Dolphin Outlook

Tell Camp Kids Klub That SeaWorld Is No Place for Kids!
Despite hearing from PETA that Dr. Sujatha Ramakrishna, a psychiatrist specializing in early childhood development, states that SeaWorld "has a detrimental effect on the development of empathy in young children," Camp Kids Klub still plans to expose its campers to SeaWorld's abusive sea circus with an overnight trip to the abusement park.

Cetaceans are extremely sensitive, emotionally complex, and intelligent animals. In the wild, orcas travel up to 100 miles per day and dolphins travel up to 60 miles in close-knit groups, each with its own unique dialect. In some populations, offspring stay with their mothers for life. But at SeaWorld, dolphins are forced to swim in endless circles inside tiny tanks, which, to them, are the size of a bathtub. They are torn away from their families and incompatibly housed with other animals, which often results in injuries and stress.

Please tell Camp Kids Klub that there is nothing fun or educational about seeing animals trapped at SeaWorld, and urge the program to cancel its scheduled trip to the abusement park.


Right now, the Obama Administration is considering creating a first-of-its-kind national monument in the Atlantic Ocean. It's a move that could cast an essential lifeline to whales, dolphins, corals and other vital sea lifeBe a part of history — and help protect marine wildlife. Urge President Obama to create a national monument off New England's coast in the Atlantic Ocean. The area's Coral Canyons and Seamounts are home to whales and dolphins — and rare and vulnerable species that are still being discovered. Ancient, fragile corals that can live for more than 1,000 years and grow to 10 feet tall can be found here.
In the Gulf of Maine, Cashes Ledge hosts the largest continuous kelp forest in the U.S. Atlantic. It's an important habitat for the region's iconic cod and is a critical feeding ground for migratory whales, tunas, and seabirds. These areas are special and they are worth protecting in the strongest way possible. Your call to prohibit destructive industrial and commercial activities in these special places could make an enormous difference. These places are fragile, slow to recover from disturbances and currently threatened by extractive activities. Make your voice heard. Send a message now on behalf of whales, dolphins and other sea life.
GROUNDBREAKING NEWS: The announced that it will send captive dolphins to a seaside sanctuary!
Photo published for National Aquarium Will Move Dolphins to First U.S. Sea Sanctuary! | Blog | peta2.com
One More Step to Empty Tanks! National Aquarium Announces Plans to Send Dolphins to Sanctuary. There is no doubt about it, attitudes about marine captivity are changing – for the better! In the years after the groundbreaking documentary Blackfish was released, we have witnessed an enormous shift in public attitude towards keeping animals like orca whales and dolphins in marine parks. Largely, this shift has been driven by the recognition that these animals are highly emotional and intelligent beings and captivity takes a serious toll on their mental well-being. All it takes is one look at this video of Morgan, the distressed captive orca, or this dolphin floating listlessly on the top of his pool to feel the pain that is wrought on these animals all for the sake of our “entertainment.”
Thankfully, as more people learn what the true cost of captivity is to animals, they’re taking action. From organized protests to boycotts and countless petitions, individuals and organizations alike have worked tirelessly to raise awareness for captive marine animals and encourage others to end their support for marine parks and attractions. And this action is working! SeaWorld recently announced they would end their captive breeding program – and most recently Maryland’s National Aquarium revealed they plan to close their dolphin exhibit and move their animals to the nation’s first ocean-side sanctuary by 2020.
According to a report in the Baltimore Sun, “The aquarium said it has spent five years weighing options for the animals, which scientists believe display an advanced intellect compared with other species and can’t fully thrive outside their natural habitats, where they form social groups and can swim great distances.”
The aquarium is looking into seaside sites in Florida and the Caribbean to house its eight Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. Aquarium officials imagine the facility to be a first-of-its-kind protected, seaside habitat where the dolphins still would be cared for by humans.
While further details about the sanctuary have yet to be released, this is certainly a positive step for the aquarium’s captive dolphins and we can only hope that this action will inspire other facilities to consider phasing out their captive marine animal attractions.
The fact is, no matter how hard we try to replicate a natural environment for marine animals – or any wild animal for that matter – nothing can compare to the wild. Like humans, dolphins live in highly complex and dynamic social groups, not to mention, the bonds shared between dolphin pod members are some of the strongest on the planet. Knowing what we do about these animals, continuing to keep them in captivity is unnecessarily cruel.
By 2020, the National Aquarium’s dolphins will be able to regain some semblance of the life they always deserved in an ocean-side sanctuary but that does not change the fact that they never belonged there in the first place.
Share this article and encourage others to boycott marine parks and other attractions that profit from captivity. It is time to #EmptytheTanks once and for all!

