‘TANKS OF SHAME’ REVEALED AS PART OF ANTI-CETACEAN CAPTIVITY IMADA WEEK

Earthrace Conservation has released a ‘Tanks of Shame’ list that shows which countries have the worst record for keeping the largest number of dolphins and whales in captivity.

The list was revealed as part of a week of activities in the US and around the world instigated by a new International coalition of marine conservation and animal welfare groups – the International Marine Animal Defenders Association (IMADA). (http://earthraceconservation.org/imada)

In the US, one of the main professional organisations responsible for training marine mammals as entertainment, the International Marine Animals Trainers’ Association (IMATA), held their annual conference in the Miami Seaquarium, home of captive orca, Lolita. Also in the US, SeaWorld are facing serious questions in a court in Orlando in an action brought by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration following the third death of an orca trainer last year.

Meanwhile, in Greece, protests are growing against Attica Park, a facility that holds 12 dolphins in captivity including a new born, whilst in another court case is taking place in the Netherlands concerning the fate of orca, Morgan. The recent purchase of 27 wild-caught dolphins by a facility in Singapore has already seen the death of two of them as they are being trained to perform for Resorts World Sentosa as their new attraction. In Taiji, Japan, drive fishery slaughters of dolphins continue alongside the capture and live trade of dolphins to zoos and aquariums around the world.

The IMADA coalition is calling for a global ban on the capture of wild marine mammals for use as entertainment, and the sale, trade and transport of cetaceans for that purpose.

The group are also calling for transparency in the sources of all cetaceans currently held in captivity (whether taken from the wild, bred naturally in captivity, or bred through articifical insemination).

Finally, IMADA will continue to promote the coalition’s shared international concern about the inadequacies that exist within the code of ethics under which the various professional organisations that are involved operate, such as the International Marine Animals Trainers’ Association (IMATA), The Australasian Society of Zoo Keeping (ASZK); the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and the European Association for Aquatic Mammals (EAMM) to ultimately prevent the public display of cetaceans for profit.

THE TANKS OF SHAME
Orcas: The country holding the most number of orcas in captivity is the USA with 21 of the giant cetaceans held in five separate facilities, including three run by SeaWorld. Japan comes second, keeping a total of eight in two different locations, one of which is also owned and run by SeaWorld.

Seven countries currently keep a total of 42 orcas (killer whales) in captivity:
USA 21
Japan 8
Spain 5
France 4
Canada 2
Netherlands 1
Argentina 1

Beluga whales: The US comes second to Canada when it comes to keeping captive beluga whales, with a total of 31 and 42 respectively. However, Canada’s high total is explained by just one facility, Marineland Ontario, holding a staggering 38 individual belugas. Russia (28), China (24) and Japan (20) make up the top five.

14 countries keep a total of 161 beluga whales as ‘entertainment’ and for profit. The top five are:
Canada 42 (38 of them at Marineland in Ontario)
USA 31
Russia 28
China 24
Japan 20

Dolphins: Kept in captivity in aquariums, zoos, entertainment and theme parks and hotels, the estimated total number of dolphins held in captivity in 59 countries around the world is a staggering 2,100.

However, many facilities do not publicly reveal how many dolphins they hold, nor how many die. IMADA believes the number of captive dolphins could be considerably higher.

The top ten countries are:
USA 401
Japan 303
China 274 (295 including 21 in Hong Kong)
Mexico 255
Spain 93
United Arab Emirates 69
Ukraine 68
Australia 53
Russia 39
Netherlands 44

Number of facilities holding captive cetaceans per country – top eight
Japan 49
USA 35
China 27
Canada 23
Russia 16
Ukraine 14
Spain 12
Turkey 10

Spokespeople and quotes

Pete Bethune, founder of Earthrace Conservation, part of the IMADA coalition, said: “Compared to the lives they have in the oceans, where all whales and dolphins should be, the conditions in which they exist in captivity are like the worst jails in the world with a life sentence of forced labour on top. To pretend that there is any educational merit in paying huge prices to watch dolphins and whales jump through hoops is ridiculous.”

Samantha Whitcraft, co-founder of IMADA: “This is an important week for anti-captivity campaigners. Here in Florida, we are ‘ground-zero’ for the growing debate about cetacean entertainment captivity, especially orcas. In Orlando, the fate of Tilikum is under court review while in Miami, the award-winning film, ‘Keiko, the Untold Story’ premiered for IMADA within a few miles of where Lolita, the lone orca is still held in a sub-standard tank at Miami Seaquarium. And activists around the world have had their eyes on the IMATA Conference here in Miami too. It seems that the same state that first promoted this industry may be the state that helps to see its end.”

