WDCS expresses concern over opening of Europe’s largest marine park

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation society (WDCS) has raised concerns over the opening in February of Valencia’s ‘Parc Oceanographic’, Europe’s largest marine park.

WDCS says that more than 45,000 creatures, in seven themed areas representing marine areas from the Arctic to the Antarctic, will be on display from the 14th February 2003. Among these will be “unfortunate victims of the international captivity industry, including whales and dolphins”.

WCDS said: “Bottlenose dolphins and white whales (also known as belugas) will soon be the sad stars of the show at the park’s dolphinarium, which has seating for an audience of 2,500 people. Few visitors will be aware of the circumstances that have brought these animals to be there, as they are projected to celebrity status. In some parts of the world, wild whales and dolphins from close-knit family groups continue to be brutally captured and transported thousands of miles to a life of incarceration: a cruel reality for some of the world’s most sociable and freedom-loving animals.

“Current European Union legislation implementing CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), prohibits the import into the EU of live whales and dolphins for “primarily commercial purposes”. However, trade is permissible for specific
non-commercial purposes, including scientific research and captive breeding. WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, believes this may have provided an excuse for the traders in this case, even though the breeding records of whales and dolphins in European facilities are generally very poor and the quality of research conducted very limited, with almost no useful application to the conservation of wildlife.

“While one beluga is currently held at another dolphinarium in Germany, no belugas have been imported by the Member States of the European Union for more than two decades. Nevertheless, the global trade in live belugas from Russian waters is increasing and the animals are also hunted for their meat. In 1999, around 13 tonnes of beluga meat was exported to Japan.

“WDCS is deeply concerned about the sustainability of the international trade in live belugas and the involvement of the new facility in Valencia, with these animals threatened across their range by oil and gas development, over-hunting, over-fishing, vessel traffic, industrial development and pollution. In 1999, the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission concluded that only four out of 29 beluga populations are ‘stable’.”

“While some marine parks claim to display these animals for conservation purposes, in reality the opposite is true. The continued trade in these animals puts wild populations at risk and drastically reduces the quality of life of the animals captured” says Nicolas Entrup of WDCS. In addition to its concerns about the trade and display of bottlenose dolphins and belugas, WDCS is also deeply worried that the Parc Oceanographic intends to import orcas (killer whales) for display in its dolphinarium. During 2002, attempts were made to capture orcas in Russian Federation waters for export abroad. More than 20 international whale experts have signed a letter of concern to the Russian authorities about the possible capture of wild orcas. WDCS is calling for a complete end to the import of whales and dolphins into the European Union for public display purposes.”

For further information, please contact:
Cathy Williamson, Captivity Campaigner, WDCS in the UK on + 44 1249 449 500
or Nicolas Entrup, Managing Director, WDCS Germany on + 49 89 6100 2395