National Aquarium Announces That Dolphins Will Go to Sanctuary. In a monumental decision announced on Tuesday, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland, said that it’s moving forward with its plans to send the eight bottlenose dolphins there to a sanctuary.
Aquarium rendering national aquarium dolphins
A rendering of the dolphin sanctuary.

This means that the pod of six females and two males—one of whom was captured in the wild in 1972 and another born at SeaWorld Orlando—will be transferred together to a safe oceanside habitat, where they’ll be able to feel the ocean’s currents, interact acoustically with wild dolphins, and enjoy some semblance of a natural life.
ENT demo
PETA protesters lead a demonstration at the National Aquarium in the 1990s.

In 2014, the aquarium announced that it would explore the feasibility of moving the dolphins to a sanctuary, saying, “Times have changed, and our understanding of the needs of the animals in our care has changed. A lot of very valid research has been done in the last 20 years to open our eyes to the cognitive and social behavior of dolphins.

This decision shows SeaWorld, the Miami Seaquarium, and all other marine parks that confining dolphins to concrete tanks can and should end. Dolphins are cognitively and emotionally complex animals who, in the wild, swim many miles each day. In a tiny, barren aquarium tank, these sensitive beings may develop ulcers, engage in self-destructive behavior, or even attempt suicide.
ENT DEMO 2
PETA’s now–executive vice president, Tracy Reiman, is arrested at a protest at the National Aquarium in 1994.

For decades, PETA has argued against dolphin captivity at the National Aquarium. In 1991, we launched a campaign against its then-new dolphin facility, and in 1994, our now–executive vice president was arrested at the aquarium during a protest.

What You Can Do
Never visit any marine park, and demand that SeaWorld retire the marine mammals in its tanks to safe, seaside sanctuaries.

URGE SEAWORLD TO RETIRE MARINE MAMMALS!
National Aquarium Will Move Dolphins to First U.S. Sea Sanctuary! Officials at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland, announced that they will be sending eight bottlenose dolphins to the first seaside sanctuary in the U.S.!
bottlenose dolphin
The pod of six females and two males will be transferred together to a safe and spacious ocean habitat, where they’ll be able to feel the ocean’s currents, communicate with wild dolphins, and enjoy some semblance of a natural life.

Times have changed, and our understanding of the needs of the animals in our care has changed. A lot of very valid research has been done in the last 20 years to open our eyes to the cognitive and social behavior of dolphins. —John Racanelli, National Aquarium CEO

People all over the world are celebrating this groundbreaking decision, which shows other marine parks that keeping dolphins as prisoners in tanks can and MUST end. Dolphins are intelligent and emotionally complex animals who, in the wild, swim many miles each day. But in aquariums, these sensitive beings may develop ulcers and engage in self-destructive behavior and have even been known to attempt suicide.
national aquarium dolphin peta tweet
national aquarium dolphin peta tweetFor decades, PETA has argued against dolphin captivity at the National Aquarium. In 1991, we launched a campaign against its then-new dolphin facility. Thanks to everyone who spoke up for all these years—the dolphins will finally be free from their cramped tanks!
expects to maintain visitor attendance without dolphins. Read more:
national aquarium sanctuary tweet2
What You Can Do
Never visit ANY marine park, and tell SeaWorld to take the lead from the National Aquarium and retire the animals imprisoned there to sanctuaries, too.
Photo published for National Aquarium: The time is right to move our dolphins to a seaside sanctuary.National "We are moving all our to seaside by 2020." are next!

National Aquarium: The time is right to move our dolphins to a seaside sanctuary. as 17 when I met a dolphin named Spock, the first of many that I've known in my lifetime. As a SCUBA diver at a marine park on San Francisco Bay, I had the job of scrubbing algae off the concrete walls of the dolphin tank — Spock's home — for hours at a time. I loved it, of course, but even then, I wondered what Spock's previous life in the blue vastness of the open sea must have been like.

