Dolphin Activists Attacked in Bali

We held a protest at the grand opening of the dolphin pool and restaurant in Bali.

I knew I wasn’t the best person to go and demonstrate there but everyone here is afraid to do anything and since nothing was happening me and fellow activists decided to just go take pictures at entrance of the facility for the media.

We were 5 people and one press photographer.

It’s was very crowded at the place, located next to komune famous surfresort.

The pool keeps four wildcaught dolphins which are on loan from the travelcircus owner. Then there is a restaurant next to it.

People can swim for 75 dollar-20 minutes with the dolphins, who were brought in on the beginning if August.

There was loud music on the event as there was a huge soundsystem next to the dolphin pool.

We walked up from the beach area straight to the main entrance, took a few pictures and walked off within one minute as thugs started coming from all corners. Me and another activist stayed walking calmly as ‘to deal with them’ to give our friends chance to get away as they where male one one girl and the risk would have been even bigger for them and they would have gotten hold of the pictures too.

They were all screaming loudly and at some point tried to pull me in the ocean yet I managed to get them off me. Anyway we were dealing with all these big thugs while trying to get back to the resort next door. There, a friends husband was waiting for us; chief of police who happened to observe it all and he arranged an escort of police to bring us out of there.

We were driven to the police station at 22.00 where the circus people were already waiting and also their security people were trying to take pictures of us yet we demanded those pictures to be deleted which we did after the head of police gave is their handphone!

We called the American consulate who ‎helped to talk to the police and managed to convince them that giving them our ID wasn’t wise for safety reasons and also that the police should bring us safely to the hospital as val needed medical treatment; we wanted to make a report of all her bruises and concussion.

Just before we walked out of the police station the manager of the travel show owner came walking in and immediately reckonized me. He then said to the police I should be arrested for terrorising his company. When the police allowed me to get in the car he made cut throat signs through the window which the police pretended didn’t see. We were in a panic!

She is still in the hospital; she is ok but just really bruised and headache.

So we were escorted to the hospital where we arrived at 2 in the morning , we then made a full report about the other activist and I left through the back door.

‎Greetings from Indonesia!     #StopSirkusLumba