Stop Planned Dolphin Prison in Its Tracks
The Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, has announced plans to open a dolphinarium at the National Zoological Park in New Delhi. Keeping dolphins in tanks means a miserable life for these intelligent, social animals, and most captive dolphins die prematurely.
Dolphins are highly sentient beings who live in large and intricate social groups. Female dolphins spend their entire lives with their mothers and sisters within the family pod. They communicate with each other through whistles, chirps and body language, and whenever dolphins are injured or dying, others will come to their aid, supporting them at the water's surface so that they can breathe.
Dolphins navigate by echolocation, bouncing sonar waves off objects to determine their shape, density, distance and location. In a tank, a dolphin's "world" becomes a garble of meaningless reverberations.
In captivity, dolphins are relegated to swimming in endless circles, never again experiencing the exhilaration of swimming free through ocean waves.
You Can Help
Please let the Ministry of State for Environment and Forests know how offensive you find this proposed plan and ask them to stop this project.