I left that marine park in the early 1980s, and it wasn't until I came to the National Aquarium 30 years later that I found myself once again responsible for the care of dolphins. By then, I had a very different outlook. Times had changed, as had our understanding of the unique welfare needs of these intelligent animals.

With that knowledge, we at the National Aquarium are today announcing our decision to create the nation's first seaside dolphin sanctuary and to move our colony of dolphins there before the end of 2020.

Our quest to find a new way to care for the dolphins began five years ago. Working closely with the aquarium's board of directors, an internal team weighed many options, ranging from rebuilding our existing pools in a more naturalistic style to moving the dolphins to other accredited facilities. In the end, we decided that the best way forward was to create a protected, year-round, seaside refuge for the dolphins. We didn't make this decision because it was the cheapest or easiest option — it was neither — and it wasn't a decision we could have made quickly or without thoughtful consideration. For us, the belief that this is the right decision came down to three things: the dolphins, our community and our own mission.

It's right for the dolphins.
We are committed to creating conditions for all of the animals in our care to thrive. In the dolphins' case, we know far more today than 25 years ago, when the aquarium's Marine Mammal Pavilion, the dolphin's current home, first opened on Pier 4. Emerging science and consultation with experts have convinced us that dolphins do indeed thrive when they can form social groups, have opportunities to express natural behaviors and live in a habitat as similar as possible to that for which nature so superbly designed them.
National Aquarium dolphins through the years
Photos of dolphins at the National Aquarium in Baltimore through the years.
It's right for the communities we serve.

We owe our very existence to the broader public, and attitudes have evolved. While baby boomers grew up watching "Flipper," for millennials it was "Free Willy." Through feedback painstakingly gathered over 10 years, we have learned that the American public is increasingly uneasy with the notion of keeping dolphins and whales in captivity. These beliefs matter to us.

It's right for the National Aquarium.

We, too, have evolved — from an entertaining sea life attraction to a nonprofit aquatic conservation organization. We have built a remarkably talented team of people who know how to tackle this complex task, and their dedication to the dolphins' welfare is inspiring. We have already begun imagining ways to repurpose the space the dolphins will vacate in a few years, many of which will better achieve our conservation goals. Ultimately, both those new facilities and the sanctuary itself can serve to advance our mission to inspire conservation of the world's aquatic treasures.

While we have more work to do, our research has identified several specific criteria necessary for the sanctuary to succeed. It will be an outdoor, seawater facility in a tropical year-round climate, ideally located where dolphins already exist in the wild. The site we choose will be significantly larger than the dolphins' current living space, in a setting that provides more natural stimuli for the dolphins, such as fish and marine plants. Humans will care for and interact with the dolphins for their entire lives, and the operating principle will be "dolphins first" with emphasis on the individual needs of the dolphins. An important function of the sanctuary will be to allow qualified scientists to carry out studies not feasible in either an open-ocean or aquarium setting, in fields like communication, behavior, cognition and bioacoustics.

We face unique challenges in this endeavor, not the least of which is that all but one of the dolphins in our care have never lived in the ocean. They have never before felt the rain on their dorsal fins, chased a mullet along a mangrove shore or teased a startled crab. They will need to learn how to be ocean-dwelling dolphins, in a place with its own set of risks like pollution, noise, jellyfish and red tides, and we will help them build those skills.

The aquarium team, which includes a staff of 450 and 960 volunteers, is working to overcome the challenges and advance our understanding of dolphins, starting with a set of principles and practices that will guide the development and operation of this sanctuary. Concurrently, a site selection team is evaluating locations in Florida and the Caribbean. We are studying things like microbiomes, immunology and habitat enrichment to ensure that the decisions we make are the right ones.

With today's announcement, we are taking the next step, and I am both honored and humbled that our aquarium, a Baltimore institution, is leading the way. Although this decision is about a group of dolphins, it is every bit as much about our humanity; for the way a society treats the animals with whom it shares this planet speaks volumes about us.

I often think about how much we have learned since those long-ago swims alongside Spock and his mates. Yet, I am struck by how much we have still to learn if we are to secure a healthy future for dolphins, whales and the natural systems that give us all life. Building this dolphin sanctuary is the right step to take, and now is the time to take it.

John Racanelli (JohnRacanelli@aqua.org), chief executive officer of the National Aquarium since 2011, is an ocean conservationist who has led and supported U.S. aquariums for nearly 40 years.

