Marine Connection is celebrating 30 years since the closure of the last dolphinarium in the UK with a renewed call for a ban on the import/export and display of captive dolphins and whales.
8 March 2023 marks 30 years since the last dolphins were moved from Flamingo Land in Yorkshire to Kolmården Zoo in Sweden, finally making the UK a dolphinarium-free country, but Marine Connection co-founder Margaux Dodds says there is still much work to be done.
“People are often mistaken in believing that the UK has banned the display of captive cetaceans, but this is not the case,” she says. “It is not currently illegal to display dolphins here.”
Despite Marine Connection’s repeated liaisons with DEFRA since the last dolphinarium closure in 1993, legislation has stopped short of an outright ban. Although welfare standards are now high, making any proposal for a new cetacean holding facility unwelcome, there is currently no law that would prevent it.
“We remain vigilant for any rumoured interest in this area and will continue working towards a ban being implemented to ensure that the industry which trades in the capture, confinement, and display of dolphins and whales for profit never again darkens UK shores.”
Between the early 1960s and 1990s, there were at least 30 dolphinariums and travelling dolphin shows in the UK, with some even holding killer whales. These once popular tourist destinations gradually lost public support and by the early 1990s, only 4 sites remained. New guidelines for keeping captive cetaceans were introduced by the government, such as increasing tank sizes and the quality of the water, but the few remaining dolphinaria failed to comply. This, along with continued campaigning by Marine Connection’s founding members, and many other dedicated individuals was instrumental in the closure of these remaining sites: Brighton Dolphinarium, Marineland in Morecambe, Flamingo Land in Yorkshire, and Windsor Safari Park dolphinarium.
“Had it not been for this dedication to the cause, coming together with the determination to bring about the closure of these facilities, being a voice for the voiceless with many days/nights and weekends spent outside facilities in rain and shine, raising public awareness of the issues and the suffering behind the dolphins’ so-called ‘smile’, the situation today may have been very different,” says Margaux Dodds.
“However, the UK is still at risk of playing host to captive dolphins and whales through lack of clear legislation and this cannot remain unchallenged.”
