? The Chimelong Ocean Kingdom (COK), which was chosen after nearly a year of reviewing suitable facilities, a UWS spokesman told The New Paper yesterday.

"(It is) one of the finest in the world and has a strong staff with expertise in marine mammal veterinary and husbandry care.

"There is also an active breeding and conservation programme.

"COK agreed to adopt our Cites animals and is ready to receive them. The transfer was approved by the authorities in Singapore and China," she said.

Cites, or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is an international multilateral agreement between governments to ensure that trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

"In addition, the Pearl River Estuary in the surrounding area of Zhuhai City is one of the main habitats of the pink dolphins, also known as Giant Panda of the Sea, and is accorded Class 1 protection for endangered species at the national level in China," the UWS spokesman said.

The animals were relocated last week, together with scientific data about the UWS dolphins. "It is hoped that the breeding success and research at UWS can be continued at COK and help to contribute to the conservation efforts of this species.

"Their arrival at COK will also help to promote a better understanding of the Chinese White Dolphin among the public and create awareness in animal conservation," she added.

Mr James Chua, Singapore coordinator of ocean conservation organisation Sea Shepherd Asia, said it is a small victory on a global scale to have one less aquarium operating.

"Sea Shepherd's stand is clear and firm - we are against any cetaceans in captivity in any part of the world.

"Our investigative report has clearly shown with photographic evidence of the welfare standards, conditions of the animals and their enclosures in Underwater World Singapore.

"The release of the report has allowed the public to make an informed choice of whether to support such facilities, as well as voice out their concerns.

"Wholly owned by the Haw Par Corporation, the oceanarium housed some 2,500 marine life from 250 species around the region. It was popular for providing fun and educational interactive experiences.

Since the opening of UWS in 1991, some 30 million visitors have seen its exhibits.

"With the expiry of the lease at Sentosa in less than two years, UWS will have to vacate the facility and cease operations," UWS said in a press release yesterday.


CHEAPER TICKETS

To mark its closing and 25 years of service, UWS will be providing free admissions to beneficiaries from charity partners it had worked with.

And from today, ticket prices will be back to when the attraction first opened - $9 for an adult and $5 for a child.

Its Underwater Santa and Underwater God of Fortune, who usually appear over Christmas and Chinese New Year respectively, will be at the tunnel every day until June 26 to bid guests farewell.


Suitable homes sought for Underwater World's marine animals
An animal activist group and a marine biology expert Channel NewsAsia spoke to advocate releasing some of the marine animals back into the wild, according to their origins.
Lee Li Ying, Channel NewsAsia 8 Jun 16;

SINGAPORE: The search is on for suitable homes for Underwater World Singapore's (UWS) marine animals, after it was announced that UWS will close later in June.

While the attraction's pink dolphins, fur seals and otters have already been relocated to an aquarium in China last week, questions remain over the remaining animals.

Wildlife group Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) has called for the endangered sea turtles found at UWS to be returned to their habitats, and Singapore's shores have been proven to be suitable.

Said Ms Anbarasi Boopal, deputy chief executive of ACRES: "The sea turtles visited our shores repeatedly year after year. The animals will have to be assessed based on their health conditions and whether they are disease-free before they are released back into the wild. It's not something new for Underwater World; it has happened in 2006, (when) about 12 sea turtles were released into the South China Sea."

As for other marine animals in UWS, their fate is still uncertain. UWS' operator, Haw Par Corporation, said it is searching for suitable homes for sharks and fish like arapaima and clownfish.

Marine biology expert, Dr Huang Danwei from the National University of Singapore, shares the sentiment that these animals should be returned to the wild. But as most of them are not from Singapore's waters, it would not be suitable to release them here.

For example, leopard sharks are only found in the Pacific Coast of North America, and waters around the topics may be too warm for them to survive.

However, releasing them into the wild is also not a simple process.

To facilitate their release, the animal's origins have to be identified. After that, the appropriate permits have to be obtained as many countries have strict regulations on releasing animals back into the wild.

When they are on their way, they need to be transported in seawater with sufficient aeration. During the journey, they have to be fed till they arrive at their destination.

