Dolphinarium

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Dolphin show at the Dolphinarium in Varna , Bulgaria
In operation from 1973 to 1980, the Dolfirodam Scharendijke dolphinarium

A dolphinarium or dolphinarium is a form of animal husbandry in which dolphins or other whales live in captivity. Usually they are trained and perform appropriate tricks. A distinction is made between scientifically managed dolphinariums, such as in the Duisburg Zoo or the Nuremberg Zoo , which both conduct research and have an educational mandate, and pure show dolphinariums, such as SeaWorld . These shows are for the entertainment of the audience only. Usually bottlenose dolphins and orcas do the feats.

Dolphinariums and breeding

Dolphinariums are also often used to breed the species they keep. Dolphinariums try to avoid inbreeding by transporting the animals to another park. This can affect the very strong relationship with the mother in whales . Since the animals are highly social, they can quickly get used to the new environment and new companions. Conflicts between dolphins can be defused by relocating one of the affected animals to another dolphinarium. Since 2001 it has been common to use artificial insemination .

Programs

In addition to dolphin shows, dolphinariums and water parks often offer other activities:

In dolphin swimming programs , groups of visitors can step into the water with the dolphins and touch them. However, the risk of injuries or the transmission of diseases is relatively high for humans and animals in direct encounters.

Over 25 years ago in the USA the idea arose that encounters with dolphins could have a healing effect. Since then, more and more dolphin facilities have offered dolphin therapies for the treatment of various mental illnesses and developmental disorders. Opinions about the benefits of dolphin therapy vary widely. To date, the long-term effectiveness of dolphin therapy is neither scientifically proven nor disproved. The best-known study on dolphin therapy in German-speaking countries was carried out by the University of Würzburg in cooperation with the Nuremberg Zoo under the direction of Erwin Breitenbach and Eva Stumpf. This study is also accused of methodological deficiencies.

Dolphins can be touched and fed by visitors in feeding and petting pools. Due to the constant competition with one another, the animals are often aggressive, dominant animals are often very overweight and the risk of mutual harm is high.

Criticism of dolphinariums

The keeping of dolphins and orcas in captivity is controversial. In addition to the poorly species-appropriate keeping, due to the crampedness and monotony of the environment, also artificially treated water, unnatural group composition and the unfamiliar food - dolphins usually avoid dead fish. The noise and the constant presence of people are also criticized. These things put the animals under stress .
The Nuremberg zoo, driven by such claims, had the stress hormones of its dolphins measured over a period of three years. The result showed no signs of stress. Animal rights activists still consider the housing conditions in dolphinariums to be stressful and blame them for intraspecific aggression, weakening of the immune system, chronic illnesses and death. Many animals therefore regularly receive medical treatment, for example for stomach ulcers .

Dolphinarium in Bruges

Even if the animals do not have to appear in shows, a pool cannot depict the diversity of the sea. The intelligent animals are much more susceptible to diseases and they lack social contact. Keeping them in fenced-off marine areas, which seem to offer the dolphins better living conditions, is also not without problems. Such systems can be polluted and over-fertilized by the excrement of the dolphins. Since the dolphins cannot retreat into deeper waters like in freedom in these sea basins, they are exposed to the violence of storms unprotected.

The origin of the dolphins is also controversial. The offspring in captivity has so far not been sustainable and recourse to wild-caught animals is therefore necessary. Dolphin schools would be driven into bays to separate the beautiful specimens and slaughter the others. On this subject, reference is usually made to whale and dolphin fishing in Japan, which is only lucrative because zoological gardens pay high sums for beautiful dolphins. While there are demonstrably no dolphins from Japan in the whole of Europe, the actions of Japanese whalers are specifically documented by video material. The arguments of the dolphinarium opponents are invalidated by the fact that in North America 2/3 of all bottlenose dolphins are already offspring. One can speak of sustainability to the extent that there are also offspring in the third generation there. American dolphinariums are - according to their own statement - no longer dependent on wild catches . But dolphin keeping is still developing in Europe, which is still very young. Every second bottlenose dolphin in European dolphinariums comes from their own offspring. The average life expectancy now exceeds that in the wild by years. However, the death rate of these animals in captivity is significantly higher than the death rate in the wild. According to various studies, between 5.6 and 7.4 percent of the animals die annually in captivity and 3.9 percent in the wild.

In England, criticism from animal rights activists has led to the closure of all dolphinariums. There is also resistance to dolphin keeping in Germany and Switzerland.