Margaux Dodds, Director, Marine Connection UK, part of the IMADA Coalition said: “Captivity has no ethical or moral place in today’s world and it is time to assign the keeping of these sentient creatures in a captive environment to the annuls of history and afford them the dignity they deserve. Dolphins and whales should no longer be treated as items to be traded around the world, taken from the wild simply for the entertainment and profit of mankind”.

Louis Ng, Founder and Executive Director, ACRES (Singapore), part of the IMADA Coalition, said: "It is simply unjustifiable to continue to confine dolphins and claim that this is in their interest. The recent purchase of 27 wild-caught dolphins by Resorts World Sentosa for their new attraction is a huge step backwards in the moral progress of Singapore. We need to ensure that this injustice that has been inflicted on the 27 dolphins (two of whom have passed away) ends, we need to right the wrong and to speak up for the innocent. These dolphins have done nothing to deserve their current confinement. They have no say in their treatment, they have no say in their capture and they no longer have any say in their future. The only hope they have now lies with us, responsible global citizens to speak up for them and urge Resorts World Sentosa to please let the dolphins go."

Kaki Primikiry, vererinary surgeon and member of the campaign Stop Attica Zoological Park Dolphinarium (Greece Against Dolphin Captivity), part of the IMADA Coalition, said: "Dolphinariums have nowadays no educational purpose. In addition, keeping dolphins and whales in captivity in the name of so called "entertainment" is not ethical cause both breeding and capturing from the wild constitute abuse. Nobody can "pet" a dolphin in the way we pet a dog or a cat, because dolphins are not pets. We must stop treating them like circus clowns and make profit by viable not abusive alternatives. We can turn dolphinariums to rescue - rehabilitation centres and choose to do tourism business with yachting and wild-life boat tours to meet these magnificent creatures as the dignified, graceful animals that they are, swimming freely in the ocean"

ENDS

For further media information or interviews, please contact IMADApress@earthrace.net or:

Samantha Whitcraft, IMADA (US): 001 786-897-2201 tropical.selkie@gmail.com
Earthrace Conservation, Beverley Bailey on 0044 208 870 4301/0044 7711 482 572
Marine Connection, Liz Sandeman (UK): 07931 366352
ACRES, Louis Ng, (Singapore): info@acres.org.sg +65 6892 9821
Stop Attica, Kaki Primikiry (Greece): 0030 210 6141254 or mobile 6972622335

MEDIA NOTES

‘Tanks of Shame’ was compiled using data from www.ceta-base.com, a member of the IMADA coalition.

IMADA Anti-captivity Coalition
Earthrace Conservation (including Earthrace Miami and Earthrace UK) www.earthraceconservation.org/captivity
London Against Cetacean Slaughter http://www.facebook.com/London-against-cetacean-slaughter
Marine Connection www.marineconnection.org
Save Lolita.com www.savelolita.com
ACRES (Singapore) www.acres.org.sg (www.saddestdolphins.com)
Joshua Records LLC http://www.keikotheuntoldstory.com/
Aqualise www.aqualise.com
Wildlife Film Festivals www.wildlifefilmfestivals.com
OMG - One More Generation http://onemoregeneration.org/
Free the Atlanta 11 http://atlanta-11.vpweb.com/
A Fall from Freedom http://afallfromfreedom.org/
Global Wildlife Warriors http://globalwildlifewarriors.spruz.com
Ceta-base www.ceta-base.com
The Selkie Society http://theselkiesociety.org/
Keep Paddlin www.keeppaddlin.org
Stop Attica Zoological Park Dolphinarium (Greece Against Dolphin Captivity) http://on.fb.me/pvR6yX
Be as one foundation www.beasonefoundation.org
Women4Whales www.women4whales.org

ABOUT IMADA
IMADA supports the three R's of responsible marine mammal captivity: rescue, rehabilitation, and release only.

IMADA opposes:
• marine mammal captivity for entertainment.
• the training of marine mammals for any purposes other than to facilitate medical treatments as part of rehabilitation leading to release
• wild capture of marine mammals for exhibit, entertainment, or research.
• the captive breeding of marine mammals for sale, trade, or profit.
• the designation of ‘non-releasable’ rehabilitated marine mammals trained and held for entertainment purposes.