(HK - CN) Dolphins, Whales and Polar Bears in Hong Kong

[Guest guest]

Ocean Park's animal wish list challenged

by Chester Yung

Sunday Morning Post

Sep 30, 2007

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Marine conservationists have condemned Ocean Park's plan to obtain more

species of animals for its aquarium and marine shows. Ocean Park is

undergoing a HK$5.55 billion redevelopment which includes a proposal to

introduce 33 more species.

 

But marine conservationists have described the practice of capturing and

displaying marine wildlife for educational or conservation purposes as

unnatural and without any educational benefits.

 

Bill Ballantine, a renowned marine scientist who visited Hong Kong recently,

said: " When I was a child, I was taken to the zoo to look at the lions. They

walked up and down in the concrete cage. And that was considered educational

.... yet, we don't do that anymore ... except for sharks and king fish.

 

" Even if [the captive cetaceans] don't mind that they are suffering, what do

children learn from that?

 

" It is not nature and most of it is lies. Will you teach children a lot of

lies? " he asked.

 

Janet Walker of Hong Kong Dolphinwatch pointed out that since Ocean Park

opened in 1977, it had lost 100 whales, dolphins and porpoises to

melioidosis, a disease involving bacterial infection in the blood and brain.

The park's last remaining whale, Barney, died of the disease in 1999.

 

The redevelopment work began in November and is scheduled to be completed in

2012.

 

Proposals on the project submitted in 2005 included a plan to obtain 33

species of animals, including killer whales, polar bears and performing

walruses.

 

A park spokeswoman said last week no specific plans relating to obtaining

animals had been made " up to now " .

 

Ocean Park insists it adheres to " very strict and stringent international

treaties and protocols that govern how animals are collected " .

 

It increases its population of creatures through breeding programmes at its

own facilities, suppliers accredited by the Association of Zoos and

Aquariums, donations from overseas zoos and collections of marine

invertebrates from the wild, the park spokeswoman said.

 

She said the animals under its care were well-cared for by professional

veterinary and zoological teams.

 

" We strongly feel we can provide our animals with a habitat that meets their

lifestyle needs, " she said.

 

" In the wild, dolphins face a number of threats from pollution, fishing and

lack of food. Studies now show that the longevity of dolphins in the wild

and those that are under human care at zoological facilities are nearly the

same.

 

" The average life expectancy of dolphins at Ocean Park is now similar to

that in the wild. "

 

But Ms Walker argued the only thing one could learn from a captive whale or

dolphin was that " it will perform for food " .

 

She said people often suggested that some species of whales and dolphins

were better off in captivity, where it would be cleaner and food would be

guaranteed.

 

" But this is like telling humans they can spend their life in a

micro-palace, but they can never leave, their room mates will be chosen for

them, as will the time and content of their meals, assuming they perform as

needed, " she said.

 

Rebecca Ngan Yee-ling, spokeswoman for the Society for the Prevention of

Cruelty to Animals, said: " Nature is full of mysteries, such as the

complexity of the food chain, and we are not able to copy it in a tank " .