Ask Hawaii State Board of Agriculture, not to issue intrastate permit to Dolphin Quest for breeding

Dear Chairman Enright and Board Members,

I am writing you today in regards to the issue below. I have also enclosed a petition that was created to prevent this permit.  As you can see WE are just "normal" individuals, concerned with the issue of breeding and captivity of these sentinant beings of the sea.  We created the petiton to be a voice from around the world, to be a voice for these voiceless beings who deserve the right to be respected and to be treated kindly and fairly from us, humans.

 The request by Dolphin Quest to transport 3 of their dolphins intrastate for breeding purposes.  I feel that the continuation of the exploitation of these mammals for human entertainment, is immoral, inhumane and cruel.  These mammals are not designed for captivity.  The idea of the fact that they are bred in captivity, “they don’t know what its like to be in the wild” is an ignorant and arrogant excuse to keep these programs such as Dolphin Quest operating and breeding for commercial use. These mammals aren’t volunteering to be airlifted and put into coffin like boxes for over 5 hours (exceptionally cruel), nor are they being asked to be mothers and dads of offspring.  These dolphins are being FORCED to be removed from their other dolphin “family” members that they have lived with for years. Why, because some “mastermind” at Dolphin Quest wants to make more money off of them. So, I ask you, just because these dolphins don’t have a voice, does it make it “okay” for Dolphin Quest to make these decisions for them as “beings”? Making financial profit gains from another living breathing creature, Dolphin Quest might as well be called a “pimp” (sell or promote (something) in an extravagant or persistent way).  The permit clearly states, Dolphin Quest’s intentions.  Its not for education. Its not for scientific studies.  Its not for community service. And it's not for conservation and stewardship and its definately NOT, "swim with dolphins, make a difference"! Its for COMMERCIAL USE disguised as those things I listed above.   We, the people on this petition, ask that you please do not issue a permit to Dolphin Quest to move their dolphins intrastate for breeding purposes based on some of the facts listed below. And to treat these amazing mammals that is thought to be right or acceptable.  Taking their freedom to swim, to feed, to interact, to breed and to socialize in their own “culture” is NOT ours to take from them!

1. Request to: (1) Approve the Transfer of Possession of a Bottlenose Dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, an Animal on the List of Restricted Animals (Part B), by Permit, from Dolphin Quest Oahu, Inc. in Honolulu, to Dolphin Quest, Inc., Waikoloa, Island of Hawaii, for Commercial Use; and (2) Update Permit Conditions for the Possession of Bottlenose Dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, an Animal on the List of Restricted Animals (Part B), for Commercial Use by Dolphin Quest, Inc., Waikoloa, Island of Hawaii.

2. Request to: (1) Approve the Transfer of Possession of Two (2) Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, an Animal on the List of Restricted Animals (Part B), by Permit, from Dolphin Quest, Inc., Waikoloa, Island of Hawaii, to Dolphin Quest Oahu, Inc., in Honolulu, for Commercial Use; and (2) Update Permit Conditions for the Possession of Bottlenose Dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, an Animal on the List of Restricted Animals (Part B), for Commercial Use by Dolphin Quest Oahu, Inc.

 *****Also, Tursiops Truncatus, Cetecea,  are listed as a restricted MAMMAL, needing permit.  Under AR-71RB, they are listed as:  Porpoise, bottlenose.  Porpoise and bottlenose dolphins are not the same species. So if it’s meant to read in the restricted animal list: bottlenose porpoise, there is no such species, its like cats and dogs,  thus a permit should not be granted due to the misunderstanding of the species being transported.*****

The Role of Captive Cetaceans for Education and Raising Awareness -

 Captive cetaceans that are used for entertainment purposes provide absolutely zero education value. Actions such as pushing people through the water by their feet, holding still for photos, nodding their head up and down as if to say yes is learned behavior that doesn’t occur in the wild. Furthermore captive dolphins are fed frozen fish, while wild dolphins hunt a variety of prey using a vast array of techniques, some of which are unique to certain pods. Captive cetaceans live completely opposite lives to wild cetaceans; even breeding in captivity involves artificial insemination. The very nature of captivity is limiting, to suggest there is education in captivity is like suggesting a study of prison inmates accurately depicts the life of you or I… does it?

