While the world moves towards banning the incarceration of dolphins, Dolphins Bay Phuket opened in November, undeterred by public objections.
Strong opinions against this facility have been expressed on the Dolphins Bay Phuket community Facebook page about Nemo. An October post by Ann Elphick provides some context to the situation: “If you go and see the Dolphins here you are supporting wild capture and slaughter of Dolphins in Taiji, Japan. Watch the film ‘The Cove’ before considering going. They have Taiji Dolphins here. If you love Dolphins don’t buy a ticket!”; Ashely Donald stated: “It’s disgusting that these beautiful creatures are being held captive here to perform when tourists and locals can see them in the wild off the shores of Phuket.”
A good point justly made! There is nothing more magical than experiencing the wonders of nature in their natural environment. The ‘Land of Smiles” or Thailand, has a tropical climate and over 3000 kilometres of coast line, making it the perfect scuba diving destination. Many areas offer you the opportunity to witness free, wild dolphins, frolicking in the waves or performing acrobatic feats out of pure joy.
You will be spoilt for choice with over 200 dive sites that you can choose from. Dive The World offers a wide selection of liveaboards, daytrip boats or diver friendly resorts providing the best of all possible worlds for your Thailand diving vacation. To learn more about the diving wonders of Thailand, e-mail our friendly and efficient Dive The World response team send us an email and book your Thailand liveaboard diving holiday today!
What can you do to ensure that these intelligent, gentle mammals stay in the world’s oceans where they belong?
Do not visit the Nemo Dolphin Bay in Phuket (that was built for approximately 100 million Thai Baht!) or other dolphinariums and contribute to their profits from the inhumane treatment of marine animals.
Do have a voice and sign one of the many petitions aimed at protecting dolphins. Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project has a number of petitions for you to choose from – or sign them all!.
Support non-profit organisations in their fight to protect our dolphins and whales. One such organisation is the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society who broke the news way back in 2014 that the dolphins selected to perform in Phuket are wild females captured from the infamous killing “cove” in Taiji, Japan. CITES (Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species) records verify that the Ukrainian company Nemo, had imported Tursiops truncatus gilli, Pacific bottlenose dolphins from Taiji. We need these organisations to keep abreast of the atrocities that are occurring in our oceans, and we need to do our part to stop these barbaric practices!