There are also other considerations. For example, clown fish will need to be transported with the appropriate anemone host species that they live with, so that they are not unnecessarily vulnerable to predators. Dr Huang said that ecologically speaking, it will take at least months, if not years, to do this properly.

Dr Huang mooted that it is possible that other facilities, like aquariums, can take these marine animals in, provided they provide the best care possible.

Resorts World Sentosa, which owns S.E.A. Aquarium, has declined to comment if it has been approached to take over these animals. On the other hand, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, which owns Singapore Zoo and River Safari, said that it has not been contacted. The Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum has also said that it has not been contacted to take in the sea turtles, adding that they also do not have the expertise to do so.

- CNA/ms


Dolphins at Underwater World have moved to China
Judith Tan, The New Paper AsiaOne 8 Jun 16;

They are breaking the gang up after 25 years.

The Underwater World Singapore (UWS) and the Dolphin Lagoon at Sentosa will shutter their doors on June 26.

The lagoon's five pink dolphins, also known as Chinese White Dolphins, have gone to Zhuhai, China. Along with them went three fur seals and five otters.

Their new home? The Chimelong Ocean Kingdom (COK), which was chosen after nearly a year of reviewing suitable facilities, a UWS spokesman told The New Paper yesterday.

"(It is) one of the finest in the world and has a strong staff with expertise in marine mammal veterinary and husbandry care.
"There is also an active breeding and conservation programme.

"COK agreed to adopt our Cites animals and is ready to receive them. The transfer was approved by the authorities in Singapore and China," she said.

Cites, or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is an international multilateral agreement between governments to ensure that trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

"In addition, the Pearl River Estuary in the surrounding area of Zhuhai City is one of the main habitats of the pink dolphins, also known as Giant Panda of the Sea, and is accorded Class 1 protection for endangered species at the national level in China," the UWS spokesman said.

The animals were relocated last week, together with scientific data about the UWS dolphins. "It is hoped that the breeding success and research at UWS can be continued at COK and help to contribute to the conservation efforts of this species.

"Their arrival at COK will also help to promote a better understanding of the Chinese White Dolphin among the public and create awareness in animal conservation," she added.

Mr James Chua, Singapore coordinator of ocean conservation organisation Sea Shepherd Asia, said it is a small victory on a global scale to have one less aquarium operating.

"Sea Shepherd's stand is clear and firm - we are against any cetaceans in captivity in any part of the world.

"Our investigative report has clearly shown with photographic evidence of the welfare standards, conditions of the animals and their enclosures in Underwater World Singapore.

"The release of the report has allowed the public to make an informed choice of whether to support such facilities, as well as voice out their concerns."

Wholly owned by the Haw Par Corporation, the oceanarium housed some 2,500 marine life from 250 species around the region. It was popular for providing fun and educational interactive experiences.

Since the opening of UWS in 1991, some 30 million visitors have seen its exhibits.

"With the expiry of the lease at Sentosa in less than two years, UWS will have to vacate the facility and cease operations," UWS said in a press release yesterday.

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Indonesia: Activists urge govt to ban dolphin circuses

Bambang Muryanto, The Jakarta Post 14 Sep 15;

The Yogyakarta-based animal rights organization Animal Friends Jogja (AFJ) has asked the government to ban the performance of traveling dolphin circuses over their lack of conservation and educational value.

“The attractions in the circuses cause stress to the dolphins and shorten their lives. And then they [the circuses] catch more dolphins from nature again and that is illegal,” AFJ program manager Angelina Pane said during a rally in Pal Putih monument on Saturday.

During the rally, AFJ activists put on a “happening” art performance, showing dolphins being tortured in the traveling circuses.

The activists carried posters stating that, among other things, “Animal circuses are cruel,” “Wild animals are beautiful in their natural habitat,” “Save dolphins,” “Education not exploitation” and “Dolphins are trained by hunger method”.

Angelina said the Forest Protection and Natural Conservation (PHKA) General Directorate Regulation No. 16/2014 on the guidance of dolphin performance, which among other things, allows taking pictures with the mammal, even causes suffering to the animal.

“It’s torture since the dolphin has to stand its weight outside the water while posing for pictures. We want the regulation to be reviewed. The regulation was made as an order from the circuses’ mafia,” she said.

