Marine Connection is pleased to report that Al Jazeera’s 101 East programme investigation about China’s multi-billion-dollar aquarium industry, exposing the cruelty and suffering of some of the world’s most majestic marine mammals and how they are being hunted for entertainment is now available to view.
With China home to more than 60 marine theme parks and at least a dozen more being built, demand for marine mammals has never been greater. Using hidden cameras, the team reveal seals confined to dirty tanks and whales in tiny tanks. As part of the two-year investigation, 101 East examined more than 15 marine parks and interviewed more than a dozen insiders. At one Chinese aquarium, an undercover investigator finds a freezer full of dolphin carcasses and in a secretly-recorded conversation, the marine park’s vet reveals to 101 East how they died – “something to do with over-exertion, intestines twisted, caused by some of the moves.”
To find out where China’s aquariums are getting their animals, 101 East used once again used hidden cameras to meet an industry insider who’s helped many aquariums source marine mammals from around the world – dolphins from Africa and manatees from Russia. To get the animals into China, all that’s needed is to bribe the customs officers. 101 East also discovered that many parks employ untrained workers who care for the animals are at risk. An aquarium manager revealed that a cleaner almost died when a beluga whale dragged the man through the water as he was cleaning its tank.
China: Caging the Ocean’s Wild premieres today (September 20) on Al Jazeera English at 22:30 GMT and is also available at this link
Certainly one not to be missed!