One of the most famous critics is Ric O'Barry , the former dolphin trainer of the television series Flipper . After a dolphin died in his arms, he gave up his job as a trainer and founded the organization "Dolphin Project" in 1970. Since then he has campaigned against keeping dolphins in captivity. In his documentary Die Bucht (2009) he reveals cruel methods of catching future artists and shows how their unselected conspecifics are brutally murdered.

Another documentary that deals with the keeping of dolphins - especially orcas - in amusement parks is Blackfish from 2013. The documentary by Gabriela Cowperthwaite, which tells the story of the orca Tilikum and examines the living conditions of the animals, led to a huge drop in visitors to the American theme park SeaWorld .

In 2011 the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society , the Born Free Foundation and Endcap published a research report on dolphinariums in the EU. According to the publication, more than half of the EU member states are violating the law protecting captive dolphins and other whales.

In India, dolphinariums and similar facilities were banned after weeks of protests in 2013.

Switzerland

After eight dolphins had died within three years in Conny-Land , the last Swiss dolphinarium, the Swiss parliament passed a ban on the import of "dolphins and other whale species (Cetacea)" on May 29, 2012 (Art. 7 Para. 3 Animal Protection Act) . The ban has been in force since January 1, 2013.

As a result, Conny-Land decided to close its dolphinarium at the end of 2013.

Examples of dolphinariums

Germany

Existing dolphinariums

Location place opening comment
Duisburg Zoo Duisburg 1965
Nuremberg Zoo Nuremberg 1971

Former dolphinariums and shows

Location place opening closure comment
Phantasialand Bruehl 1968 1991
Berlin Zoological Garden Berlin 1970 1973 Temporary Summer Show Florida Dolphin Show
Holiday Park Hassloch 1971 1994
Hagenbeck Zoo Hamburg 1971 1995
ZOOM world of experience Gelsenkirchen 1972 1973 Temporary Summer Show Florida Dolphin Show
Safariland Wallerstädten Gross-Gerau 1973 1983 closed due to destruction by hurricane
All-weather zoo Münster Muenster 1974 2013
Europe Park Rust 1976 1992
Landau Zoo Landau in the Palatinate 1977 1978 The operator was the entrepreneur Artur Frank, the founder of Safariland Wallerstädten. 1978 move to Neunkirchen
Neunkirchen Zoo Neunkirchen 1978 1980 Show operation until 1979. Operator was Artur Frank
Hansa Park Sierksdorf 1978 1994
Heath Park Resort Soltau 1979 2008
Festa Dolphinarium in Varna ( Bulgaria )

Switzerland

Europe

See also

Web links

Commons : Dolphinariums  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Delfinarium  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ University of Würzburg: Research Project Dolphin Therapy / 1998-2011 ( Memento from January 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Dolphin Therapy in Criticism , 2008
  3. ↑ Christian Schulze: Review of “Dolphin Therapy for Children with Disabilities” , from 2008; PDF 145 kB; accessed: March 13, 2013
  4. ↑ Psychologie heute 4/2010: Doc Dolphin - magical healer or exploited creature?
  5. ↑ Facts 2011 Collection Norbert Kochhan: therapy without dolphins
  6. ↑ EU DOLPHINARIA REPORT, p. 20 ( Memento from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.2 MB)
  7. ↑ Meike Baars: Dolphin protectors threaten to take legal action against the city of Duisburg. In: WAZ , September 2, 2011.
  8. ↑ Nuremberg Zoo opens controversial dolphin lagoon. In: Hamburger Abendblatt , July 26, 2011.
  9. ↑ Dolphinarium report ( Memento from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.2 MB)
  10. ↑ Saroja Coelho: Dolphins gain unprecedented protection in India. dw.de, May 24, 2013, accessed on July 30, 2013 (English).
  11. ↑ Another dolphin has died in «Connyland». In: nzz.ch. November 14, 2011, accessed October 14, 2018 .
  12. ↑ http://www.admin.ch/opc/de/official-compilation/2012/6279.pdf
  13. ↑ http://connyland.ch/index.php/de/delphine-de-de-8/importverbot-de-de-8
  14. ↑ Tristian: Dolphinarium Safariland Wallerstädten. In: safarilandgg.com. Retrieved May 5, 2013 .
  15. ↑ Angelika Wölke: The dolphins Nando, Palawas and Rocco from Münster move to Holland. In: DerWesten. February 5, 2013, accessed February 9, 2013 .
  16. ↑ sol.de: When there was a dolphinarium in the Neunkirchen Zoo. In: sol.de. April 21, 2014, accessed October 12, 2014 .