She said the regulation did not include the animal’s welfare and protection aspects, which had been proposed by many activists, including the Jakarta Aid Animal Network (JAAN).

Indonesia is reportedly home to the world’s last remaining traveling dolphin circuses. The intelligent sea mammals are trained to jump through rings of fire, are transported from town to town under poor conditions and the high levels of chlorine in their shallow plastic pools can cause blindness and burn their skin. Many die from stress, chlorine toxicity and lack of proper care.

Currently, a traveling circus of the PT Batang Dolphin Center (BDC), a unit of Batang IV Safari Park of Batang, Central Java, has been performing in Yogyakarta for a month.

One of the circus spectators, Rima Sulistiani, who accompanied her daughter to the show, said she felt sorry for the two dolphins.

Rima said one of the two dolphins seemed exhausted and refused the orders of its trainer.

“I feel pity for the dolphins, named Nakula and Sadewa. Their pool is so small,” she said.

However, Rima admitted that there is a small educational aspect to the show that teaches children that dolphins are mammals, not fish.

Separately, BDC field manager Ruslan Nugraha rejected accusations that his company was exploiting and torturing its dolphins, saying that the show was legal as it got permission from police, the PHKA directorate general and the Environment and Forestry Ministry.

“All our dolphins are healthy. They are not in distress,” Ruslan said, showing a medical checkup letter issued by the Yogyakarta Natural Resources and Conservation Agecy (BKSDA).

He also refuted that the dolphins were trained using a hunger method, saying that they were fed 20 kilograms of fish every day.

“They are not stressed as they only perform for 10 minutes. We have four shows in a day, so they only perform a total of 40 minutes,” he said.

In a one-hour show, besides the dolphins, Ruslan said the BDC also featured linsangs, macaws, cockatoos and poodles.

“We just want to entertain people,” he claimed.

- See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/09/14/activists-urge-govt-ban-dolphin-circuses.html#sthash.RUi4299E.dpuf

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Indonesian environment minister concerned about dolphin show in Bali

Antara 27 Jul 15;

Photo document of dolphin kiss the audience at the show dolphins swimming around in a plastic tub. (ANTARA/Rivan Awal Lingga)
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesian Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya has expressed concern over the dolphin show organized in Bali, which is discussed worldwide and has been petitioned on change.org.

"Today, Minister Nurbaya commented on change.org to express her concern for four dolphins in Bali. The petition was created three weeks ago," Communications Director of Change.org Indonesia Desmarita Murni said here on Monday.

The petition was created by an Australian surfer, Craig Brokensha, with the title, "Free four wild dolphins contained in a tiny resort pool."

Till Monday, the petition had received more than 290 thousand signatures.

According to Murni, Brokensha protested the four captured dolphins being kept in a small, chlorinated pool in Keramas district, Bali.

In her comment, Nurbaya pointed out that she had noticed the petition. She also offered her gratitude for the publics concern for environmental conservation and animal rescue issues such as the case of the dolphins in Bali.

"I have been aware of this petition since it was created and have been following its updates," she remarked. "Thank you for voicing your concern through this petition. Your support and reports will help us conserve and protect the environment."

The minister further noted that the petition had been taken very seriously, and an investigation on the matter was underway.

"If the resort carries out any prohibited acts, regardless of whether it is violence or negligence towards the dolphins, we will take firm action," she emphasized.

In addition, Nurbaya admitted that the petition had promoted the dolphin show extensively, due to which a public discussion on the subject was needed with the involvement of numerous parties.

With regard to this idea, she added that in the next few weeks, the Environment Ministry will invite experts on conservation, animal protection, education, and psychology, as well as from non-governmental organizations, to a public discussion on the protection of dolphins.

"We will hold an open discussion to find a win-win solution," she said.

Reporting by Ricky Prayoga

(Uu.A060/INE)

EDITED BY INE

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Dolphin Villa ads unacceptable, says watchdog

Watchdog finds fault with various claims, wants developers to make ad changes
Toh Yong Chuan Straits Times 22 Jul 15;

In April, the property developer behind a Batam villa project splashed a series of print advertisements promising views of Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and leaping dolphins at the residents' doorsteps.

