“Animal activists are harming the lives of dolphins”

—A dolphinarium is a prison.

— Dolphins are not prisoners. They live in controlled conditions, with needs met and well-being that is not an opinion and can be measured scientifically. Just because you live a free life doesn’t mean it’s okay. We work with the Valencian Community Stranding Network and we receive many dolphins that are sick, malnourished, injured by their predators or even by other dolphins or by human activity.

—Animal welfare is based on freedom.

If the concern is animal welfare, let’s talk data. Perception based on emotion can be misleading, for better and for worse. On the other hand, science allows us to objectify whether an animal is doing well thanks to numerous indicators, which are not only used by us but also by our welfare auditor from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, ​​and all of them confirm that animals can not only be well but also live well with us.

—The solution is sanctuaries.

—Dolphin sanctuaries do not exist. When Ada Colau wanted to destroy the dolphins in the Barcelona Zoo, she said she would send them to a sanctuary and it was a sanctuary that didn’t exist at the time and doesn’t exist yet, and we have these dolphins here today in our family, perfectly cared for, cared for, integrated, loved and healthy with 16 other dolphins. There are fences in the sea, that is, closed spaces but inside the sea, especially in the Caribbean area, and what we see is that the dolphins are not necessarily better off, that there are additional difficulties for their care and that when in some centers where activities take place on the high seas, the floodgates are opened for them to come out, they are afraid and do not want to come out and if they come out, in many cases, they come back immediately seek refuge from their facility, where they feel in a safe and controlled environment.

—Wild dolphins live longer.

-That’s not true. According to the latest studies, the life expectancy of bottlenose dolphins in modern aquariums like Oceanogràfic is between 2 and 3 times higher than that of their congeners studied in the wild. Currently, the average life expectancy of dolphins in accredited zoos and aquariums is between 20 and 31 years, while life expectancy at sea is between 9 and 15 years for the majority of populations studied in the wild. Survival has increased significantly in recent years in our centers, precisely because through scientific research and technology we have learned to take better care of them.

— In animals and humans, freedom is non-negotiable.

— You have to understand that what I perceive as a human is not what an animal perceives as an animal. Our dolphins live in a suitable space, and in the same way that your dog’s well-being does not depend on the size of the apartment he lives in but on how you treat him, the company or the care he receives; In the case of dolphins, their mobility is what they need and their relationship with the rest of the group and with the caregivers, through games and training, interests them, binds them and provides them with security and well-being. We measure your well-being through different tools based on both behavioral and physiological indicators: cortisol levels or immune function, among others.

—They work to feed themselves.

— No, just like your dog won’t fetch the ball you throw to him in exchange for food because you left him without food before. You play with him, and of course you feed him and take him to the vet, pet him, walk him and establish an emotional bond with him. Dolphins bond with their keepers through play and positive reinforcement (a reward system). Keepers are totally emotionally connected to their dolphins and suffer when they are called aggressors.

—Zoos make no sense in the 21st century.

—They make more sense than ever. We are witnessing an increasing degradation of natural habitats and a growing number of species in danger of extinction. Increasingly, certain species are finding it more and more difficult to survive in their natural environment. In addition, the disconnection of young people with nature increases from generation to generation and these centers serve to arouse their interest in nature conservation and thus to adjust their behavior and consumption habits to limit the impact. And this is very important: our animals generate scientific knowledge, through research, which allows us to better understand our impact on the environment and to improve the conditions of animals in the natural environment.

—Belugas.

—They called us from a zoo in Ukraine two years ago, after almost two more years of war. They asked us for help to evacuate 2 belugas from Kharkiv after a long period of bombardment, lack of electricity and lack of food. The transfer was very heavy, very complex, I must say that the Spanish government and the Generalitat Valenciana contributed a lot to making it possible. The belugas arrived very thin, elusive, very frightened. Today, they live in safety, calm, perfectly integrated with their caregivers. In the current war context, without their evacuation, they were condemned to almost certain death, and we, who are the only European center to keep belugas, have given them a second life.

—Civilized countries are closing their dolphinariums.

The reality is not exactly the same. Most countries with new dolphin legislation, such as Spain or France, do not ban dolphinaria: they require animal welfare guarantees for the centers that maintain them and a commitment to education, research and conservation. The problem is that in many countries, animal pressure is winning the battle of public opinion and institutions are afraid to continue investing in improvements for the extraordinarily expensive maintenance of dolphins. This is why zoos and aquariums prefer to get rid of them. There are fewer and fewer centers dedicated to care, research and knowledge, and we are at the limit of the number of dolphins we can have. In fact, there are already several dolphinariums waiting to close and cannot move their dolphins, which is detrimental to the animals’ lives. The paradox is that animal rights activists who claim to care so much about the well-being of dolphins, probably with the best of intentions, end up harming their lives and their future.