Over the past 4 months, Marine Connection has been highlighting the plight of two dolphins held in a basement swimming pool at the Best Western Paradise Hotel in Dilijan, Armenia.
In our ongoing campaign against this facility and working alongside colleagues on the ground, we can now announce that the dolphinarium has been ordered to cease operation and the dolphins, known as the ‘Paradise 2, will be moved back to Russia once the relevant export permit has been authorised.
Marine Connection initially approached CITES with our concerns over the welfare of the two dolphins and meetings were also held with the Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection of Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia, asking for their assistance to have the hotel dolphin operation closed. Although securing the dolphins for release was never an option, this is another positive step in stopping the captivity industry commencing and expanding in a country which, until the establishment of this facility, had no captive cetaceans.
Thank you to everyone who supported our campaign.
