MONDAY, 5.00PM:
A CAMPAIGN to collect signatures on the Internet opposing the capture of three wild dolphins by the Port Elizabeth Oceanarium has been launched by an organisation called Protect Our Dolphins, based in Port Elizabeth.
Besides protesting the restriction of wild animals to a tiny pool, Pod claims the Oceanarium staff are not properly qualified to care for dolphins, and that several deaths have resulted.
PE Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals staffer Rocky Mann said on Monday that the SPCA opposes keeping any wild animals in captivity, and that he believes “there would be an uproar” among PE residents if the Oceanarium persists in its plans.
Sylvia van Zyl of the Oceanarium responds that it will only consider dolphin capture if it cannot find other captive dolphins; that two of the three deaths in the last four years were natural; and that its programme is entirely educational. The Oceanarium at present has two dolphins in captivity.
While admitting that the pool in which the dolphins are kept is not “natural” — with rocks, waves etc — Van Zyl says the pool does match international standards.
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