But now, Singapore's advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (Asas), has objected to the ads, and asked the developer to change them.

It found three things unacceptable: claiming that landmarks such as Marina Bay Sands are visible from the villas, promising a guaranteed rental of 7 per cent a year and quoting an anonymous buyer on how wonderful the development is.

The watchdog reviewed the ads after a Sunday Times report in May on the villas, which cost $758,000 each and are being built around a lagoon of captive dolphins.

It told The Straits Times that it had informed the developer about the objections last month.

Asas chairman Tan Sze Wee said that when an advertiser is informed that certain parts of an ad are not acceptable, the advertiser has to stop making the objectionable claims "with immediate effect in all current and future marketing communications".

The developers behind the dolphin lagoon villas are Singapore-registered firms Funtasy Island Development and Seven Seas FID. The project is located on a cluster of six small islands collectively known as Pulau Manis, 3km off Batam in Indonesia.

The 64 two-bedroom villas, which look like round bamboo huts and are each about the size of an HDB executive flat, are built around a lagoon with dolphins which residents can feed and play with.

Bungalows being built over the sea off Batam that are part of a Funtasy Island Development project.

The developer has promised shops and restaurants nearby and a direct ferry service from Singapore's HarbourFront .

The villas, slated to be completed by the end of 2018, were launched at the upmarket One Degree 15 Marina on Sentosa in April.

The villas around the lagoon are part of a larger development of eight other housing projects on Pulau Manis with a total of more than 600 units - comprising villas, bungalows and apartments.

The development sits on land owned by PT Batam Island Marina. The Indonesian company has promised on its website to renew land leases up to 2112. Foreigners cannot own land in Indonesia but can be granted leases to use the land.

Ms Kelly Huang, a spokesman for Funtasy Island Development, said the developers "will observe the guidance" given by the advertising watchdog. "We will work closely with Asas in the future," she said.

"At this point, we have not decided the manner in which the ads will come out."

A check on Funtasy Island's website last week found that the Marina Bay Sands skyline, the 7 per cent annual rent guarantee and the ringing endorsement by the anonymous buyer - aspects that Asas objected to - were still prominently featured.

"Asas has jurisdiction only over local print and broadcast advertisements, but not what the companies do online," said Mr Ku Swee Yong, chief executive of estate agency Century 21.

"There is nothing stopping a developer from putting information on Facebook or the Internet.

"This is a key weakness."

Related link
Preservation groups, activists raise concerns about Batam property with captive dolphins
Audrey Tan and Feng Zengkun The Straits Times AsiaOne 3 May 15;

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Singapore casino flamed on social media for dolphin encounter ‘animal prostitution’ promo

mUmBRELLA 26 May 15;

Resorts World Sentosa, the casino and entertainment resort owned by Malaysian gaming giant Genting, has come in for some harsh criticism on social media for an ad promoting captive dolphins as an attraction at its marine life park.

The Facebook ad promotes dolphin encounters from S$68 (US$50) and a competition to name a dolphin calf born in the casino’s aquarium.

Facebook users did not take kindly to the promotion, with many attacking the increasingly taboo practice of keeping dolphins in captivity for commercial gain.

Shuyun Tay wrote in the comment thread: “You can spend all the money in the world to buy ads for your disgusting exploitation program – the world has already started waking up to the atrocious cruelty that is dolphin captivity. Hopefully not too far in the near future, dolphin and whale captivity will be regarded as passe and taboo as circus rings of the past.”

One Facebook user commented: “This is nothing more than animal prostitution.”

Another posted: “RWS why don’t you put your senior management team in a cage and let strangers touch you all day long. Tell me if you like the feeling yeah.”

One user called on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to ban the ad from the site, while others posted links to articles that condemn the practice and the documentary The Cove, which uncovers the practice of dolphin slaughter in Japan. A segment from the comment thread reads:

RWS’ ad comes just a month after an animal rights group, the Animal Concerns Research & Education Society, launched a campaign to encourage Singaporeans to watch dolphins in the wild locally off the coast rather than in the casino aquarium.

ACRES has been looking for an agency to help it develop campaigns to promote dolphin-watching tours.

