Resort 'training' rare pink dolphin

[Guest guest]

Resort 'training' rare pink dolphin

 

Published on January 27, 2006 (The Nation daily newspaper - Thailand)

 

 

 

The head of a new police unit investigating wildlife crimes has reportedly

vowed to look into complaints that a Koh Samui resort is training a rare

pink dolphin obtained from local fishermen for tourist shows - instead of

returning it to the wild.

 

 

 

The Wildlife Friends of Thailand (WFT) group sent a written complaint to the

government wildlife agency this week about the pink dolphin, along with

pictures allegedly showing a trainer working with the animal in a pool

adjacent to the resort's small zoo.

 

 

 

WFT head Edwin Wiek said yesterday the commander of the new Police for

Natural Resources and Environment unit had told him he would act on the

matter shortly. Wiek said the Indo-Chinese humpback dolphin was being kept

at the Samui Orchid Resort, on Lamai beach, where it is reportedly being

trained daily to perform shows for tourists. " This act is definitely

illegal, because the animal is healthy. This is how the illegal trade in

dolphins starts, " he said.

 

" From the photos the dolphin looks fine, in as far as it does not seem to

suffer from external injuries, so there is no need to keep it down there. "

Wiek said the WFT had heard reports for two years of people in southern

Thailand seeking to obtain dolphins from the wild for aquariums and dolphin

shows. One of the main concerns was that dolphins usually do not live for

long after their capture.

 

 

 

" Many cannot be properly fed after capture, and as they do not drink water,

they die faster than most other animals due to dehydration, " he said,

explaining that dolphins receive all of their fluids from their food. " The

dolphin at the Koh Samui zoo was, according to the management, brought in by

fishermen after it got stuck in their nets and was injured three months ago.

" The animal doesn't seem to have any wounds or disease at this moment, but

is trained daily by an experienced dolphin trainer as 'it is not tame enough

and is scared of people'. "

 

 

 

" The very fact that the animals is scared of people, yet is forced into

close proximity to them on a regular basis, day after day is a major risk as

regards the dolphin's survival, " says zoologist and captivity expert, Dr

Barbara Maas, Chief Executive of UK-based conservation group Care for the

Wild International. " There is no doubt that this animal will be clinically

stressed by this treatment and by being confined to a small pool. Stress in

humans and other mammals, including cetaceans, lowers the body's immune

defenses, which renders it more vulnerable to infections. The fact that the

dolphin is swimming in polluted water, containing its excrement and possible

chemical water treatments, is unable to feed naturally and has lost its

freedom is going to increase these risks. Care for the Wild International

hopes that the Thai authorities will set an example and make good on their

promise to release this unfortunate animal back to the wild where it belongs

as a matter of urgency. Firstly, because it will increase the dolphin's

chances of survival, and secondly because it will send a clear message to

those who deliberately catch dolphins in fishing nets and claim that it was

accidental, that this kind of personal profiteering at the cost of the

Thailand's wildlife heritage, can not be tolerated.

 

 

 

The Wildlife Friends group was " very concerned " about the increased use of

illegal wildlife at tourist destinations in Thailand in recent years.

 

" If the dolphin on Samui island is not released back to the wild it will

probably end up as the next photo prop at the zoo, along with the

unfortunate sea-lions, birds and tigers already there.

 

 

 

" A similar zoo with dolphins in Thailand was founded 15 years ago with the

'rescue' of one dolphin and currently houses more than 20 wild-caught

dolphins. It is now a very popular attraction where people are allowed to

swim with these endangered creatures. "

 

 

 

CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) classes the

Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin as an Appendix 1 species, which are the most

highly endangered. A similar dolphin was rescued by Mr Wiek and government

officials in Khao Lak, in Phang Nga province after being washed into a lake

by the tsunami. That animal was successfully released back to the wild.