Dolphin Rams Tourist during Show
Safe to Swim with Dolphins (Really?)
Many tourists wonder whether or not it is safe to swim with dolphins in captivity, and the answer is a resounding “NO”. Whilst on vacation in Cozumel, Erin booked a tour to swim with dolphins with the industry leader Dolphin Discovery. Like thousands of tourists that unwittingly enter swimming pools with large powerful mammals every year in Mexico, Erin was under the assumption that swimming with dolphins in captivity was safe. This is the same assumption that is reinforced by dolphin trainers the world over but as Erin soon discovered, it is not safe.At some point during the show Erin was rammed by a dolphin named “Louise” as you can see from the picture this was no playful nudge. The captive dolphin Louise rammed Erin just below the hip, impacting the upper thigh region with enough force to cause extensive bruising and immobilization. If Louise had hit any of Erin’s vital organs such as her liver, spleen, or kidneys the title of this article would have been drastically different, and Mexico’s leading dolphin entertainment giant would have had some serious explaining to do.
The average bottlenose dolphin is around 2 to 3.9 m (6.6-12.8 ft.) in length, weighs over 150kg and can reach speeds of up to 35 km/h (22 mph) which allows them to generate enough force to kill porpoises and even sharks. Dolphinariums however allow absolutely anyone to enter the water in an attempt to generate as much money as posible, they even encourage parents to bring their small children into the swimming pool to kiss dolphins.
"How long before someone is seriously injured, how long before a child is rammed and killed"
Why Louise The Dolphin Attacked?
It is well known that captive dolphins are deprived of food overnight to incentivize obedience for the following working day. Those who have seen a dolphin show probably noticed that trainers throw the dolphins frozen fish every time they perform a trick or desired posture. In the dolphin industry this action is referred to as “positive reinforcement”. Basically captive dolphins are slaves who perform 12 hours a day for food and are starved overnight. Combine this with the confined conditions 1/1000th the size of their natural range, noise pollution, and the stress of imprisonment the attack boils down to high levels of frustrations manifested into physical violence.
This is not the first time that a captive dolphin has attacked someone and certainly will not be the last ,yet dolphinariums continue to assert the argument that it is totally safe to swim with dolphins in captivity. How long before someone is seriously injured, how long before a child is rammed and killed. If dolphinariums refuse to warn their customers about the dangers, they are basically denying parents the ability to make informed decisions about whether or not it is safe to allow their children to interact with captive cetaceans.
Louise is still in active rotation performing 12 hours a day in an noise polluted environment where she is deprived of food and denied the very thing that nobody has the right to confiscate… Freedom.
Special thanks to Erin for sharing her photo and experience, you may just save a life...
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