The charity is also looking to raise awareness of an opinion survey by Millward Brown released in January 2015, which found that seven per cent of Singaporeans agreed that “keeping wild-caught dolphins in captivity should be allowed.” Four of Resorts World Sentosa’s 27 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, captured from the Solomon Islands, have died since Dolphin Island opened.

RWS has defended the practice of holding and displaying the animals, citing their educational value. A video on the resort’s website promotes Dolphin Island as a child-friendly learning experience.

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Preservation groups, activists raise concerns about Batam property with captive dolphins

Audrey Tan and Feng Zengkun The Straits Times AsiaOne 3 May 15;

Wildlife preservation groups and animal activists are dismayed at news that a Batam property developer wants to build homes around a lagoon filled with captive dolphins.

Funtasy Island, which is being marketed in Singapore, promises villas built over the water. Its advertisements show residents living close to leaping dolphins.

The plan is for 64 villas to be built on the circumference of an 8.7ha dolphin lagoon, roughly the size of 13 football fields.

Funtasy Island Development, the Singapore firm set up to market the project for the Indonesian developer, told The Sunday Times that the number of dolphins has not been finalised, but people who went to the project's showroom here last month were told there would be 35.

Funtasy Island director Michael Yong said no wild dolphins would be caught for the lagoon. Instead, it will have dolphins "rescued or saved" from dolphinariums, as well as injured dolphins caught by fishermen.

"Some of the dolphins are already in these facilities," he told The Sunday Times. These are dolphins confiscated by the authorities, as they were "not treated well" at the facilities. Moving them to the Funtasy Island lagoon would be "an upgrade of life for the dolphins", he said.

But experts and wildlife groups are not convinced, and warn of safety and health issues for both humans and animals if the project goes ahead.

A spokesman for the World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore said the portrayal of dolphins as ever-friendly smiling creatures can be misleading. Dolphin attacks on humans are not unheard of, he said.

In 2012, a dolphin at Sea World in Orlando, Florida, bit an eight-year- old girl as she was feeding it.

Captive dolphins have to be protected from a range of risks, said Dr Elizabeth Taylor, head of the Marine Mammal Research Laboratory at the National University of Singapore's Tropical Marine Science Institute, which has a lab on St John's Island.

These include plastic bags that are blown into the lagoon, which the dolphins might swallow, or inappropriate food being offered to them.

Noting that the project is coming up off Batam, Ms Femke den Haas, from wildlife protection group Jakarta Animal Aid Network, a non-government organisation against animals in captivity, said: "It shows how little Indonesia cares about its marine mammals, continuously allowing dolphins to be exploited for commercial reasons."

Mr Pramudya Harzani, country coordinator for Indonesia from the Dolphin Project, an international campaign against dolphins in captivity, said there are more than 90 dolphins in the five dolphinariums and six travelling circuses in Indonesia.

"These facilities claim the captive dolphins are used for research, but they are used more for entertainment and tourism," he said. "They are kept in small tanks and in pools with a lot of chlorine, which can cause blindness in the marine mammals."

Mr James Chua, Singapore coordinator for marine conservation group Sea Shepherd Asia, said: "We are deeply concerned about which facilities these dolphins are coming from, whether they are closing down and need to move their dolphins to Funtasy Island, or just making room at their facilities for more dolphins caught from the wild or other sources."

Instead of having a lagoon filled with captive dolphins, he suggested that the Funtasy Island developers consider "responsible, regulated wild dolphin watching tours - a much more viable, ethical, cost-effective and profitable option".

Dr Taylor added: "There are wild dolphins in Batam's waters - bottlenose and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. I think it would be better to help support these groups of wild animals rather than bring in other animals."

Living with dolphins
Toh Yong Chuan And Janice Tai The Straits Times AsiaOne 3 May 15;

An Indonesian developer says Singapore buyers are showing keen interest in a project promising villas built over the sea, with dolphins at the residents' doorsteps.

Batam-based developer PT Batam Island Marina and its Singapore investment partner Seven Seas FID are planning 64 villas, each shaped like a round bamboo hut and built around a lagoon with dolphins which residents can feed and play with.

