Nine dolphins remain trapped inside a closed water park in Cancún, months after it shut its doors. Footage shows them gnawing at the concrete walls of their enclosure and floating listlessly for hours, behavior experts say can signal deep psychological distress in captive dolphins. One is 38 years old. Several are blind. At least one is battling advanced cancer.
Mexico's own environmental agency seized these dolphins nearly a year ago over welfare concerns, yet they remain in the same pool where they were found.
Sign the petition urging PROFEPA to finally relocate these nine dolphins to a legitimate sanctuary, not another commercial dolphinarium, and to guarantee full transparency and independent welfare checks until that happens.
The dolphins are Squalo, aged 38; Oceania, 36; Mincho, 36; Satu, 31; Solei, 28; Solomon, 21; Diego, 19; Flex, 18; and Apolo, 13.
These dolphins were captured from the wild more than two decades ago and shipped thousands of miles from home to perform for tourists. Now, with the park closed and no visitors left to entertain, they have been left behind in deteriorating health, fed once a day, given only minutes of enrichment, and swimming in water that has appeared clouded with algae and waste. Officials insist the dolphins are not abandoned, but nearly a year after being seized for their own protection, they remain exactly where they were found.
Moving them to another dolphinarium would only trade one prison for another. These dolphins deserve a genuine sanctuary, real medical care, and an end to a life spent as entertainment for people who never had to ask if it was fair to them.
These nine dolphins have already lost decades to captivity. Their remaining years should be in freedom.
Sign the petition and demand PROFEPA finally get them out.
