In December 2024, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Florida, applied to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for a permit to import 5 bottlenose dolphins from Attica Zoological Park, Greece. The application drew significant opposition from animal welfare groups, including Marine Connection. At the time, we urged everyone to voice opposition to this transfer immediately; it has now however been approved, although no date for the transfer has been confirmed.
Moving these dolphins across the Atlantic to yet another facility that houses dolphins in concrete tanks for the sole reason of public display causes unnecessary psychological and physical stress for these marine mammals. It’s not just unnecessary -it is cruel, and the age of keeping dolphins in captivity must finally come to an end.
