News Archives

February, 2002

False killer whales trapped in marine park nightmare

Two false killer whales have already died under "unknown circumstances" in the care of Ocean Adventure, a shady marine park located in the Philippines. WSPA is racing to rescue the four survivors before it is too late. Commonly called "false killer whales," the animals are actually a type of dolphin, though they don't resemble the more familiar bottlenose dolphins. They are known for their keen intelligence, their sonar abilities and their complex social bonds, all of which makes them ill suited for life in captivity.

The four dolphins were originally captured in the late 1990's off the coast of Japan, during a violent "drive fishery." Drive fisheries amass huge numbers of whales, dolphins and other marine mammals by trapping entire pods in shallow beach areas. Some are butchered for meat, and others are sold to marine parks and aquariums around the world. But aside from these motives, a primary reason for the slaughter is that Japanese fishermen feel that dolphins deplete the supply of fish. Drive fisheries "eliminate the competition." The real problem, of course, is over-fishing, not the dolphins.

The six captured dolphins were selected and purchased at the slaughter site in Japan by American businessman Timothy Desmond. Desmond is the owner of the Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium (SBME), also known as Ocean Adventure. He originally sent the six dolphins to the Beijing Aquarium in China, where his operation was located at the time. One of the dolphins died at this facility. When Desmond's operation went out of business in China, he flew the five surviving dolphins to the Philippines without the proper permits from the Philippine government. Here, another of the dolphins died. The four survivors are currently being used in a "swim-with-the-dolphins" program, despite the fact that the legality of this program is highly questionable.

Both dolphin deaths remain unexplained, but not unexpected, as wild marine mammals kept in captivity typically have dramatically shortened life spans. If the remaining four survive, they face a future of exploitation and deprivation as part of the "edutainment" at this marine park.

WSPA joins other environmental groups such as the Earth Island Institute, Earthwatch Philippines Foundation, and Philippines Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in protesting the activities of Ocean Adventure. The Philippine government is also skeptical of the company.

.SBME is currently locked in a legal standoff with the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). At issue is the company's lack of necessary environmental permits to construct a captive dolphin facility at Subic Bay and questionable paperwork allowing the dolphins to be imported from China.

Philip Escueta, a representative of the Earthwatch Philippines Foundation, Inc. asserts that "SBME did not undergo stringent evaluation of the Committee on Animal Welfare…nor the regular procedure…of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources not to mention the Environmental Impact Assessment Study…required by the DENR." In addition to the non-existent permits and operating in defiance of the Cease and Desist order filed against them by the DENR, Ocean's Adventure is now facing a lawsuit filed by EII and the Philippines Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) for violations of the Animal Welfare Act."

The shroud of controversy surrounding Ocean Adventure increases WSPA's sense of urgency concerning the remaining dolphins at Subic Bay. The Philippine authorities must act immediately to close down this shady marine park and confiscate these four false killer whales before they become another Ocean Adventure Park fatality.