Benguela Dolphin released back into the ocean.
Mississippi leaders: Don't Use BP Restoration Dollars for a Dolphin Prison!
Mississippi leaders: Don't Use BP Restoration Dollars for a Dolphin Prison!
BY: s
TARGET: Governor Phil Bryant; Gary Rikard, Mississippi Department of Environ... more, Mississippi
139,763 of the 140,000 Goal - 1,057 from Mississippi

Overview petition

Update #1 2 days agoFull Update ▾
Good news! The National Aquarium will be releasing their dolphins to a sanctuary within 4 years! Click to share this Thank You to the National Aquarium on FB.Meanwhile, MS is still committed to a new dolphin prison.- click to share the petition to stop them!

About This Petition

BP's deepwater drilling disaster in 2010 had a huge impact on dolphins - killing them, making them sick, and even keeping them from having healthy calves for years after the spill. But instead of helping restore dolphin habitat and populations, Mississippi is planning on spending $17 million in restoration funds to build an aquarium on the coast. Even worse? This aquarium plans on putting captive dolphins on display! The Governor's plan makes BP's dolphin disaster even more tragic.

Tell Governor Bryant not to spend any BP restoration dollars on a new dolphin prison! 

I used to work as a dolphin trainer at Marine Life in Gulfport, before it was washed away by Hurricane Katrina. I know first-hand that a new facility for captive dolphins is the last thing Mississippi needs.

The Mississippi Gulf coast has amazing wild dolphin pods, and great opportunities for tourists to see them in their natural habitat. But dolphins aren't meant to be in captivity. They die from stress-related sicknesses, they fight with other dolphins, and they are forced to perform behaviors they would never exhibit in the wild. Entertainment for tourists doesn't justify their unnatural treatment.

The Gulf desperately needs BP dollars to go to ecosystem restoration and recovery - wetlands, blue water, living shorelines. It's outrageous that the single largest project that the state intends to spend BP dollars on is this aquarium! Sign my petition and join me in telling the Governor and state restoration leaders to stop their plans to fund this dolphin prison with BP dollars. 
Rainy Days & Dolphins



Let's shut this down - before dolphins end up in tiny tanks.

Thank you so much for signing the petition to stop QLD's new aquarium stocking it's tanks with dolphins, whales, and seals.

The scary (and suspicious) thing is, QLD Aquarium is still refusing to rule out keeping dolphins in tiny, chlorinated tanks.

The solution? We need to get even louder.

Will you share this petition with just one friend, and help REALLY turn up the volume?


Click here to share the petition with a friend or, copy and paste this link directly on Facebook:  https://actionsprout.io/67E3CF

Every single name sends another clear signal: people don’t want to see beautiful dolphins (or dugongs, whales and seals, for that matter) suffering in tiny tanks for entertainment. 


Success: National Aquarium to Release Dolphins to Sanctuary.
Dolphin Aude Steiner
Target: Robert E. Carter, Chair of the National Aquarium Institute Board of Directors
Goal: Thank aquarium for deciding to release all its dolphins to a seaside sanctuary.
The National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland has recently announced that it will be sending all eight of its bottlenose dolphins to a seaside sanctuary. This is great news for the six females and two males currently at the aquarium. This is partly thanks to public intervention, including protests and petitions like this one on ForceChange.
Dolphins are highly intelligent, curious, and social animals. The aquarium announced that “times have changed, and our understanding of the needs of the animals in our care has changed. A lot of very valid research has been done in the last 20 years to open our eyes to the cognitive and social behavior of dolphins.”
It is great to see an institute that clearly cares more about the well being of its animals than profit. The aquarium is changing with the times and hopefully more aquariums and sea parks will follow in its footsteps.
Dear Mr. Carter,
Recently, the National Aquarium announced that it will be retiring all eight of its bottlenose dolphins to a seaside sanctuary. This is great news. Thank you for understanding that these dolphins need more than a pool. At the sanctuary, they will be able to feel the tides, interact with wild dolphins and swim in the sea. As you know, dolphins are highly intelligent and social animals. This change will be great for their physical and mental health.
Thank you again for putting the well being of the animals as your priority rather than profit. It is inspiring to see and I hope more aquariums and sea parks follow in your footsteps.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Aude Steiner