A UK Collection applies for Dolphins
- Thread starter Cat-Man
- Start date
Rhiannon23
Member
Prefer wild dolphins
Rather than seeing them in captivity - see them in the wild. Okay it isn't as guaranteed but the thrill of seeing them in natural habitat is very possible in the UK - see
Official Dolphin / Whale / Wildlife sightings
or
Sea Watch Foundation - Sightings
to see how often they can be seen in Wales
Rhi
Rather than seeing them in captivity - see them in the wild. Okay it isn't as guaranteed but the thrill of seeing them in natural habitat is very possible in the UK - see
Official Dolphin / Whale / Wildlife sightings
or
Sea Watch Foundation - Sightings
to see how often they can be seen in Wales
Rhi
Blackpool was an educated guess (which is just that, a guess, however it has some theory or substance behind it). The Deep and WMSP were just random suggestions from you.
taun
Well-Known Member
Definitely the best option and most exciting, I remember seeing seals of the british coast which was fantastic and definitely will be going in the next few years to do some whale and dolphin spotting of our coasts.
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
The last i heard from people i know at Blackpool they where NOT the collection looking at getting Dolphins,so cat-man if you have evidence to the contrary to what i`ve just stated can you please let me know.As for The Deep and West Mids i would say neither have the space to do the job properly.
I totally agree, a few years back I had the oppurtunity to watch Orcas near Seattle and it was the experience of a lifetime. However, for many people this is not an option and dolphins can bring a huge amount of revenue to a zoo.
Furthermore, this argument could be used for any animal, I've seen Elephants in the wild yet I still love watching them at zoos. Obviously seeing wild dolphins is ideal, but captive ones are a good substitute (provided they have a large tank and good enrichment programme).
Back on topic, I don't think the British puplic are ready to see captive dolphins again. And, besides, Born Free worked so hard to eradicate them last time that they will not let them back without a fight.
I may be proved wrong but think that a lot of this is wishful thinking on the part of Cat-man.
The Deep will not get dolphins. As Zoogiraffe correctly points out there wouldn't be the space presently, it would have to be vastly reworked to make space. It just won't happen. They don't have any marine mammals. Just plain no.
The Deep's next development is called The River and will be a separate building near by with a jungle display, probably an Amazon theme I guess. I suppose the sensationalists could put 2+2 together and suggest Amazon River Dolphins but I very much doubt it.
Meg-T
Well-Known Member
You missed a letter out
Dolphin Care UK - Dolphinarium and Captivity
According to this it is on the South West coast, so not Blackpool, or The Deep...
You missed a letter out
Dolphin Care UK - Dolphinarium and Captivity
According to this it is on the South West coast, so not Blackpool, or The Deep...
That paragraph doesn't indicate that is neccesarily a zoo (or collection) which plans to bring in the dolphins, just a "company".
Meg-T
Well-Known Member
I agree - there is a lot of speculation on this, so I think it is a matter of wait and see
Personally I feel that there are plenty of opportunities of seeing wild dolphins in the UK and i wouldn't like to see them in UK zoos. I unsure as to any whales or dolphins being captivity as I feel no matter how big the tank zoos cannot truly look afteer a whale or dolphin properly (though I dont beleive the whales or dolphins are suffering in the tanks as I beleive the training often provides a welcome mental stimulus for these intelligent animals.)
This thread seems to be nothing more than personal wishes, speculation and guesswork.
This thread seems to be nothing more than personal wishes, speculation and guesswork.
I think one of the main problems is the tanks being so sterile, they always seem so empty and boring. I wouldn't mind having them in captivity, we have plenty of wild owls and other birds of prey in the UK but they're still captive here. I just hope that if it did happen then they'd get some born in captivity and not go through capturing them, make even more bad press.
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
Yes you are probably right that Cat-man has used alot of speculation and guesswork to come up with what he has on here but rumours of a new Marine Park in the U.K have surface every so often over the last 10 years or so but so far nothing has come of them yet the last one is probably the strongest yet,but in the current financial climate it will quietly disappear until better times.
easytigger
Well-Known Member
I guess its the age old zoo debate how big is an ideal enclosure, like all animals dolphins and whales travel vast distances in search of food and a mate, in most cases not for the hell of it, so looking at it in that way a good size enclosure (and I'm talking acres here!!) would be fine depending on the species.
If an animal park was to keep these animals again I personally wouldn't have a problem with it if it was done in a ground breaking way, I saw a youtube clip earlier today of an aquarium in Japan that had a huge tank with several whale sharks and manta rays in it, it really was massive, it would need to be like that and then some.
Just over a decade ago it was ok to keep elephants in a small bland concrete yard, now its expected that they have sand, logs feeding devices, enrichment.
The same must be done for dolphins, huge tanks with rocks, sand, varying depths, feeding tubes so dead fish can be released into pools unexpectedly as enrichment, wave machines, hospital pens with raisable floors. Habitats for the animals to live in not empty concrete pools for them to exist in.
The cost would be phenomal but never mind eh! The technology is there for huge filtration plants, salt water instead of chlorine, underwater viewing tunnels, showing of the animals in their element not doing repetitve shows loosely based on natural behaviours.
If its going to be done do it the very best they can, not just an 70's / 80's throwback like windsor or flamingo land!
Meg-T
Well-Known Member
To Easytigger:
I agree, and you make an excellent point on the development of zoos, and perhaps this being a viable project in the future, if enough time and money is spent on it (a quick look at zoolex shows the amounts that can be available).
Personally I am undecided as to whether I think cetaceans should be kept in captivity (and will leave that until I have personally seen it).
I think I have seen that youtube clip too.
I agree, and you make an excellent point on the development of zoos, and perhaps this being a viable project in the future, if enough time and money is spent on it (a quick look at zoolex shows the amounts that can be available).
Personally I am undecided as to whether I think cetaceans should be kept in captivity (and will leave that until I have personally seen it).
I think I have seen that youtube clip too.
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easytigger
Well-Known Member
Thats the place, the clip i saw was about 4 mins long nad you could see a diver at the bootom of the tank which put into perspective just how big the tank was!
If my memory serves me right its only the second largest aquarium tank the world though!
If my memory serves me right its only the second largest aquarium tank the world though!
Rhiannon23
Member
I think my main concern would be where are the cetacea coming from? Would dolphinariums outside the UK be able to provide dolphins or would they have to be wild caught?
easytigger
Well-Known Member
An excellent point, and one I forgot to cover in my long post, it isn't right morally or ethically to collect dolphins from the wild in this day and age in my opinion.
But the transportation of cetaceans from the states to UK is also risky and costly, ideally you would be looking to find one of the old fashioned dolphinariums that still exist on the continent that are looking at closing down in these harsh economic conditions.
Or be part of a company that used to accept keeping of dolphins of in captivity, thats then taken over by a company that doesn't accept the keeping of dolphins in captivity, which then team up with a charity and release a statement about creating a 'sanctuary' for dolphins in the wild, now if my knowledge of the born free 'into the blue' project is right, it wasn't entirely successful i.e most of the dolphins died, and also using keiko the whale as an example perhaps re-release projects are not the way forward, so a comprimise is a big possibility.
I agree on that point, but if there are animals that are injured/orphans/ etc and cannot be put back into the wild for those reasons, I don't see why we shouldn't provide them with a home in captivity - albeit not a shallow, bare concrete pool and on their own.
If dolphins or other cetacea were gotten this way, it wouldn't be as bad (as taking healthy, socialised individuals) -it's just providing an adequate replacement from that which they have come from that's the problem.
Just my two pence
