Sample Letter to urge organisations
to abandon Dolphins
Exhibits
Dear :
Please add my
voice to those opposed to the [name of facility] proposed dolphin
exhibit. Concrete tanks cannot replicate the expanse of the ocean, nor
can they fulfill the physical or psychological needs of these bright,
social creatures.
Marine amusement park spectators see animals
in captivity, where instinctive behaviors are lost in a
made-for-profit world. Dolphins belong in the ocean, where they
normally swim 100 miles a day. Swimming around a tank 500 times just
to cover 50 miles is cruel punishment.
Perhaps that is why
ocean-life gurus Jacques Cousteau and Richard O'Barry oppose the
capture and confinement of marine mammals. England closed its
exhibits. Brazil outlawed the use of marine mammals for entertainment.
Israel banned dolphin importation for use in marine parks and South
Carolina prohibited whale and dolphin exhibits. In response to public
aversion, the Virginia Beach city council just nixed plans to
construct a $55 million dolphin tank.
The abduction of marine
animals is notoriously inhumane. Capture boats engulf dolphins, who
swim in close-knit pods, in loud noise and churning waters. The
terrified animals are netted and dragged onto boats where abductors
search for females of breeding age. Many discarded dolphins die from
drowning, shock, lung aspiration or pneumonia.
No matter how
"state of the art" your facility may be, it simply cannot duplicate
natural habitat. Wild dolphins live to 50; those in captivity rarely
survive their teens. The National Marine Fisheries Service states that
over half of all captured dolphins die in under two years. Survivors
average 5.8 years in captivity. Socially bonded dolphins go insane
when attempts to communicate through bouncing sonar waves create
"boomerang" reverberations that literally bounce back at them. Many
aquariums stock Pepto-Bismol to treat stress ulcers. Chlorinated tanks
can cause dolphins to go blind and suffer skin disorders. Many succumb
to pneumonia, ulcers or other stress-related illnesses.
Please
consider diverting funds for this project toward local conservation
efforts or other educational alternatives such as real-time videos of
rehabilitation efforts broadcast into an "aquarium theater", on to the
internet, or into classrooms.
Trapped marine mammals are sad
caricatures of the real thing. Please do not subject more creatures to
pain and suffering for the sole purpose of public
amusement.
Thank you for your time and
consideration.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Address -
optional]
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