End captivity of Whales, Dolphins, Porpoise and Seals

And you thought slavery had been abolished?

How many of us were touched by the Hollywood blockbuster Free Willy - the story of an Orca freed from a miserable life of captivity, all in the name of entertainment?

This story, brought to the attention of millions of people through the power of cinema, the plight that many whales and dolphins face today, in dolphinariums and sea-life parks, all for the sake of man profiting from these intelligent marine mammals.

Indeed, the story was even more poignant as Keiko, the star of Free Willy (and the sequel that followed due to popularity) was rescued from a dolphinarium in Mexico before gradually beginning a long period of rehabilitation which has seen him flown back to his native waters around Iceland. Keiko has had to be taught how to hunt again, as well as many other life skills, but sadly it has not been possible to find his original family group yet.

Captivity causes these animals enormous stress (developing sores and other ailments) and seriously diminishes their life expectancy. Mexico, has among the worst records for ill-treatment of dolphins. Two dolphins, Ariel and Turbo were recently saved by WSPA from Guatemala, after a circus had left them to die in two pits filled with chlorinated water. They were swimming in their own excrement when they were discovered and were in poor health. In the Caribbean, some islands such as Antigua are actively engaged in capturing dolphins for swim programmes. The military uses them too in often very dangerous situations, where they do not wish to use personnel.

Care-free Holiday?

Many of us will be jetting off on our next holiday soon, and some of us may be considering going to swim with dolphins or visit a sea-life centre. However, before you do, please make sure that your holiday isn't care-free but ensure that you don't support people making a profit out of this miserable slave trade.

Whilst some centres or sanctuaries actually only specialise in rehabilitating injured or sick cetacea, manatees and seals back to the wild, it is very important that before going on holiday we check out whether they are there for the good of these animals.

We, in the 'civilised world' pride ourselves on the fact that slavery was abolished centuries ago. Was it really?!!!

Help us put an end to man's exploitation of these creatures by signing our petition to the European Union, United States, Mexican and Canadian Governments, as well as governments in the Caribbean and all over the world to stop this greedy trade.

We the undersigned petition nations to legislate against the trade in any cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoise), pinnipedia (seals, etc.) for profit or military purposes, and to ban by law the captivity of these creatures except in circumstances in which these mammals have been found sick or injured in the wild and are receiving medical treatment prior to release back into the ocean.

Thank you.

You can also visit us at: www.ci-dolphins.org.uk

IMPORTANT NOTE

Please make sure that any comments you add to the petition are constructive and polite. Thank you.