If philosophy detects that we ask, “bigger questions-in regards to the value of life, the basis of morality, and the nature of the world around us.  Why are these magnificent mammals of the free open seas, captured, bred and trained for human entertainment? To be touched, kissed and taken a picture with? Despite the fact that the people Dolphin Quest caters to those that should know better?

After all, most educated Americans know that dolphins and whales are NOT meant to live in captivity — much less swim with affluent children and honeymooning newlyweds in the name of “eco-friendliness” and “education” so they can earn big bucks for their keepers.

Here’s a quick list detailing why most animal-welfare-minded people, like myself come down hard against this practice and why this petition was started.

Dolphins are uniquely ill-suited to confinement. They are social mammals that live in large pods and travel forty-plus miles a day, with 80 percent of that time spent beneath the surface of the water. Dolphin Quest Hawaii facilities can never measure up.

With the explosion of the “swim with dolphins programs” industry over the past twenty or so years, the global trade in wild-caught dolphins has grown tremendously, (Taiji, drive hunts, every year starting September 1st, for 6 months) Even if Dolphin Quest claims to rely on captive-bred mammals alone, your dollars are nonetheless effectively supporting a global trade in wild mammals taken from their pods in typically violent ways.  Ripped away from their families to be confined to a life in captivity or slaughtered right in front of each other.  They are forced to swim in their own families blood.

Which brings me to the point of this: Why?

Why is it that people who obviously love dolphins and care about their welfare don’t seem to understand that swimming with dolphins is a BAD thing?

The answer, I’m afraid, hearkens back to the glossiness of those ads and the industry’s agile self-promotional abilities. Let me explain:

Dolphin Quest facilities have a reputation for being highly profitable.  They also claim to “swim with the dolphins” which is a false statement overall and deceptive to the public, at best. At $100 to $300 for every 15-minute “swim“ (wade into knee deep water, kiss the dolphin and get your picture taken with the dolphin, “experience” is over), Dolphin Quest labors under an overwhelming incentive to promote itself, and it’s done so masterfully by depicting itself as being a “dolphin protector”, flashy glossy brochures, stating, “Swim with dolphins. Make a difference.”  Dolphin Quest is targeting those who are most likely to want to protect dolphins as customers, it’s managed to establish a stronghold of support among the educated and the affluent.

What’s worse than actually confining these mammals, training them to do your bidding, and contributing to the devastation of their species? Training US that, by so doing, we’re doing dolphins a favor and the world a service. IE, not having enough food in the wild, no breeding competition, no predators and they live longer in captivity, because of the care they receive and the quick availability to veterinarians.

It truly is a sickening irony that those most willing to help are those most likely to get taken in by Dolphin Quest.

Which is why I believe the industry ( Dolphin Quest and other swim with dolphin programs) arguably do the world the most damage by promoting itself as “eco-friendly” and “educational.” In so doing, it fosters the misperception that the world needs more of these places, and that people who disagree are joy-killing animal-rights radicals. These dolphins are deprived of food and denied the very thing that nobody has the right to confiscate… Freedom.

Of course, Dolphin Quest’s customers are free to believe whatever they want. And if they do choose to frequent these facilities, I’m free to think they drink their Kool-Aid at another species’ peril. But don’t take my word for it. Take the word from these 3119 signatures from all over the world.   These signatures are the dolphin's compassionate voice to stop the mis-treatment and to end breeding in captivity of these sentinant beings.

Bottom Line

The captive dolphin entertainment industry is a multimillion dollar business, marked with the stigma of dolphin slaughters and animal cruelty, therefore Dolphin Quest needs to publicly present themselves as environmentally conscientious in order to avoid similar PR stains.

Imagine an honest Dolphin Quest pre-swim-with-dolphin experience briefing...

"Yeah wild dolphins swim 50 miles a day and dive to 300 meters in search of food in the wild, but we keep them in this inadequately sized swimming pool and only feed them frozen dead fish when they perform a trick. By the way there is a big chance you could contract multiple diseases and illnesses from our Marine Mammals and vice versa. Oh and just to let you know these dolphins are extremely traumatized, highly frustrated and more that capable of battering you to death... ok so who wants to get in first?".