MODERN GROVE: OPPOSE DOLPHIN CAPTIVITY - CANCEL YOUR LEASE WITH ODYSEA!
- by: Laurice Dee
- recipient: Tolan Farris - Director of Operations [Tolan.Farris@moderngrove.com]
Modern Grove is an American restaurant that serves delicious, made-from-scratch breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It has two locations in Arizona: Mesa and Phoenix.
However, they’re about to serve up a less-than-savory dish by partnering with a captive dolphin tourist attraction. Modern Grove has leased a space to operate a new restaurant at OdySea in the Desert - a gigantic entertainment complex including an aquarium - in Scottsdale.
The new Modern Grove space features a long row of ceiling-to-floor windows with a direct view of the pools of Dolphinaris Arizona where Bottlenose dolphins are held captive for human entertainment.
The photo - as shown above - was taken very recently. Even though the photo shows quite bit of reflection from the window that faces the courtyard, it shows the Modern Grove logo, as well as a long plastic sheet that covers the windows.
The fact that Modern Grove plans to operate a restaurant with a complete view of the dolphin pools is quite disconcerting. It sends a message that the restaurant is not concerned with the ethical controversy of dolphin captivity and that it assumes its patrons will want to witness these small cetaceans perform for dead, medicated fish even as they eat their own meals.
Customers who patronize the new restaurant may not have an accurate perception of dolphins since the captive-born dolphins at Dolphinaris Arizona have never had the opportunity to live the normal lives of their ocean-dwelling relatives. Captive dolphins suffer from physical and stress-related issues from living in cramped tanks and must be medicated regularly to keep them healthy. Customers visiting this site are likely to return home with a distorted idea of who dolphins really are, what dolphins normally do, and the kind of lives they actually live.
All of us, dolphin advocates, would agree that Modern Grove leasing a space with OdySea is not a wise move by any means. Details outlined in the petition letter include reasons why we strongly urge Modern Grove to cancel its lease and find a more suitable location that is less controversial. At the time of launching this petition, the restaurant is still under construction and is far from being completed. There is still time for Modern Grove to correct this lapse of good business judgment and divorce itself from the OdySea/Dolphinaris Arizona controversy.
Tolan Farris - Director of Operations
Email: Tolan.Farris@moderngrove.com
We understand you are planning to open a new Modern Grove restaurant at OdySea in the Desert with windows directly overlooking the dolphin pools at Dolphinaris Arizona.
Dolphinaris Arizona currently has five Bottlenose dolphins held captive for the swim-with-the-dolphins [SWTD] programs. The company mentions that it will plan to add some more captive-born dolphins to its collection in the future.
We are deeply concerned that your patrons will not develop the right perception of dolphins while viewing Dolphinaris Arizona's unnatural human-dolphin interactions from their tables.
Dolphins are extremely intelligent beings who live complex lives while maintaining their close social ties with their own kind. Scientists and cetacean experts widely regard them as highly evolved beings with sophisticated language skills and complete sentience. In fact, dolphins are considered 'non-human persons' - as well as 'the people of the sea' - as evidenced in www.cetaceanrights.org.
Because the dolphins at Dolphinaris Arizona were born in captivity, they never had the opportunity to swim many miles a day, hunt for various kinds of fish, engage in deep socialization, maintain family ties, and protect each other from all kinds of threats, including that from humans. In captivity, dolphins swim in endless circles and suffer from stress-induced physical, psychological and behavioral problems and must be heavily medicated and fed supplements to remain healthy. They also cannot communicate naturally. The captive-born dolphins cannot use their strongest sense - biosonar - to its fullest capability while confined to man-made tanks and pools that render their echolocation useless.
Please watch the video [http://www.telemundoarizona.com/noticias/local/Nadar-con-delfines_-una-realidad-en-Scottsdale_TLMD---Arizona-392825921.html] so that you would appreciate what captivity must be like for the dolphins.
As evidenced by multiple protests and media coverage in recent months, dolphin captivity in the desert setting of Arizona is a highly-controversial and unpopular business model. Dolphinaris Arizona's negative publicity and reputation in the public eye does not bode well for any business choosing to affiliate itself with this attraction. We are concerned that your establishment is unconcerned with the ongoing debate about the ethical concerns of dolphin captivity, much to the detriment of your future customers.
We know you’re dedicated to ensuring your patrons have pleasant experiences while dining in your current establishments. That is why we are urging you to reconsider the lease at OdySea and find an alternate location with less controversy and fewer ethical conundrums just outside your windows.
It may be too late for Modern Grove to cancel its lease with OdySea, but it is never too late for you guys to pledge not to patronize the new Scottsdale location. I'd greatly appreciate your encouraging your family and friends to make the pledge by signing the petition and sharing it widely. Many thanks!
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