Priced at $758,000 each, the villas were launched here two weeks ago with a blaze of advertisements showing dolphins leaping out of the water, and the Marina Bay Sands skyline on the horizon. The project is coming up in the midst of six small islands known collectively as Pulau Manis, 3km off Batam.

Each villa has two bedrooms and is about the size of a Housing Board executive flat. The developer has promised shops and restaurants nearby, but has been mum about maintenance costs and whether residents must pay for the dolphins' upkeep.

Half the units went on sale at a swanky showroom in the upmarket One Degree 15 marina on Sentosa two weeks ago. A visit there found the place buzzing at the launch.

A team of about 10 salesmen dressed in suits attended to a steady stream of walk-in prospects, showing them a multimedia presentation, artists' impressions and a scale model of the villas, before discussing the financing plans over snacks, coffee and soft drinks.

According to Funtasy Island Development, a Singapore firm set up in 2010 to market the dolphin villas and other homes on Pulau Manis, there is no shortage of buyers.

Director Michael Yong declined to give exact figures but said the initial sales "exceeded expectations". A Malaysian with Singapore permanent residency, he owns 30 per cent of Funtasy Island Development. The rest is owned by Indonesian businessmen Ade Soehari and Luky Winata.

The project is coming up in an area owned by PT Batam Island Marina. Foreigners cannot own land in Indonesia but can be granted 25-year leases which can be extended in 20-year blocks. The Indonesian company has promised on its website to renew Funtasy Island's leases up to 2112.

There are eight other housing projects being built on Pulau Manis, with a total of 621 units - 159 are built over water and the rest are bungalows and apartments built on land.

Mr Yong's firm is marketing these properties and he said he has sold 90 per cent of the units so far, raking in $250 million since 2011.

"About 70 per cent of buyers were Singaporeans," he added.

None of the projects has been completed. At least one development, a cluster of bungalows that should have been completed last year, has been delayed. The latest project, the dolphin villas, is slated to be ready by the end of 2018.

The six islands have a land area of about 1 sq km, or about 140 football fields. The developer had included the waters around the islands in its calculation when it claimed in its promotional material that the "theme park" will be about two-thirds the size of Sentosa.

Besides the dolphin lagoon, the theme park also promises an aviary, a stingray habitat and boat ride through mangrove swamps. Visitors and residents will have access to the theme parks, the developer said in its brochures and website.

Visitors from Singapore now have to take a 45-minute ferry ride from HarbourFront Centre to Batam's Sekupang Ferry Terminal, clear Indonesian immigration and then hire a local boat for a 15-minute trip to Pulau Manis.

Mr Yong said the 16km journey between Sentosa and the islands will take just 20 minutes when his firm launches a direct ferry service.

A Sunday Times team visited the project site two weeks ago and was told by local fishermen that the islands were uninhabited until construction started a few years ago.

There were at least 50 uncompleted bungalows, part of a project called Corallium Villas that was supposed to have been ready in the middle of last year.

Mr Yong confirmed the delay and said it was caused by a longer than expected time to get an expert to conduct a green building study before construction could begin.

He said the affected buyers were paid $3 million in compensation for the delay. "This will come from future profits, so we still are financially sound," he said.

Retiree Serene Cheong was one of those who bought a $500,000 bungalow there in 2012. She was not too bothered when told that her bungalow, slated for completion next year, was six to nine months behind schedule.

"I am not too concerned because that is expected for waterfront projects where they have to do the piling deep in the water, " said Mrs Cheong, who is married and in her 50s.

The projects off Batam are not subject to any rules which apply to Singapore property projects as they are foreign property developments.

A spokesman for the Council of Estate Agencies said: "Whether consumers buy directly from foreign developers or through an estate agent, they should exercise due diligence before entering into any agreement to buy foreign properties."

Funtasy Island has guaranteed buyers a rental yield of 7 per cent a year for three years. This is typical of projects marketed in Jakarta, said Mr Ku Swee Yong, chief executive of estate agency Century 21.

Aside from evaluating the risks of overseas purchases, he said buyers of the Pulau Manis developments should consider longer-term factors like maintenance costs.

"The houses are built over sea water," he pointed out. "The build quality has to be top-notch and maintenance costs will be higher."

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