News Archives

February, 2005

Bahamas: Not a dolphin-friendly destination

Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie believes that his fellow Bahamians
should succumb to peer pressure instead of making their own decisions about the use of their natural resources. At least that's what he implied during a recent interview when asked why the Bahamian government approved a plan by the Atlantis Resort to acquire dolphins for a controversial new swim-with-dolphins program, Christie replied that, “everyone in the Caribbean was doing it…we had to do it to keep up with the competition.” WSPA is appalled that such a shallow excuse would be given for a government's decision to put economic profit ahead of the welfare concerns of dolphins and the growing number of tourists who are seeking out eco-tourist adventures rather than the staged, captive programs of the past.

As part of a planned billion-dollar expansion, the Atlantis Resort at Paradise Island in the Bahamas will be building a large captive dolphin facility. Currently, visitors to Atlantis Resorts, owned by Kerzner International Resorts, Inc., have enjoyed trips to visit native dolphins swimming in the wild off of the beaches of the Bahamas. With 25 dolphins already purchased and plans to add at least 15 more, it seems that the only dolphins Atlantis Resorts visitors will see in the future will be held captive in the resort's swimming pool, performing mindless tricks for their food.

A chief concern is the origins of the dolphins slated to live at the Atlantis Resort and the means by which they will be acquired. The dolphins will either be wild caught, purchased from another facility or breeding program, or obtained from the bloody drive fisheries being held in Japan. While neither the resort nor Kerzner International has divulged where the dolphins will come from or addressed the welfare concerns raised by dolphin advocates, signs seem to indicate that these dolphins will be taken from the wild.