(Channelnewsasia.com)
Title : Undercover videos released to back freedom for RWS dolphins
By :
Date : 27 May 2011 1353 hrs (SST)
URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1131539/1/.html
SINGAPORE: A local animal welfare group has released undercover videos of 25 dolphins that will be part of the attractions of the marine life park at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).
The videos by Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) showed the bottlenose dolphins, which were caught off the Solomon Islands, being tamed and trained in Subic Bay in the Philippines.
A group of people were seen standing around a dolphin enclosure.
As they watched the dolphins, several of the marine mammals occasionally jumped out of the water.
After completion of their training, they will be sent to RWS, as part of its interactive dolphin spa experience for visitors.
When asked to comment on the condition of the dolphins, chairman of Genting Group and RWS, Mr Lim Kok Thay told Channel NewsAsia that the company follows international rules on the treatment of marine animals.
He said the dolphins are "very healthy" and that the resort hopes to bring them to the marine park over the next 12 months.
The company came under fire last year after it was discovered that a smaller group of dolphins in Langkawi were kept under poor conditions.
Two of the dolphins died of acute bacterial infection called Melioidosis in October 2010.
Melioidosis is a soil-borne disease, with infections occurring primarily during the rainy season.
After the issue came to light, the company moved the rest of the dolphins to the Philippines.
In conjunction with the release of the videos, ACRES has launched a "Save the World's Saddest Dolphins" music campaign.
It said it is not opposed to a marine park filled with species that are more adaptable to confined spaces.
It's urging Resorts World to release the dolphins and allow them to roam free and wild in the ocean.
- CNA/cc
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