A Dolphin Debate in Hong Kong

By Ric O’Barry
Director
Dolphin Project

My trip in Hong Kong, sponsored by Unity Investments Holdings Ltd. and organized by AIESEC LC HKBU: Make a Change to the World, has been quite a whirlwind of meetings and speeches.

I’ve talked with students, teachers, the media, and several different audiences.  I’ve even joined the group for a cruise to see the lovely pink dolphins of Hong Kong, beautiful animals that live on the margins of a very polluted city.  Fortunately, they have many friends here in town who are working to clean up the area.

Ric talks to the media in Hong Kong on a trip searching for the pink dolphins.

But one of the most important moments came on Friday, when I met and debated dolphin captivity with Dr. Allan Zeman, owner of Ocean Park, a dolphinarium in Hong Kong that has tried to remove wild dolphins from the Solomon Islands among other places.  Dr. Zeman agreed with me about the problem of the dolphin kill in Taiji, and he even agreed to join me this coming Sept. 1st to go to Taiji to see a dolphin slaughter.  You can see a bit of our debate in this clip from ATV News in Hong Kong:

I did some commentary on Dr. Zeman and our debate on a street in Hong Kong, on my Ustream channel:

Today, I visited a street in Hong Kong that sells all kinds of animals for food and medicinal purposes.  Items for sale include shark fins, manta rays, and all manner of other species that should be protected.

I also did a bit of anti-captivity work at the Hong Kong Yuen Po Street Bird Garden:

Video by Vriko Kwok, AIESEC LC HKBU: Make a Change to the World.

I head for home tomorrow, but wanted to again thank all the students who worked so hard to make this week a success, especially my friend Vriko Kwok.  She has been a wonderful host.