Manati Park Slow Death for Dolphins

I have returned a few days ago from the DR and loved my first visit to this beautiful country. There was only one upsetting thing that I experienced....the dolphins in Manati Park.

I had read all the information on tourist sites before going and was very excited about seeing the wildlife and natural flora at the park.

My friend and I had a wonderful time until we went to the dolphin tank. They were doing the "Swim with the Dolphins" program when we arrived so we decided to watch for a while. For those who choose to go, the $70US charge for the swim is for about 10 minutes in the water, with 9 other people at the same time. Pictures are taken with the dolphins as you leave the water, at a cost of $8US each.

The tank was extremely small and consisted of chlorinated water rather than natural sea water. We watched a group of 10 people prepare to go in the water. The people were required to shower, which was merely standing until a small drizzle of water. With all the sunscreen and or bugspray they had on there was NO way that even a little could be washed off. The dolphins appeared very listless and performed their tasks with no enthusiasm. As I watched all I felt was a great sadness for the terrible lives they had.

Since I returned I have done some reading and found that the dolphins in Manati Park are considered the most mistreated of any in captivity in the world, and that there has been numerous deaths. Also there is a lawsuit going on about eight dolphins captivated in 2002 off the DR in protected waters. The more I have read the sicker I felt about the plight of these beautiful mammals.

If I had known how deplorable the situation was with the dolphins I never would have gone to the Park at all. There are many wonderful things to do in the Punta Cana area, without encouraging the abuse of wildlife for profit.

I am not an animal activist, but the situation at Manati Park with the dolphins was something that I could not ignore. I had initially considered doing the swim myself, but now I am glad that I did not take part in this inhumane cruelty.

I have done some reading on Ocean World in the DR and from what I can see, the situation there is much different from that at Manati. The tanks are so much larger than those at Manati and give the dolphins much more room to swim. I have not seen any negative articles on Ocean World, so without personal experience I cannot make any other decisions. It appears though that Ocean World besides making money is also considering the welfare of their animals.

Manati Park dolphins remind me of prisoners of war, put into dirty, cramped spaces and forced to perform in order to eat. Although the idea of being up close to these mammals is appealing to many people, the more who patronize the Swim with the Dolphins at Manati, the more these creatures will be cruelly used for profit.

This is a link to one of many articles on Manati Park:
http://www.dolphinproject.org/subdetail.cfm?menu_id=538&submenu_id=10052

andy a

Animals here in Canada are also mistreated, as are animals all over the world. In Canada there are many agencies that over see animals and their treatment, but there are always those individuals that abuse animals, as there are individuals who abuse other people.

As I have not witnessed the cock fighting and other scenes that you have described in the DR, I cannot speak from personal experience. My main objection with Manati Park and the dolphins is that these mammals were caught solely for the purpose of making money and as a major tourist attraction in the Punta Cana area. Many tourists are too excited about having their picture taken with a dolphin to notice the sad state of the dolphin tank and its residents. When I commented on the size of the tank, my friend replied that surely there must be a bigger area for the dolphins when they are not "performing", but there isn't.

Although the DR relies on tourism for a large part of its economy, it is sad to see that money is more important than being humane, at least as far as Manati Park is concerned.

DR1

I have read a number of articles on Ocean World near Puerto Plata, and from what I can gather the approach there is much more humane than that of Manati Park. They seem to be considering the well-being of their animals as well as the entertainment of visitors.

If some people have no compassion for abuse whether it be people or animals then there is no way to explain the digust that I feel.

My complaint is that to use any living creature for profit with no concern for that creature's health is wrong. I would not have posted my initial comments if I had not been there and seen the conditions. If I had witnessed any other incidents of outright abuse of a living creature in any way I would have made the same statements.

If you feel no compassion for a living creature that is your choice, but I still stand by my opinion.

Robert:

Thank you for your comment.

It upsets me when people show no concern for the plight of any living creature, man or beast.

When I entered my post, it was my observation and thoughts on what I saw. I also entered a post on my trip to the DR, which had nothing but praise for the DR, with the one exception of Manati Park and its inhumane treatment of the Dolphins.

If someone were to come to my home country of Canada to visit and had a negative observation about something, I would be more inclined to listen and investigate first, rather than criticize.