[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] RWS won't speak with O'Barry on releasing dolphins

(AsiaOne)

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Dolphin activist failed to meet RWS management

Mr Ric O'Barry had hoped to make an appeal in person for the release of its 25 dolphins, but a RWS spokesman said it had "no reason to meet Mr O'Barry". -AsiaOne

Tue, Oct 04, 2011
AsiaOne

Mr O'Barry speaking to RWS communications manager Lynn Lee after handing her an appeal meant for the management, as Acres director Louis Ng (in black jacket) and another RWS staff member look on.
SINGAPORE - Well-known American dolphin activist Ric O'Barry had flown into Singapore hoping to make an appeal in person to the management of Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) for the release of the 25 dolphins it plans to showcase at its upcoming Marine Life Park. But his plans were thwarted when RWS declined to meet with him.

The 72-year-old and representatives from animal welfare group Animal Concerns Research & Education Society (Acres), who had earlier sent in two other requests, turned up unannounced at RWS' corporate office on Monday to meet with RWS chief executive Tan Hee Teck to hand him the petition.

When he arrived, he was told Mr Tan was unavailable and the petition was passed on to an RWS employee.

Speaking to The Straits Times (ST) after his third failed attempt to get through to RWS, Mr O'Barry urged RWS to be "a responsible company sensitive to the harm captivity inflicts on dolphins" and challenged it to be "a true steward of the environment".

The marine mammal specialist who shot to fame with his movie, The Cove, on the killing of dolphins in Taiji, Japan, had offered his help to rehabilitate and release the dolphins back to their native environment, reported ST.

Mr O'Barry, who has had several successes in releasing a few dolphins back to nature, said: "You want to swim with the dolphins, but what about how they feel? The key solving all our environmental problems is to control our desires."

He will be giving a public talk tonight, organised by Acres, to educate Singaporeans on how dolphins are caught in the wild and why it is cruel to keep them in captivity.

RWS bought 27 dolphins from a Canadian dolphin trader Chris Porter in 2008 and 2009, however, it has never revealed how much it paid for them.

Two dolphins died from bacteria infection in Langkawai, Malaysia, in October last year. The remaining 25 are housed at a facility in Subic Bay in the Philippines.

ST reported that RWS' had initially intended to exhibit whale sharks, but in May 2009, RWS canned the plan saying it was afraid it might not be able to care for the sharks, which can grow to more than 12m and weigh more than 15 tonnes.

When asked why RWS had declined to meet the activist, a spokesman Krist Boo told ST that it had "no reason to meet Mr O'Barry, whose agenda is to seek the release of the dolphins."

Another news source reported a spokesperson saying, "We welcome dialogue with ACRES and perhaps this can be arranged at a mutually-agreeable time. While we have differing views about the dolphins in our care, we respect the mission of animal groups concerned about the welfare of animals. On this we are on common ground."

Ms Boo noted that the dolphins have been "doing well" under its care for the past three years and said that since the track record for releasing dolphins back into the wild is still patchy, RWS will be "gravely irresponsible" to consider such an act.

She said that the dolphins will not be used for spa therapy or shows when the Marine Life Park opens next year.

Instead, there will be a "marine mammal encounter programme" that will allow guests to interact with the dolphins in a safe and controlled setting.

Through the programme, guests can also learn about the biological behaviour and protection of these animals.

She also revealed that RWS intends to set up a two other programmes - one for breeding, and the other for rescue and rehabilitation.

RWS has engaged dolphin rescue and rehabilitation expert Robin Friday from Miami, US, as acting consultant for its programme at the Marine Life Park.

When Mr O'Barry got wind that Mr Friday was also in town, he challenged him to a public debate but Mr Friday, who is in his 60s, declined saying he has no interest in debating him.